USA - Las Vegas
by David Sutcliffe
Landing on a different planet after a 10½ hour flight from Manchester is no longer the stuff of science fiction, it is how you feel when you arrive at McCarran airport, Las Vegas’ international gateway. Just 5 minutes from the infamous ‘Strip’ you know where you are as soon as you land – somewhere very, very different.
Las Vegas is somewhere people either love or loathe. I fall firmly into the first category. Las Vegas is sensory overload, it is all sometimes just too much to consume – where else in the world can you visit Paris, Egypt, New York and Venice in the space of an afternoon.
Aside from the natural wonder that is the Grand Canyon (some 5 hours away by car) the attractions are the hotels, each having it’s own theme, which they recreate very well, and each trying to outdo the other. Some may think of the city as being all froth and no substance, but that would be to do it a disservice. Las Vegas does not pretend to be anything that it isn’t, it is glitzy, brash, opulent and tacky, but it is exciting and entertaining – a feast for every sense.
Las Vegas has drive through weddings, Elvis impersonators, casinos, and the world’s tallest roller coasters. But, it also has the Guggenheim Museum, the Las Vegas Art Museum and some of the best restaurants and bars in the US. The hotels, too, offer outstanding luxury and value. I stayed at the Luxor but other hotels to consider would include the Wynn, the Palms and the Venetian.