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The Bellagio |
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Freelance writer David Hofstede has covered Las Vegas for 20 years, chronicling it’s attributes and excesses. He's a contributor to the America Online CityGuide Las Vegas website and to books about Las Vegas. Here he names the five spots no visitor should miss Click to view Top 5 Las Vegas.
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Best Casino (The Bellagio) |
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 If you only go to one casino, make it The Bellagio, the crowning achievement of Vegas resort impresario Steve Wynn, a stunning billion-dollar resort that embodies what Vegas aspires to in the 21st century. |
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It's a display of class, not kitsch; gourmet dining, not chow line buffets; and entertainment that rivals Broadway and the West End, instead of concerts from performers who peaked 30 years ago. So grand is the bounty of the Bellagio that when its creator tried to set an even higher standard in 2004 with the Wynn Las Vegas resort, he fell considerably short.
It’s expensive to stay in one of the resort’s 3,000 rooms, and the dining and show opportunities come at a premium cost as well. But it’s also possible to spend a day at the Bellagio taking in marvellous sights while spending next to nothing.
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 Start your visit in the hotel lobby, and look up and wonder at the colorful Dale Chihuly glass sculpture chandelier. Just off the lobby is the Bellagio Conservatory, a quiet sanctuary of more than 7,500 flowers, impeccably maintained by a staff of 100 horticulturalists. Caring for the plants is a full-time job, but the result is one of the city’s most pristine beauty spots. Try to see it once by day, when natural light pours in through the glass ceiling, and again by night, when the stars are visible overhead and subtle lighting makes the room seem like an enchanted garden.
The Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art hosts touring exhibits from such artists as Monet, Renoir and photographer Ansel Adams. Admission is just $15, and includes a self-guided audio tour.
The resort is also home to one of the best free shows in town. The Fountains of Bellagio perform a sensational water ballet on the eight-acre lake in front of the hotel. The show is created by 1,200 water cannons that create swaying plumes of water spanning 100 feet across, and soaring 240 feet into the air. Music accompanies the show and changes with every performance.
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| Tiffany, Armani, Gucci ... |
 Still have some time? There’s window shopping at Tiffany, Armani and Gucci on the elegant Via Bellagio, or strolling through the lovely pool terrace, modelled after an Italian villa. By now, you may be so in love with Bellagio that you won’t mind dropping some money in the casino, enjoying a wonderful meal at Le Cirque, left, or Picasso, or taking in Vegas’s best show, “O”.
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