Las Vegas: what to see in 1 day

The Bellagio makes a good starting point: in front of the entrance, the artificial lake hosts dancing fountain shows to music every half hour, while inside the hall ceiling is covered by thousands of hand-blown glass flowers signed by Dale Chihuly.

Crossing the Strip you reach the Caesars Palace, with its columns and statues in Roman style, and just further The Venetian, where artificial canals with costumed gondoliers recreate Venice's interiors under a painted sky blue ceiling.

Continuing south you meet the Eiffel Tower in reduced scale at Paris Las Vegas, climbable for a view over the entire Strip.

For lunch, the buffets inside the major resorts remain a quick option to sample different cuisines without leaving the route.

The Fremont Street Experience, in the city's historic center, is a vaulted covering five blocks long, covered by millions of LED lights that project audiovisual shows over visitors' heads in the evening.

Those wanting to escape the artificial lights find instead, about thirty kilometers from the Strip, the Red Rock Canyon: its red sandstone walls offer a landscape completely different.

With evening falling, returning to the Strip, the Bellagio returns as a protagonist: the fountains dance also at night, illuminated by the reflections of surrounding skyscrapers, before dinner in one of the restaurants facing the lake.

Bellagio, Caesars Palace, and The Venetian manage to return the fantasy aesthetic of the Strip, while the afternoon choice between Fremont Street and Red Rock Canyon adds the historic downtown or surrounding desert.

The large concert arenas and themed museums remain chapters to postpone to another trip. Seeing the Bellagio fountains dance at night, with the reflections of skyscrapers on the water, is perhaps the most direct image of Las Vegas.