We did talk earlier about Las Vegas, but we wrote just some general information. This time we are back with the things you can do to enjoy your stay there.
Shows strip: attractions open to all
The profusion of signs flashing everywhere no doubt: you finally arrived in Las Vegas Boulevard. It is on the famous Strip that align most gigantic casino hotels and complex behemoths, all vying in ingenuity to attract you, you and your wallet. Good news for budget travelers: some of the best entertainment on the Strip are free.
The projected towards the heavens from the pyramid of Luxor at disproportionate tent of Circus Circus through the dizzying Stratosphere Tower, the entire Strip bundle already offers a unique spectacle.
For the uninitiated, impossible to miss the ballet musical fountains at the Bellagio (right), maintaining the illusion that a small lake is in the middle of the Mojave Desert.
A few meters further held the eruption of the volcano at the Mirage, a freshly renovated even more impressive attraction.
Meanwhile, at Treasure Island, next door, scantily clad sirens confront a gang of sailors while muscles in a battle of the sexes very rock-n-roll.
The other side of the Strip offers just as many distractions available to all. Lean over the elegant bridges Venetian gondoliers to admire that drive the song on the channel network of the casino. Then browse a few meters to Harrah's: his Carnaval Court is a nightclub in the open where the bartenders are masters in the art of juggling bottles.
A little further south lies the kitschy Imperial Palace, where dealertainers, impersonators of stars like Elvis and Tina Turner, give a show of song and dance.
Arts District: block party for insiders
At the edge of Downtown uninviting emerged a new neighborhood, the 18b Arts District, nestled among the antique shops and vintage clothing shops. On weekdays, there is a good chance that you will not even notice its iconic places like the Arts Factory (photo above). But the first Friday evening of every month, the streets desolate take on the appearance of carnival, where thousands flock to art lovers, hipsters, musicians and onlookers. Vernissages expo, performances, live music, fortune tellers and artists tattooed are planned for this gigantic block party, popular with the locals. You may be the only tourist there, a very nice feeling after casinos and complexes Strip. Once the celebration ended, a drink at the Beauty Bar.
Atomic Testing Museum: Memories of the Cold War in the desert
In the 1950s, gold nuclear age, players and visitors watched in fascination atomic rise above the desert mushrooms. The city itself elected a Miss Bomb. Over the next forty years, more than 900 nuclear explosions took place at the Nevada Test Site, within 100 km northwest of Vegas.
For more information, go to this huge and remarkable museum affiliated with the Smithsonian Institution. Multimedia exhibits present the technologies and scientific and social issues of the atomic era, which lasted from World War II until 1961, from which the test became underground before being banned around the world 1992 Stewards of the Land rooms evoke the past, present and future of Southern Nevada, lifestyles of Native Americans to the ecological consequences of nuclear testing, to the controversial proposed waste repository at Yucca Mountain.
Discover temporary contemporary art and applied science side of the entrance shows. The museum shop offers scientific and retro items, like a fallout shelter sign or a T-shirt biohazard (stamped with the symbol of biohazard).
Casinos and collectors: in search of the remains of old vegas
As if Vegas was ashamed of his immoral past, its aging casinos are dismantled at the speed of light to make way for ever larger and most exclusive complexes. Gone are the golden age of hotels extravagant theme establishments Strip exchange, one after the other, their Egyptian gods and their false European monuments against a high-end luxury, chic but definitely less funny.
Nothing lingers long in this city. Vegas lovers of yesteryear may however finding collectors back to the days of the Mafia and the Rat Pack (group of artists revolving around Frank Sinatra) in the shops of Downtown, as Retro Vegas or Gold & Silver Pawn that offer souvenirs casinos, Binion's Horseshoe ashtrays tokens used in the 1950s can even acquire a slot machine or a roulette game with retro Gamblers General Store (photo above).
Do not miss the casino hotels of the 1940s and 1950s still present on the Strip, such as the Sahara and Tropicana, and rush you into their shops or fill up matchboxes at the bar, before these two facilities know the sad fate of the Stardust and New Frontier, reduced to dust.
Cirque du Soleil: a show whose success does not run out of steam
In the glory days of the Fabulous Fifties, Dunes sparked a scandal by inviting girls topless in her show Minsky Goes to Paris; the following year, the Stardust brought in French magazine topless dancers for its Lido de Paris. These two legendary casino hotels have since been demolished and, if journals of its kind still popular on the Strip - like Jubilee! Bally's and the Crazy Horse Paris at MGM Grand - they are now the Cirque du Soleil that hold the upper hand.
This remarkable troupe coming of Quebec seems tailored for Vegas, paradise great show. Shimmering costumes, spectacular stunts and huge drums contribute to the electrifying atmosphere of the stunning shows, sometimes fantastic but often a futile thing.
Choose between the clowns Mystery (pictured above) - the oldest show on the Strip (1993), aquatic sensations of O at the Bellagio, the Ka representation inspired by martial arts, or a musical journey as a tribute to the Beatles, with LOVE, or the King, Viva Elvis.
Hard to get a spot? These shows are usually full, but you can stop at Revolution Lounge by Cirque to taste the joyous carnival atmosphere.
Fireside Lounge: retro coffee to recharge your batteries
Alcohol galore, gorgeous body and visions of wealth are the main reasons for many visitors, who walk the Strip will be the great way to see all their expectations fulfilled.
Starting point for a crazy night out: an ultra-lounge, where cocktails are prepared at your table by supermodels and where go-go-dancers and strip view are house specialties. This is just an appetizer before the Vegas nightclubs and unbridled atmosphere.
When, at 4 in the morning, your feet will not have stirred much more, go take refuge in the Peppermill Fireside Lounge casino, open 24/24. Hidden on the strip north, tiny cafe, with its tangy neon and homes open fireplace, calls you like a beacon in the night.
Train your sweetie (s) in this place right out of the Seventies, where couples coo shamelessly on sofas after sipping exotic drinks. Psychedelic frame and special effects water fountains are almost as disconcerting as tight dresses waitresses.
And to complete this wild night, what better show than the sunrise on Las Vegas Blvd?
Fremont street: playrooms of downtown, to let off steam without breaking the bank
Enough glitter of the Strip? Take the bus or Ace Deuce to Downtown to reach Fremont Street, where did the first casino in the city. Nicknamed Glitter Gulch, this old district has emerged around the railroad in 1905, more than forty years before the gangster Ben "Bugsy" Siegel borrows the highway from Los Angeles to found the Strip.
Although gambling halls Downtown are not as glamorous as the gigantic casinos in the city, their proximity to each other is a real plus. Play slot machines, snack on Oreo (cookie) fried, sip a margarita electric blue 99 ¢ or buy a garish T-shirt in a shop, while attending the laser show projected on the giant screen of Fremont Street Experience.
The Strip can maintain its poker rooms, its "special VIP" cords and luxury malls - here, even Mr Tout-le-Monde something to take to the King!
Liberace Museum: pilgrimage to a shrine of Kitsch
Nicknamed Mr Showmanship ("Mr. staging"), Lee Liberace won six gold records and was awarded two stars on the Walk of Fame in Hollywood. This incredible museum pays homage to the exuberant pianist who died in 1987, just months after his last public concert in New York.
If the audience liked Liberace, he was surprised and amused by her extravagance: pianos overpriced (a Baldwin inlaid rhinestones and a grand piano covered with mirrors); Rolls-Royces and other cars flashy for its inputs (and outputs) on stage; furs worth fortunes and sequined costumes also shifted qu'étranges.
Try to take part in a free guided visits by absolute fans of the pianist, who will pass over in silence his homosexuality, its due to the consequences of AIDS deaths or the sinister rumor that he would have run his lover (also his bodyguard and driver) to mimic the great Liberace.
At the time of our visit, the museum had to close (it seems that the memory of the flamboyant pianist does not pass through the decades, as is the case of Elvis Presley ...). It is best to check before you travel.
Mandalay Bay Beach: a day spent lounging by the pool
The very concept of Vegas based on the principle of excess. Since the opening of the fabulous Steve Wynn Mirage hotel-casino in the late 1980s, when money reigned supreme, each large complex sought to win over the other.
This escalation in the rivalry also applies to hotel swimming pools. Despite competition from other institutions - including the Hard Rock with his Tahitian beach cabins and blackjack are playing on the water, or the Golden Nugget, located in Downtown, which is planning to slide through an aquarium shark - the most impressive pool complex is one of Mandalay Bay, exclusively for guests.
With an artificial beach made with 2,700 tons of imported sand of California, skateboarders M-Bay surf waves 2 m high. Take an inner tube to float down the Lazy River, or rent a cabin on the water or a villa in the day. One can spend the hottest hours in the air conditioned casino on the beach, playing blackjack, roulette and craps. The summer concerts are held under the stars, while the Moorea Beach Club attracts crowds with its paid-DJ and the opportunity to sunbathe topless.
QUA BATHS & SPA
Long gone are the days when we went to Vegas only for its games. Stop in Sin City now offers a hedonistic diving pleasure in all its forms. It was inevitable that fantastic spas are popping up everywhere.
Fancy a shiatsu, a Thai massage or Hawaiian? From a mud wrap or banana leaves? In exfoliation coconut cream? You'll be spoiled for choice at Qua Baths & Spa at Caesars Palace. Burn your excess the previous sauna before diving into the Roman baths. Cool off in the Arctic Room, the flakes of dry ice. Enjoy salon chairs exotic tea, perfect for socializing. In the Men's Zone, these gentlemen can choose a "Royal Shave" or a massage their aching muscles.
Stratosphere tower: guarantees on top of the white tower emotions
After walking the strip all day, especially under the scorching sun, what a pleasure to rise in the Stratosphere Tower by the fastest elevators in the country! At 350 meters, the wind cools the air in the city and makes it pure. Weather permitting, we admire for miles the desert valley surrounded by jagged mountains.
Whether attending the sunset or stargazing come, the view is unbeatable. Hard not to shiver of happiness before the Sin City skyline, especially sipping a martini on a jazzy background at 107 Lounge or enjoying a juicy steak at the Top of the World.
But the tallest building in the city has other surprises: rides to thrills await you at the top, including the aptly named Insanity makes you turn into the void. Try the new SkyJump; you will be catapulted to the other side of the arrow in a free fall of 260 m!
Springs preserve: life and history of the desert of Southern Nevada
Stretching over 90 acres, the Springs Preserve is located at the source location where the Southern Paiute (Native American people) drew their water. It is in these vegas (meadows) the merchants of the Old Spanish Trail pitched their camps before Mormon missionaries and pioneers of the West develop the Las Vegas Valley. With a budget of $ 250 million, the museum takes visitors on a remarkable journey through the history, culture and biology of the site.
To understand this desert oasis, start with the Origen Experience. The Natural Mojave galleries simulate flash floods and show the diversity of wildlife, Gila monsters (lizards poisonous) with big brown bats. The exhibition People of the Springs (Peoples sources) traces the dark past of the city, Native American settlements to the arrival of the railway on the western border and the construction of Hoover Dam. The New Frontier rooms house many interactive multimedia games that appeal to children and raise awareness for the preservation of nature and ecology in the modern city.
The great attraction of the Springs Preserve is a Desert Living Center. The first buildings LEED platinum (highest environmental certification) Nevada were built using recycled materials and adobe walls, with passive cooling, renewable heating, water recovery and solar panels, all operating at the clean energy. This pioneering center includes classrooms, learning labs and exhibits questioning visitors about the future of this neon jungle that is the Strip. The sustainability of this fragile desert environment, indeed, a great concern.
The gardens of the site, which applied the principles of xeriscaping, with more than 30,000 plants.
The Springs Preserve has more than 3 km of walking trails dotted with signs detailing the natural and cultural history of Nevada; plan to drink and avoid the hottest hours.
The gift shop features gifts, books and various games around the theme of the environment. Upstairs, the Springs Cafe by Wolfgang Puck, also green design serves very healthy dish. The Nevada State Museum will soon move in the Springs Preserve.
Your hotel room: a whole weekend in a cozy nest
Your best bet in Vegas is sometimes to do nothing at all, for example in the luxurious cocoon of your hotel room, or better yet, a voluptuous on.
Sleeping is necessary partygoers exhausted by their night unleashed on the Strip. Do not forget to view the small sign Do Not Disturb (Do Not Disturb) to your door!
Between the room minibar and room service from the hotel, there is not much that you can not get. At the Hard Rock, you can have it delivered to the Love Jones Lingerie and kits erotic game (with massage oils and ... handcuffs). Almost every casino hotels offer champagne, but how many will be able, as the Palms, serve you a meal in your room to $ 6,000 with burger, fries and a large bottle of Bordeaux?
The ultrasélects institutions (Palazzo, Venetian, Wynn, Encore, Bellagio and MGM Grand) have large luxury suites, each with a VIP Concierge service to pamper you and make you leave that regret.
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