Las Vegas

Las Vegas is a city built to be looked at. On a four-mile stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard, known simply as the Strip, stand a pyramid, a half-size Eiffel Tower, Venetian canals, a fountain lake and a dome covered in LED screens. Most of it sits outside the city itself, in unincorporated Clark County. The actual old town is Downtown, around Fremont Street, where the first casinos opened in the 1930s and 40s and the neon is older and smaller.

The trick is to use Vegas rather than let it use you. Walk the Strip at night, pick one show carefully, eat well, and then leave the casino floors for the desert: Red Rock Canyon, Valley of Fire and Hoover Dam are all within an hour. Three or four days is plenty. Start with our Las Vegas travel guide.

Harry Reid International Airport sits right at the south end of the Strip, so most hotels are a short taxi or rideshare away. Drivers arrive on the I-15 from Los Angeles and Salt Lake City. There is no passenger train yet. Our getting there guide covers the airport, buses and the Monorail.

Location on the Strip matters more than the brand. The center Strip puts you within walking distance of Bellagio, Caesars and the Venetian; the north end is newer and quieter; Downtown is cheaper and more old-school. Our where to stay guide compares them, fees included.

Most first trips circle the Strip, and our Strip guide has a walking route. The Neon Museum and Fremont Street are in our Downtown guide, and Red Rock, Hoover Dam and the Grand Canyon in our day trips guide.

Vegas eats far better than its reputation. The Strip has steakhouses and restaurants from famous chefs, and one big buffet is part of the ritual. Some of the most interesting food, though, is off the Strip, in the Chinatown restaurants along Spring Mountain Road. Book dinner on weekends, and tip in restaurants as you would anywhere in the US.

Las Vegas was a railroad stop in 1905. Nevada legalised gambling in 1931, the same year work began on Hoover Dam, and the dam's workers came into town to spend their pay. The Strip took off after the war with the Flamingo and the Sands, then the mob-era casinos gave way to corporate megaresorts from the late 1980s. The city still demolishes and rebuilds its landmarks every few decades.