Las Vegas City Guide: A Night In Las Vegas - Travel & Discover

Right off Las Vegas Boulevard on Fremont Street is the heart of Old Las Vegas, also known as Downtown Las Vegas. While the Fremont Street experience takes up four city blocks, its main draws are not the Downtown Las Vegas hotels, but the free light and sound show that begins here just after sunset. All the action is centered on one broad avenue that stretches from the southern fringe of the city northward for 20 kilometers, until it reaches the heart of Old Downtown. This is Las Vegas Boulevard, better known as The Strip. The Strip is a nickname for the street called Las Vegas Boulevard, and is ground zero for the hot shows, wild nightlife, luxurious hotels, exciting casinos, and all the best things to do in Vegas, which have made the Strip famous the world over. Whatever type of entertainment you're looking for, from dancing to the wee hours in a hot nightclub, taking in a top-notch show, dining in a world-class restaurant, playing at a gaming table, to simply taking a stroll along the Strip to marvel at the elaborately themed casinos and engage in some old-fashioned people-watching, Las Vegas has got what you're looking for. Las Vegas shows are a big part of the excitement of this city that never sleeps. Las Vegas draws visitors from all over the world to come to this entertainment capital that is open for business 24 hours a day, which means you'll never run out of things to do in Las Vegas. The city's famous shows include the best in musical reviews and topless acts. The elaborate costumes, singing, and acrobatic talent combine to create a truly memorable Las Vegas entertainment experience. Medieval castles, ancient Egyptian pyramids, smoking volcanoes, and a giant sphinx together form the skyline of Las Vegas. The so-called Neon Trail is one of the highlights of a visit to this outrageous city. The sight of the seven-kilometer-long Las Vegas Strip at night, lit up like a crazed Christmas tree, is truly something to behold. Since the early days when Las Vegas was just a sleepy town in the desert, Nevada has had a reputation as an extremely permissive state that allowed legal gambling, legal prostitution, and easy divorce. Many residents of California would drive across the state line to Las Vegas in order to obtain quick and easy divorces from their unwanted spouses. Since divorces were often instigated by the desire to marry a new mate, Las Vegas began offering quick and easy weddings to go along with the quick and easy divorces. Getting married in Las Vegas may seem romantic to some people. Las Vegas has fairly earned its reputation for quickie weddings, drive-thru weddings, and weddings officiated by Elvis impersonators, but there is more romance to be had for those who are looking for it. There are quaint little chapels that can accommodate a traditional wedding, with all of the fairy tale trappings, though on a smaller scale. There are outdoor weddings in beautiful gardens or set in the desert, with majestic mountains in the background. Other possibilities cater to the personal tastes of the happy couple, including a wedding on horseback at night, or on a helicopter ride over the desert, if the kitschy Elvis officiated wedding is into your taste. Today, over 120,000 couples head for the Nevada Gambling Resort every year to get married, give or take a few who get wed on the spur of the moment. Today, this desert gambling oasis is a thriving city with more than 1 million inhabitants and over 38 million visitors a year. It is also one of the fastest growing cities in the U.S., with up to 5,000 new residents settling there every month. Many come to work in the service industry, and with 14 of the 15 largest hotels in the USA and over 130,000 rooms, workers are always needed. Gambling and entertainment are still its biggest attractions and its largest industries. The Mafia gangsters have purportedly been removed from the Las Vegas gambling scene, though some say they have been replaced by large corporate owners. Oscar Goodman, the flamboyant lawyer whose spirited defense of many reputed gangsters and criminals earned him the unofficial title of mouthpiece for the mob, was elected mayor of Las Vegas. His colorful past makes him the ideal person to lead the government of Sin City, USA. Las Vegas has always been famous not only for its gambling, but also for its free-flowing liquor, its fine dining, and extravagant entertainment, especially the Las Vegas shows. All these original ingredients are still available in even greater variety and quantity in modern-day Las Vegas.