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Your Adventure in Las Vegas Life Adventure in Las Vegas

The bright lights and fast pace of Las Vegas attract millions, but this vibrant metropolis is rich in history and attractions that show off its softer side. Our glittery guide takes you from the Strip to the slopes, with some surprising stops along the way. Let’s get moving!

By Amanda Gleason

Stay here:

Loews Lake Las Vegas Situated on its serene namesake lake, this family-friendly resort offers daily kids camps, with activities like ice-skating and scavenger hunts.

Artisan Hotel Boutique Parisian art and Gothic paintings adorn this gaming-free hotel, which boasts uniquely decorated rooms.

The Cosmopolitan Sample cuisine from 13 restaurants, including Estiatorio Milos, where guests pick their catch from an indoor fish market.

Indulge your tastebuds on a…

Culinary Crawl

No time to research restaurants? Leave it to the pros, on a three-hour Taste of the Strip Walking Tour. Beginning in the lobby of the Cosmopolitan hotel (see left), gourmands make four food stops to sample raved-about grub as guides dish on the city’s history along the way. Start with a cocktail at the hotel’s multilevel Chandelier Bar, rumored to be studded with 2 million crystals, before devouring a slice at Secret Pizza, tucked away next to the pool tables at the end of an unmarked hallway on the third floor. To taste what happens when East meets West, grab a pork taco from China Poblano, then cross the street to Caesars Palace to continue the triangular theme for dessert: an oozing slice of chocolate pizza at Max Brenners.

Do your browsing at...

Crystals at CityCenter Shoppers swoon at this 500,000-square-foot retail mecca, featuring high-end names like Cavalli and Vuitton.

Neon Museum Boneyard Delve into the city’s flashy past by making an appointment to tour this two-acre park, home to some 150 vintage casino, motel, and business signs, dating to the 1930s.

Take in a breath of fresh air on a…

Nature Jaunt

Before the neon lights and ringing slot machines, Las Vegas was home to bubbling springs, which sustained travelers on the Old Spanish Trail. Today visitors can tour the Las Vegas Springs Preserve, a 180-acre site built around this original water source, to learn about the city’s history, climate, plants, and animals. Wander through the Origen Museum, where you can witness a simulated flash flood or see native animals, such as Gila monsters, desert cottontails, and gray foxes. Green thumbs will appreciate the walking trails and eight-acre botanical garden, containing more than 1,200 species of plants. To top it off, the newly reopened Nevada State Museum, also on-site, invites you to step inside a model cave or view footage from ’50s-era atomic-bomb testing. Now that’s Vegas, baby!

Save your appetite and visit…

Sugar Factory American Brasserie Sip on a steaming cup of raspberry, banana, or coconut hot chocolate inside this sweets lovers’ paradise.

Market Café Vdara Get your grub to-go at this boutique eatery offering panini, pastries, and, for all you do-it-yourselfers, groceries.

Vintner Grill Reserve a heated patio cabana and sample some of the 60 varieties of cheese on the menu, such as burrata and housemade camembert.

Reach higher ground on an…

Alpine Joyride

Snow-capped mountains, evergreen landscapes, and temps in the 30s. No, it’s not an illusion—it’s Las Vegas Ski & Snowboard Resort, located about an hour from downtown in the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest. Ascend winding roads to Mount Charleston, where you’ll take on any of the resort’s 16 ski trails. Kids and adults alike can sign up for a beginner’s class, to get schooled on safety, turning, and stopping. If flips and tricks and snowboards are more your style, head over to The Strip Terrain Park to freestyle with table-top and rail jumps. And if, like many pursuits in Vegas, you decide to give this a go on a whim, the resort offers clothing and equipment rental, as well as a café and full-service bar to toast to your courage.

Cap off your evening at…

Gilley’s At this honkytonk—complete with barbecue and mechanical bull—urban cowfolks twirl the floor to live country music every Friday and Saturday night.

Double Down Saloon Rowdy rockers perform free shows inside this dive bar, home of the bacon martini.

Minus5° Ice Bar Named for its chilling temps, this igloo-like bar features walls, glasses, everything—carved out of Canadian ice.

Prepare for takeoff on a…

Windblown Lift

Experience the sensation of a free fall—without actually jumping! Adrenaline junkies can earn their wings at Las Vegas Indoor Skydiving, where, after a 20-minute training session, your daredevil dream will be fulfilled in a 22-foot vertical wind tunnel. Lie in the center of the trampoline-like meshing and brace yourself for the up-to-120-mile-per-hour winds about to launch your body skyward. Seasoned instructors are there to guide, spin, and flip you during flight, but fear not—foam-padded walls buffer any unwanted impact. Groups of up to five share a session, with each person averaging three minutes of airtime (up to five times the amount you’d get on an actual jump). “I love being able to just take off and fly with little preparation,” Katie Oehler, an instructor at the facility, says. “We all dream of flying and here that dream comes true.”

Getting There Fly into McCarran International Airport (LAS), just a few miles off of the Strip.

Getting Around The Las Vegas Monorail ($5 per ride) offers easy access to the Strip. Eager to explore farther? RTC Transit buses ($7 for a day pass) cover the area from downtown Vegas to surrounding cities.

Getting Out Through January 8, visitors can circle the largest ice-skating rink on the Strip, located in front of the Venetian casino.

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