Las Vegas
About
Discover the history of Las Vegas
Las Vegas invented itself in the middle of the Mojave Desert, and it has never given up on excess. The Las Vegas Strip lines up whole worlds within a few kilometres: a pyramid, a Venetian canal, an Eiffel Tower. The Fountains of Bellagio dance to music several times an hour, free of charge, until midnight. The city does not sleep — gaming tables that never close, magic and circus shows, star chefs and endless buffets. Wedding chapels marry couples at any hour with no appointment, and that is as much part of the legend as the tables. Outside town, the scenery changes completely. The red cliffs of Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area rise twenty minutes from the nearest casino, and Valley of Fire State Park looks like a heap of embers. Grand Canyon National Park and Zion National Park are both within a day's reach.
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Discover the best attractions in Las Vegas and its surroundings
Grand Canyon National Park
The 446 km gorge cut by the Colorado, its South Rim open all year. From the city it is about 4h30 by road to the South Rim and 2h15 to the West Rim — two quite separate destinations.
Fremont Street Experience
Five pedestrian blocks of old downtown Las Vegas, roofed since 1995 by a screen canopy rebuilt in 2020 with tens of millions of LEDs carrying light shows set to music. Access is free, shows play on the hour after dark, and the Deuce bus links it to the Strip.
Fountains of Bellagio
More than a thousand jets choreographed over a 3.4-hectare lake, free to watch from the Strip sidewalk. Shows run every half-hour in the afternoon, then every fifteen minutes once it gets dark.
Bryce Canyon National Park
Not a canyon at all but an erosion amphitheatre bristling with orange rock spires known as hoodoos, its rim viewpoints sitting above 2,400 metres. The park is about four hours' drive from Las Vegas, and the Rim Trail links the main overlooks.
Zion National Park
Navajo sandstone walls 600 metres high frame the Virgin River, which walkers wade up through the Narrows. From March to November the canyon road is closed to cars and served by a free shuttle.
Bellagio Conservatory & Botanical Gardens
The Bellagio's glass-roofed conservatory, replanted five times a year by an in-house horticulture team that rebuilds the whole display for each season and for Lunar New Year. Admission is free and the space stays open around the clock, with the fewest people early in the morning.
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