Coucou les bichettes,
I’m delighted to be back with you this weekend to share another article about our trip to the United States. Although I must admit, it’s with a heavy heart that I tell you about the city I loved so much: Las Vegas. Indeed, it’s impossible not to think of what happened recently… But in a way, I’d like to pay tribute to this city today. Indeed, despite all the madness, I’d like to make you want to fall in love with Vegas.
We came to Las Vegas after our stay in Los Angeles.
A 4-hour drive separates the two towns. As you get closer, the thermometer climbs, eventually reaching 40° (in summer)! It’s easy to see why the city is so air-conditioned 🙂 At night, the temperature barely drops, and it’s still nearly 35° at midnight on the Strip! But I’ll tell you about that later. I advise you to stay in Vegas for at least two days, as there’s so much to see. Personally, we passed through Vegas for the first time, staying one night at the Circus Circus. We discovered the Strip by day and night, and I visited the Neon Museum. The second time, a week later, before heading off to Death Valley, we visited Downtown (more on that later): a must-see!
An amusement park in a hotel: it exists in Vegas!
On arrival, we head straight to our hotel to collect our room. We’ve booked a room at the Circus Circus. Mind you, it’s a long way from the center of the Strip, so you’ll have to travel by car or shuttle bus, but I’ll give you a tip on how to avoid paying for parking! Once we’ve parked our car in the hotel’s free self-parking area, we head for reception. In the lobby, I understand why I’m going to love Vegas! The Circus Circus lives up to its name. The front is a big top, and inside is a real amusement park, with roller coasters and games for young and old. Everything is done to make you consume! At check-in, the employee offers us a room high up in the Skyrise tower, much to our delight. By the way, if you want to stay there, make sure you don’t end up in the “Manor Motor”, which is older and, above all, off-center from the hotel. And if you’re a family, access to the pool is free! But we didn’t have time to enjoy it 🙂 Too many things to see and do.
Before reaching our floor, we pass a number of stores within the hotel, including a Starbuck’s offering breakfast (not included in the room rate). Of course, the slot machines are also there to tempt you into swallowing your first dollars. When we arrived in our room, we were pleasantly surprised. The hotel is very quiet, and the beds are king-size and super-comfortable.
Casinos, incredible hotels and boutiques: welcome to the Strip
Before parking the car, we start by driving up and down the Strip to the famous “Welcome to the fabulous Las Vegas” sign just past Mandala Bay (south of Vegas). This allows us to admire all the hotels, and take a moment to feel like Bruno Mars in his 24K Magic video!
We take the opportunity to take a few photos. You have to be patient, though, as many tourists are there to immortalize the moment!
We then set off again for a free parking lot in the middle of the Strip. It’s the Miracle Mile Shop / Planet Hollywood self-park. For shopping addicts like me, this is hell (joke). Stores everywhere, making you want to buy everything! 🙂
We chose to visit the Mandala Bay, the Luxor and the Excalibur before I discovered the Neon Museum: my favorite Vegas attraction 🙂 Good to know: from the Mandala Bay, you can take a free aerial streetcar to the other hotels. There are three that run between certain hotels:
- streetcar between Bellagio – City Center – Monte Carlo: every 10 minutes between 8 a.m. and 4 a.m.
- streetcar between Treasure Island and Mirage: every 10 minutes between 9 a.m. and 1 a.m. and 3 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays
- streetcar between Excalibur – Luxor – Mandalay Bay: runs every 5 minutes between 7 a.m. and 2 a.m.
The Neon Museum: Vegas’ temple to old neon lights
If you’d like to take this guided tour, I’d advise you to plan ahead and buy your ticket on the website, as it’s often fully booked. I was very lucky as I only booked 3 or 4 days in advance and had room for the 7pm tour. I find this schedule perfect because you start the tour at sunset. First the neon lights are switched off, then 40 min later, the magic happens when the bulbs come on :). The tour costs $19 and is only in English, but I have absolutely no regrets, as I had a lot of fun shooting the old signs that have made Vegas such a success.
After the tour, we’re off to dinner at one of our favorite U.S. restaurants, Sweet Tomatoes. It’s a chain with unbeatable value for money. The concept is a salad bar and all-you-can-eat buffet for $12 ($6 for children under 12).
At the end of the evening, we return to the Strip to discover the illuminated hotel façades and the incredible water jets of the Bellagio. We take the opportunity to enter the Coca Cola and M&M’s stores. Before heading back to the hotel, it’s impossible not to break the bank… We play a few dollars in the slot machines… And leave with 20 dollars 🙂
Trump Tower and Las Vegas Downtown
As I mentioned at the start of this article, we were able to visit Vegas again a week later. This gave us the opportunity to visit Trump Tower, ride the Roller Coaster at the New York New York hotel and, above all, end the evening in Vegas’ Dowtown, with its famous Fremont Street.
The four of us are big fans of thrill rides. So we decided to try out the famous “The Big Apple Coaster”. The price isn’t cheap ($15 per person), but it’s well worth the detour. Looping and a great view of the Strip.
Then it’s on to Las Vegas Downtown. On the way, we’re obliged to make a few stops!
First of all, to photograph the “Wedding Chapels”: so kitsch but so funny! In fact, we came across two weddings with pink limousines and dresses straight out of the 80s 🙂
Our second stop is near thePawn Shop. If you watch television from time to time, you’ve almost certainly come across this show where salesmen buy all sorts of items from customers. You can find some real nuggets here (singers’ gold records, vintage toys etc.). It’s their store! It’s really fun to get inside.
Fremont Street Experience
For Fremont Street, it’s best to arrive around 8:00 pm. Why is that? Because the street has the distinction of being covered by a giant screen for a length of around 460 meters, on which visual and musical Shows are regularly projected, starting at this hour. The city’s oldest casinos are lined up, their neon lights beautifully illuminated. Overhead, don’t be surprised to see people pretending to be Superman! The attraction is called SlotZilla Zip Line. It’s quite expensive (almost $50 for a long 2-minute ride in the prone position, but it looks incredible). If you want to do it, I advise you to book directly on the site, as there are long queues.
On the other hand, unlike the Strip, the street is much “livelier”! By which I mean it’s better to be with teenagers than young children! There are plenty of naked women offering to take photos, and a lot of homeless people wandering the streets. But don’t worry, the police are on the lookout and the atmosphere is really cool.
At the end of Fremont Street, you can try the greasiest burger in the world! It’s the Heart Attack Grill. This themed restaurant welcomes you with waitresses dressed as nurses. They ask customers to don hospital gowns, and serve menus that are openly high in calories and dangerous to health. Customers weighing over 175 kg eat for free if they are weighed by a “doctor” (the chef/manager) or “nurse” (waitress) before each burger. If you don’t finish your burger, you even get a spanking!
If you continue your stroll on the other side of the street, you’ll come across“Container Park“, a really nice place to eat, have a drink, relax or find nice, original souvenirs. Many events and concerts are organized here.
That’s it, darlings, the Vegas tour is over!
I hope you enjoyed it and, above all, that it made you want to spend some time there. Frankly, the city left me with very good memories. After all, it’s not so much the city of debauchery. I found it really beautiful, with a lot of history. It’s really worth the detour.
See you soon for new adventures! I’ll introduce you to the national parks in the next article! More beautiful images to come.
I look forward to reading your comments! See you soon.
I send you my love.
