TRAVEL: DESTINATION “INTERNATIONAL” LAS VEGAS
VEGAS OFFERS A MICROCOSM OF EUROPEAN ATTRACTIONS ONLY MORE GLITZY
Would you like to go on an unforgettable European vacation– without the hassle of actually traveling to Europe? Then head to Las Vegas, baby!
Vegas has it all. Quaint Parisian cafes. Venetian canals that have gondoliers crooning classic Italian love songs. Even an authentic Irish pub makes you think you’ve taken a trip back to the “Old Sod.”
A great place to start your whirlwind international tour is by seeing a couple of world famous landmarks, the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe. Both have been recreated in splendid detail at the Paris Las Vegas Hotel. The original 110-year-old architectural drawings were used to replicate the fifty-story tall Eiffel Tower.
It has a glass elevator so visitors can enjoy a panoramic view of Vegas from the observation deck. Eleven stories up, the Eiffel Tower restaurant also provides a great view and an elegant place to dine.
The “Le Boulevard” district at the Paris hotel-resort-casino offers the best “French experience.” It is an entire French village nestled next to the casino area, with quaint cobblestone streets.
There are winding alleyways that are lined with an array of boutiques and shops selling wine and cheese, gifts and apparel, plus a bakery and pastry emporium. And the numerous cafes are authentic, minus the rude Parisian waiters.
If you want a classic French-flavored show check out the Tropicana Hotel’s famous “Follies Bergere” production. This show is what everyone imagines when they think of gorgeous and wild French showgirls in glitter, feathers and towering headdresses, strutting their stuff in elaborate production numbers.
The “Follies Bergere” is Las Vegas’ longest running extravaganza. The show includes a salute to the Can-Can dancers from the Toulouse Lautrec era, recreating those golden days of Paris in all its bawdy glory.
To enjoy a fabulous Italian experience, The Venetian is the place to go. Not only is the hotel’s façade a recreation of the impressive Doge’s Palace in Venice, but you can go on gondola rides inside and outside of the resort, along a quarter-mile of their own Grand Canal.
The shops that line the canals on the second level at the Venetian will have you strolling down stone walkways, encountering art and gift stores, fashion boutiques, cafes and fine restaurants.
A spacious piazza, St. Mark’s Square, has musicians, opera singers and street performers creating a magical mood beneath an ever-changing Venetian sky.
For a trip to Ireland visit the “Nine Fine Irishmen” pub in the heart of the New York-New York hotel’s colorfully recreated ethnic neighborhood.
From the moment you walk into the pub you’ll be whisked back to the Emerald Isle. A large stone hearth is the centerpiece of the place, which adds to the warm atmosphere as you sip your Guinness at the friendly bar. And occasionally a petite Irish lass comes out to perform some Riverdance-style numbers.
It’s all part of the international flavor of Las Vegas.
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