Las Vegas is a terrific destination for a day trip. We flew out early in the morning and returned to Dallas that same evening. Although we weren’t able to see a show, we walked the length of the Las Vegas Strip on both sides of the street, enjoying sightseeing, shopping, gambling in several of the casinos and had a wonderful lunch.
The Paris Hotel and Casino features the Eiffel Tower Restaurant–looks just like the real monument!
At the Venetian, you can take a gondola ride and see a life-like replica tower of St. Mark’s Campanile in Venice, Italy.
The New York New York Hotel has a full scale replica of the Statue of Liberty, complete with the New York skyline behind it.
The display over the entry to Harrah’s is a sight to behold!
Caesars Palace contains a shopping mall known as “The Forum”. It contains many replicas of Italy’s famous fountains as well as a number of Roman statues imported from Florence, including Julius Caesar, Augustus and Nero. The ceiling is painted blue with white clouds. We enjoyed a delicious lunch at Bobby Flay’s Mesa Grill, featuring southwestern cuisine–the chef’s first restaurant outside of New York
Bellagio’s fountain-fronted property is reminiscent of an elegant European resort. The hotel’s Conservatory and Botanical Gardens switch out its gorgeous flower-filled displays five times per year. Because we were visiting in December, we saw its exquisite Christmas display.
At the southern end of the Strip, you will find the Luxor, named after the city of the same name in Egypt. One of the hotel’s most distinguishing elements is the replica of the Great Sphinx of Giza, flanked by two pyramids. This Sphinx is two stories taller than the original.
The iconic “Welcome to Las Vegas” sign was erected around 1959-60. The sign is located in the median of Las Vegas Boulevard South–most consider it the official southern end of the Las Vegas Strip (actually sits in the town of Paradise). Because so many people make the pilgrimage to view the sign, there is a parking lot with free parking at the site. However, it is easy to reach on foot if you are walking the Strip. An unofficial line forms for folks to snap pics of themselves with the sign. Though the line can be quite long, everyone patiently awaits his turn. There are even a couple of unofficial photographers who will photograph you with your camera, for a fee, if you are shy about asking the person in line next to you to do it.
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