Destination: Las Vegas
 Las Vegas is located in the Las Vegas Valley, a desert surrounded by the Spring Mountains and the Sierra Nevada. Las Vegas serves as the center of one of the fastest-growing metropolitan areas in the United States. Its population has multiplied by a factor of 30 since the 1940s-more than that of any other major American city. Las Vegas is renowned for tourism, gaming, a dry and vigorous climate, and an assortment of indoor and outdoor recreational activities. The city is also booming in manufacturing and industrial employment, in the construction of new houses, and in the creation of new service jobs.
Often referred to as "The Jewel of the Desert," Las Vegas has long been recognized as the entertainment vacation capital of the country, and the Las Vegas Strip sparkles like no other place on earth. More than 31 million visitors from all around the world are drawn to the lights of the Strip each year to experience its unique blend of exciting entertainment, scenic beauty, and lavishly landscaped resorts.
When to go
You should factor at least two criteria into your travel plans: the weather and conventions. The summers are hot and the winters are cool, making spring and fall the best times to visit. February, March and November are busy convention months, with over 200,000 conventioneers in town over each of these months. These colossal crowds are costly; hotels raise room rates and buffet prices when these large groups come to town. Depending on your intentions, you may want to miss New Year's Eve as well, and avoid the week before Christmas when the city's revues are shut down. Short-stay visitors should know that hotel rates are typically 10-20% lower from Sunday through Thursday.
Glitter Gulch
The blocks around the intersection of Fremont and Main Streets in downtown Las Vegas are known as Glitter Gulch. The first neon sign in the city went up here in 1929; now millions of lightbulbs and miles of neon tubing bathe the Gulch in perpetual daylight. This is where you'll find Vegas Vic and his pal Sassy Sal - two of the best-known neon icons in the country. Some of the city's most famous casinos are in the Gulch, including the Golden Nugget and the Gold Spike, as are most of its strip clubs.
The Strip
The Strip is a corridor of hotels and casinos lining I-15 a few miles south of downtown. If you're staying on The Strip, the best ways to get around are the inexpensive shuttle buses and trams that run between the big casinos and hotels 24 hours a day. It is along the Strip that you will find an array of theme hotels and resorts, which can transport a visitor to various exotic realms - from a medieval castle to a Parisian sidewalk cafe, a lakeside Italian village, or a pyramid in ancient Egypt.
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