Las Vegas in a Day

With its glass pyramid–shaped main building (designed by noted architect Veldon Simpson), this hotel is an appropriate introduction to all things Vegas. There’s a touch of historical accuracy (say howdy to those replicas of the Sphinx and Cleopatra’s Needle) and there’s more than a bit of braggadocio (that light beam is allegedly visible from space).

Though its interior’s King Arthur mythology has been toned down over the years, this castle–shaped resort is still one of the largest in Vegas, and continues to give a sense of what the city was like at its kitsch–and–cash height. Note the battlements, the drawbridge, and even a moat, though the spoilsports ditched the larger–than–life Merlin that used to overlook the realm.

Take the Big Apple’s skyline, squash it down and turn it into a hotel exterior, and presto–you have this pinnacle of over–the–top fantasy Vegas. The Empire State and Chrysler buildings, a half–scale Statue of Liberty, and more are represented in brightly colored, semicartoon detail – and a roller coaster (whose cars appropriately resemble NYC taxis) swooshes through it all. .

The biggest of the big, the MGM Grand’s emerald interior (left over from its original incarnation as an homage to MGM’s most beloved Wizard of Oz) is garish in the daytime, glowing at night, and enormous at all times. The biggest hotel in the U.S., it certainly is the greenest. A stately 100,000–pound (45,359kg) bronze lion guards the entrance beneath high–tech video screens.

More reproductions of famous landmarks (including a two–thirds replica of the Arc de Triomphe), though without much regard to actual geographical location, as the Hôtel de Ville is crammed on top of the Louvre. The $785–million resort is one of the few Strip resorts that still embraces its theme to the max and is no less chic for it. Vive la France!

The best free show in Vegas. Giant spouts send water shooting, dancing, s waying, and even twirling to music ranging from Sinatra to symphonic. A sophisticated lighting array adds a dash of colour to the proceedings. Catch a show and see if you can stop with just one; for a cinematic preview, check out the fountains’ action in the 2001 remake of Ocean’s Eleven.

Vegas’ original, simultaneously goofy and romantic hotel–and one of the oldest venues (it opened in 1966) still extant on the Strip. It’s expanded so much that the Rat Pack wouldn’t recognize it. Watch for the four–sided Bhrama shrine, an 8,000-pound (3,629kg) replica of the venerated Thai Buddhist good-luck landmark, on the north lawn.

This gleaming gold structure cost $630 million (a record when it was built) and set the pattern for pretty much every hotel that followed, down to its mirrored facade and Y shape, to say nothing of the attention–getting outdoor free attractions. The volcano out front doesn't spew lava, but it does set off an entertaining display of fire, lights, and smoke every 15 minutes after dark.

A rather admirable (and $1.5–billion) simulation of Venice featuring part of the Doge’s palace, the Campanile, St. Mark’s Square, and there are even guys in gondolier outfits. All that is missing is the smell from the canals and those pesky attack pigeons. And unlike similar storybook lands at New York–New York and Paris, you can actually wander this Italian cityscape.