Las Vegas Hotels

From the moment Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel’s Flamingo Hotel inaugurated the now-iconic Las Vegas Strip on December 26, 1946, the former desert stopover has become the fastest-growing city in America. Now at 1.8 million people strong, the bright lights of Las Vegas, visible from space, serve as a beacon to tourists from all over the world.

Attractions

The Sin City reputation Las Vegas has today is little more than a nostalgic nod to a seedy era when brothels, bars and rough and tumble casinos were the only game in town. Thanks to a miraculous transformation that took Herculean efforts to complete, today Las Vegas is synonymous with mainstream family appeal. While the city offers all the nefarious pleasures of yore, a once seamy veneer has been scoured into an antiseptic, squeaky-clean, Disneyland gloss.

The action takes place on the Las Vegas Strip of course, where behemoth amusement park casinos jostle for space. No longer sole purveyors of slot machines, blackjack and baccarat, these veritable super-resorts now offer the very best in entertainment, leisure and cuisine.

Hotel casinos like the Wynn, The Venetian, Bellagio, MGM Grand and Luxor comprise the main attractions in town. The resorts offer requisite casino games of course but over time, the ante in Vegas has gone up considerably. In order to pass muster as family destinations, additional features such as rides, fountain and light shows, fireworks displays and even exotic animal exhibits have now become paradigm.

For world class entertainment and restaurants, Las Vegas is impossible to beat. Cirque de Soleil has no less than five permanent shows on the Strip. From O and Zumanity, to Love, a creative tribute to The Beatles, the circus with a twist is the most popular ticket in town. Other top draws in Vegas include Blue Man Group, Broadway shows The Phantom of the Opera and Mamma Mia! and believe it or not, Guggenheim Museum.

The bedrock association Las Vegas once had with "early bird" buffet dinner specials is gone. The allure of resort and casino sweetheart deals has been impossible for celebrity chefs to ignore. No culinary empire today is complete without a haunt in Las Vegas and as a result, Alain Ducasse, Joël Robuchon, Mario Batali and Thomas Keller all have restaurants in Sin City.

Events

Las Vegas is so rife with choice that mere contemplation on how to spend a day can propel you into a catatonic state. The 4 mile Strip alone is dense with casinos, concert halls, nightclubs and resorts that solicit your attention.

There is however, life outside the Strip. You can tee it up at a championship golf course for one. Las Vegas is a major golf destination, with myriad clubs and resorts and a PGA tournament every Fall.

The home of tennis legend Andre Agassi, the city also hosts the Tennis Channel Open every February.

NASCAR comes to town every March with one of the most popular races on the annual calendar at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

The Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area is only 15 miles west of the city but feels a world away from the neon glare of the Strip. With a flood of recreational options on hand, superb vistas of Nevada landscape and caves with Native petroglyphs, the park is a wonderful escape from the casinos.

Climate

Within the Mojave Desert, the general climate in Las Vegas is dry and hot. Winters are mild and see the majority of rainfall, from January and March.

• Winter (November to February) 2.5-19°C
• Spring (March to May) 8-31°C
• Summer (June to August) 22-39°C
• Fall (September to October) 13.5-34°C