Downtown: The Las Vegas Strip is best seen at dusk when the lights show. Children will enjoy Wet ‘n’ Wild, a water park on the Strip, and the Lied Discovery Children’s Museum. Fremont Street Experience is a pedestrian mall dominated by gaming. For something different, the Marjorie Barrick Museum of Natural History houses exhibitions of the archaeology and natural history of the Mojave Desert, whilst the Old Las Vegas Mormon Fort Historic Park is the site of the first settlement of Las Vegas, and the Nevada State Museum and Historical Society explains southern Nevada’s history. The Liberace Museum contains memorabilia from the world-famous pianist, and show business fans should also visit the (Debbie) Reynolds Hollywood Movie Museum, a presentation of film and collectables from "Hollywood’s Golden Era". The Guinness World of Records Museum is an interesting exhibition based on the famous book.

Restaurants: Las Vegas is becoming world-renowned for its restaurants and every conceivable taste is catered for, whether it is a seven-course gourmet meal or a custom hamburger. Diners can choose from seafood, steak, southwestern, Continental, Italian, Mexican, Chinese, Japanese and Brazilian. The ultimate eating experience is the Las Vegas buffet: the Golden Nugget Buffet, the Las Vegas Hilton, the Palatium Buffet at Caesars Palace, the Grand Evening Buffet, Maxim and the World’s Fare Buffet at The Riviera are all worth a visit. DIVE! blends the sights and sounds of an underwater submarine voyage with the unique taste of gourmet submarine sandwiches and wood roasted-entrees. Voted best Sunday Brunch in Las Vegas in 1994 and 1995, Alias Smith & Jones offers excellent steaks and chicken. Roxy’s Diner is a 1950s-style diner, serving thick milkshakes in tall, frosted glasses, sandwiches, burgers and a selection of blue-plate specials. The Stage Deli of Las Vegas is at the Forum Shops at Caesars. Specialty items are flown in from the world-famous New York Stage Deli, offering a full line of breakfast, lunch and dinner. Spago features celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck’s ‘California Cuisine’, which emphasizes fresh, locally produced ingredients incorporating the cuisines of Europe, the Orient, Latin America and the USA to create an eclectic menu.

Shopping: Vast malls display a wide range of products: the Forum Shops at Caesars, the Fashion Show Mall, the Boulevard Mall (the largest shopping centre in Nevada), the Meadows Mall (with 140 shops and restaurants), and the Factory Outlet District are all popular.

Hotel-casinos: The 3049-room Mirage Hotel-Casino displays a man-made volcano. Nearby, the Treasure Island features Buccaneer Bay with a full-scale pirate ship and British frigate engaged in battle. The MGM Grand Hotel & Theme Park is the largest resort hotel in the world. There is also The Excalibur, with 4000 rooms, built in the style of a medieval castle, and (linked to The- Excalibur by monorail) The Luxor, with a full-scale reproduction of King Tut’s tomb.

Getting married: More than 35 wedding chapels operate throughout the metropolitan area including some in the major hotels. The Little White Chapel, 1301 Las Vegas Boulevard South, where Joan Collins was married, now has a 24-hour drive-through window.

Travel: The Las Vegas McCarran International Airport, with slot machines in the terminal, is 1.6km (1 mile) from the Strip, and 8km (5 miles) from Downtown Las Vegas. There are more than 965 cabs, 325 limousines, and 16 bus and/or charter firms serving the district. The Citizen Area Transit (CAT) is a public transportation company that operates 31 routes throughout the Las Vegas metropolitan area, and one route in Laughlin.

Climate: The average temperature is 66°F (19°C ) and the average yearly rainfall is 10.7cm (4.2 inches). There are 212 clear days annually, 82 partly cloudy days and 71 cloudy days.

There is plenty to see in the Las Vegas Territory outside of the town itself. The Spring Mountains are good for winter sports (Mount Charleston is 1615m (5300ft) higher than Los Angeles, and 30ºF (-1ºC) cooler). Lake Mead and Lake Mohave are contained in the vast (1.5 million acre) Lake Mead National Recreation Area. Hoover Dam has a new visitor centre, where tourists can see right over the edge of the Black Canyon precipice. At the north of Lake Mead is the Valley of Fire State Park, with its fascinating landscape of naturally carved red sandstone. The nearby Moapa Valley was the site of Nevada’s first city.

In Boulder City, the Black Canyon River Raft Tour is a 19km (12 miles), rapid-free raft trip, beginning at Hoover Dam. Hoover Dam itself was completed in 1935, and is the highest dam in the Western Hemisphere. The Hoover Dam Museum houses historical artifacts relating to the workers and construction of the dam and Boulder City. The River Mountain Hiking Trail is a 8km (5 miles) round trip with spectacular views of Lake Mead and Las Vegas Valley.

The Ethel M Chocolate Factory & Cactus Garden in Henderson shows how chocolates are made; the cactus garden includes 350 species of cacti. The Davis Dam in Laughlin is a 61m (200ft) high earth-filled dam. The USS Riverside is a luxury casino cruiser which has been designed to pass under the Laughlin Bridge. Bonnie Springs in Old Nevada is an old Western town. The Lost City Museum in Overton houses exhibitions featuring the Anasazi Indians and early Moapa Valley settlers.