VegasDefined

Las Vegas is widely regarded as one of the best cities in terms of leisure and recreation in the United States. Of course, you ability to enjoy the best of what Las Vegas has to offer depends on your being able to get to the top spots in Las Vegas. Here then are the top 10 places to visit in Las Vegas.

1. The Freemont Street: Your visit to Las Vegas certainly won’t be complete without getting to visit this part of the city, where the attraction is, quite ironically, lights and more lights. No, these are not static neon lights hanging out of shop fronts (though there are plenty of those too); but purpose-placed lights, often used for performing various stunts for the visitors (by creating light shows). Fact is, you will never get to see so much canopy light anywhere else in the world as you will see on Freemont street. Just visiting a place to see lights might seem like a frivolous undertaking – unless you get to savor the Freemont Street experience, which in all honesty, makes you feel as if you have been transplanted to another planet; because few places on the world have the type of Aura Freemont Street has. Of course, being just a city street in Las Vegas, Freemont Street does not charge ‘entrance fees’ to people looking to savor its beauty, meaning that this is one of the Las Vegas attractions you can enjoy absolutely free of charge. But then again, if you insist on spending some money here, you can purchase a cola or some lollypop to savor on your trip to Freemont Street.

2. Lion Habitat: Found at the City’s MGM Grand, Las Vegas’ Lion Habitat is one venue you won’t want to give a miss on your visit to the city; especially if you a lover of nature or animals and animal life at large. The name is not a dupe: the Las Vegas Lion Habitat found at the City’s MGM grand is indeed home to quite a number of life lions; and it could be a roar from one of these that alerts you to the fact that you gotten to the habitat. If you are visiting Las Vegas with your young ones, be sure to visit this particular attraction; but also be ready for a lot of questions about these amazing animals. To be sure, the lions in Las Vegas Lion Habitat at the city’s MGM grand are in captivity (living indoors as they do); but that doesn’t seem to strip them off too much of their lion character. The beauty of the Lion habitat, of course, is that a visit to it is absolutely free of charge; quite a remarkable fact keeping in mind that spots of this nature tend to charge considerable amounts of money for admission to visitors.

3. Hoover Dam: While the Hoover Dam, which is widely regarded as one of the greatest man-made wonders of the world isn’t in Las Vegas (downturn) city proper, at just about 48 kilometers from the city (and being well connected to the city by a number of public transport options), the Hoover dam is one place you can manage to visit quite conveniently if you have the will to. Hoover Dam, which at one point of its life was the largest concrete structure in the world, has a surface area of over 640 square kilometers, spanning to a height over 200 meters above ground at its highest. A road passes right on top of it, giving visitors the opportunity to savor it from a vantage point. Besides the dam, which is an attraction by itself for its sheer enormity, some of the gothic buildings that make up the wider Hoover Dam facilities are architectural masterpieces; and for lovers of fine architecture, these are additional attractions to the Hoover dam. A visit to the Hoover dam will also bring you to one of the few marked time zone borders in the world, so that at one point on the dam you are on PST (Pacific Standard Time); and at another point on the dam you are on Mountain Time Zone! The best things in life are free, and besides the investment you make in transport to get to Hoover Dam from downtown Las Vegas, no other charge is levied to visitors to this dam.

4.Stratosphere Tower: Previously known as ‘Vegas World’ when it came up in the late 90s (at around 1996), Stratosphere Tower is America’s tallest observation tower, towering to over 350 meters above the ground; which translates to over 1,100 feet in American measuring units. The Stratosphere Tower, as one comes to learn when visiting, is part of the Stratosphere Las Vegas complex, home to a popular hotel (and of course a casino), alongside the tower. The hotel at the Stratosphere Tower is one of the biggest in Las Vegas, at 2,400+ rooms, with the Casino in it being a very unique one too in a number of ways. At the very top of the tower is a couple of observation decks, from where you get to see Las Vegas and beyond from a vantage point. To cater for the culinary needs of visitors to the tower and make the visit to the tower an even more memorable experience, there is a very fine restaurant at the very top of the Las Vegas Stratosphere Tower. Also operated from the Stratosphere Tower is the world’s highest Thrill ride, called the ‘Big Shot,’ as well the world’s second and third highest thrill rides on various points of the tower

5. Circus Circus: If you are a lover of circus, or if you are visiting Las Vegas with your young ones, the visit certainly won’t be complete without a visit to the city’s Circus Circus. This is a truly entertaining circus experience, and even if you are not a circus lover, you might still at least consider making a visit to this one, just for once. Circus Circus, as you will come to learn while visiting, has a lot more to offer in addition to the circus entertainment. Bellow the circus, for instance, is a Casino you might also want to try your luck at, if you are a lover of casinos. You can, of course, bypass the casino if it is not your fancy, and head straight up into the Circus Circus which is located on top of the casino. Notably, this is not one of those seasonal Circuses where you try your lucky whether there might be or might not be show going on, as there is always a show at the Circus Circus at every time of the day, and on every day of the week. And did we mention that the entertainment at Circus Circus is absolutely free of charge? Well, it is.

6. White Tiger Lair: This is yet another spot you won’t want to give a miss while visiting Las Vegas, if you are an animal lover. But even if you not an animal lover, the White Tiger Lair is one of the places you can get to visit and see what it is that people find so fascinating in animals. If you are visiting Las Vegas with your kids, and you want to get for them some clean and wholesome entertainment, too, the White Tiger Lair is one of the places to do just that, but with a caveat: be ready to answers lots of question about these amazing felines that are said to be among the fastest in the world. History has it that the White Tiger Lair is a creation of Mirage, who popularized the white tiger some years back; where the lair was created as a ‘retirement home’ for the tigers after quite a considerable period of ‘amazing service.’ Oh, and another interesting factor you might get to know about the White Tiger Lair is that admission to it is absolutely free of charge – so you really don’t have to worry about the cost factor. This makes a great place to visit when you happen to find yourself short of money while on a visit to Las Vegas.

7. Floyd Lamb Park: Located at Tule Springs in Las Vegas, Floyd Lamb Park is home to many of Las Vegas’ chief natural attractions. When many visitors get to Las Vegas, they image that this city which is obviously so rich in man-made attractions is short on natural attractions. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth – and to get evidence to this fact, the place to pay a visit to is the Floyd Lamb Park. The Floyd Lamb Park in question, by the way, is not a petty affair: we are looking at a park that encompasses more than 8 square kilometers, covering more than 2,000 acres in between. Among the attractions to be savored at the Floyd Lamb Park include an archaeological site and an olden ranch as well as the Tule springs (and oasis) whose presence is cited as one of the factors that caused the location of Las Vegas at the location it is to be found at, which incidentally is a desert. Unless you are die-hard casino enthusiast who would visit Las Vegas purely to partake of its gambling venues, it will indeed be quite hard to prove that you have indeed gotten to visit Las Vegas without having gotten to visit the Floyd Lamb Park.

8. Las Vegas Springs Reserve: The Las Vegas Springs Reserve is yet another impressive example of Las Vegas’ 12+ parks. Although a much modest property (at just about 180 acres) compared to Floyd Lamp’s 2,200 acres, Las Vegas Springs Reserve nevertheless makes for an impressive park by any standards; home to a great variety of natural and man-made attractions. A gardening enthusiast, for instance, would be sure to enjoy a visit the botanical gardens in the park, while a history enthusiast will be sure to enjoy a visit to one of the museum galleries in the Las Vegas Springs Reserve. The botanical gardens in Las Vegas Springs Reserve are notable in that they house some hard-to-find plants that only grow in deserts, and which are a reminder that when all is said and done Las Vegas is still a ‘desert city.’ You might even be lucky to find one or another outdoor concert taking place at Las Vegas Springs Reserve, as many such concerts are held here regularly. If you have the time, you can also check out what is on offer in the indoor theater which is part of this park, or simply take a nature walk in this extremely beautiful park. In case you are hosting an event in Las Vegas and are looking for a good venue, Las Vegas Springs reserve is one such place you can consider for the purpose, as it also hires out event venues.

9. Bellagio Fountain Show: If you happen to have a few minutes to spare in between your various escapades in Las Vegas, be sure to make it to the Bellagio Hotel and Casino – and get to witness the spectacular Bellagio fountain show. This, by the way, is not just another fountain in a city – but quite a remarkable fountain – which shoots its water hundreds of feet high. If you are coming with your young ones to Las Vegas, and want to keep them thoroughly entertained, this is definitely one place you will want them to get to; though even you yourself will definitely also get impressed with the whole thing. Bellow the fountain is quite a spectacular lake (where the water that shoots into the air lands); and if water inspires serenity in you and you happen to be perturbed for some reason, this would definitely be one of the places for you to give a visit to go for a bit of reprieve. Oh, and unless you will be partaking of the goodies at the Bellagio hotel and casino, viewing the fountain show of itself would be absolutely free of charge; so you need not worry about costs as you head there.

10. Sports Hall of Fame: If you are a sports lover visiting Las Vegas, the city’s Sports Hall of Fame is one of the best places you should make an effort to give a visit. To be sure, the Sports Hall of Fame, which is located at the popular Las Vegas Club is a history-oriented places, so that it is not a place to head looking to catch some sporting action taking place, but rather a place that is home to quite a remarkable collection of sports memorabilia spanning a considerable portion of Las Vegas’ recent history. Don’t let the fact that the Las Vegas Sports Hall of Fame is part of the Las Vegas Club scare you into imagining that you might not afford it, because to be sure, a visit to the Sports Hall of Fame (of itself) is actually absolutely free of charge. The fact that you can get to visit the Las Vegas Sports Hall of Fame absolutely free of charge makes it a great place to visit if you happen to have some free time you are looking to dispose off while visiting Las Vegas, or in between your various scheduled activities in Las Vegas. All in all, a visit to the Las Vegas Sports Hall of Fame is something you will greatly enjoy (and come out of having learnt quite a number of things about Las Vegas rich sport scene) if you set aside just a little time for it.