Viva Las Vegas!

I’ve always assumed Las Vegas is very much like Marmite – you either love it or hate it. I wasn’t sure which camp I would be in and there was only one way to find out! As part of a trip designed to visit several US National Parks we were starting with the Grand Canyon, a mere four-hour road trip from Vegas, so that decided our starting point.

On arrival it looms out of the desert like some kind of neon-lit oasis – totally unlike anything else for miles around. To try to get our body clocks back on track we’d booked a Cirque du Soleil performance on our arrival night – sure to make you keep your eyes open! With six different shows currently in residence there’s bound to be one that takes your fancy. Otherwise, choose from the huge range of singing megastars and musicals available at the hotels – tickets can be pre-ordered before you travel.

The next morning I’d (deliberately) booked an early tour of Downtown Vegas – a 15-minute taxi (we used Lyft rather than Uber) which would have taken us 45 minutes to walk, just to give you an idea of the scale of the city. Rick from Urban Adventures gave us the insider’s guide to all things Downtown, from the original Strip to the mob influence and even Winston Churchill’s billiard table – after all, Rick was responsible for founding the Neon Museum there, so if he didn’t know something it wasn’t worth knowing.

It was at this point we realised you might not love all of Vegas, but you will certainly find something to like about it. Downtown is enjoying a bit of a renaissance right now, with the revitalisation of the canopy on Freemont Street, local street art and the Container Park featuring local stores, bars and restaurants – we loved it so much we came back that night to check out the more low-key nightlife you’ll find here – there’s no escaping the neon though!