Las Vegas travel guide

Las Vegas - Fantasy Land

Have you seen Vegas lately? It’s no longer just a haven of greasy all-you-can-eat buffets, cheesy nostalgic acts, and slot machines. Well, all of that is still here, of course, but a new Vegas is starting to take over, with stylish restaurants from top New York chefs, Prince concerts, topless pools, new spa hotels, and a couple dozen golf courses added to the mix. Life in the desert has never been so stylish. Start with the Strip, perhaps riding the elevated rollercoaster at Stratosphere, browsing shops on the "canals" at the Venetian, or ducking into a casino like the Bellagio. Don’t overlook downtown’s seedier casino relics, Vegas’s roots, where you’ll see the famed cowboy-sign Vegas Vic along the (now covered) Fremont Street. Pay tribute to the King of Kitsch at the Liberace Museum, home to sequined capes and candelabras. When the glitz gets to be too much, get out of town. A few miles west, Red Rock Canyon has hiking trails and a 13-mile desert drive, or go south to Hoover Dam, where the Colorado River is impounded into Lake Mead. And don't worry if you miss your flight out – you can always play slots at the airport.