Renting a car in Las Vegas

A little anecdote about renting a car. In Las Vegas, the rental agent gave us a category of rental, and out in the lot we got to choose which car we wanted to leave with (within that category, obviously). But it took us a while to figure that out, and to navigate the lot looking for the vehicle!

Where we stayed

We had booked the Golden Nugget hotel through Hotels.com. Although it's far from the Strip, it was a good compromise between the price and the newer hotels on the Strip. Comfortable, with parking included (very useful with the rental car), close to the highway exit. And with everything you need for a good stay!

Coldplay show

Both concerts at Allegiant Stadium were sold out and were described as an immersive, transcendent experience. Impressive visual production: the band is known for its elaborate shows, and the Vegas concerts were no exception. The stadium was lit up by the LED wristbands handed out to the 50,000 spectators, creating an ocean of lights synchronized with the music. Confetti rained down on the crowd at the start of the show. Inflatable LED spheres and giant video screens were also part of the staging. An energetic setlist: the performance ran more than two hours, with about twenty songs mixing the great classics and recent tracks from the album Moon Music. The concert opened with the hit Higher Power. The evening as a whole was described as "an ode to love, peace and environmental responsibility". The singer's charisma: frontman Chris Martin was praised for his humour, his warmth and his connection with the crowd, which made even an enormous stadium feel intimate. What a magical night! Seeing Coldplay in Las Vegas will remain one of the high points of our trip. Between the light-up wristbands that turn the crowd into an ocean of stars, the fireworks, the coloured confetti and Chris Martin's spellbinding voice, the show was a genuine explosion of emotion. A grand performance, worthy of the excess of Vegas.

Red Rock Canyon

Just 30 minutes from the Strip, Red Rock Canyon showed us a completely different face of Nevada. Its huge rock formations in shades of red, orange and ochre stand in striking contrast with the brilliant blue of the desert sky. The 21 km scenic drive, punctuated by hiking trails and spectacular viewpoints, is a delight for anyone who loves the outdoors. Red Rock Canyon belongs to the arid country of the Mojave Desert. The little canyon of Las Vegas. Worth doing if you don't have time to get to the Grand Canyon. It's worth the trip, but depending on the time you have, go for Death Valley instead, which is a must-do according to the advice we were given. Not having visited it is our one regret from the trip. 

Valley of Fire

Nevada's first state park, the Valley of Fire lives up to its name: its red sandstone formations seem literally to catch fire under the desert sun. You'll find lunar landscapes sculpted by time, Indigenous petroglyphs more than 2,000 years old, and emblematic sites such as Fire Wave, Elephant Rock and the Seven Sisters. A real favourite, as though you were walking on Mars!  The Valley of Fire is a nature park in the Mojave Desert, in Nevada, about an hour from Las Vegas. 

Hoover Dam

A remarkable feat of engineering, the Hoover Dam impresses with its colossal dimensions — 221 metres high — and its fascinating history. Built in the 1930s on the Colorado River, it created Lake Mead, the largest artificial reservoir in the United States. The plunging view down into the canyon from the Mike O'Callaghan–Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge is simply dizzying.  The Hoover Dam is a concrete arch-gravity dam on the Colorado River at the border between Arizona (the east side of the arch) and Nevada (the west side). It was built between 1931 and 1936, during the Great Depression, and was inaugurated on September 30, 1935 by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Its construction was the result of a gigantic effort involving thousands of workers in difficult conditions that caused the deaths of 112 of them. Building it took nearly 7 million tonnes of concrete. 

Mount Charleston

Barely an hour from the Strip, Mount Charleston gave us a refreshing pause in its setting of pines and cool air. Rising to nearly 3,600 metres, this summit, snow-covered for a good part of the year, contrasts strikingly with the surrounding desert. Hiking trails, grand panoramas and clean air — the perfect place to escape the city's buzz for a few hours. Charleston Peak, sometimes called Mount Charleston, is the highest summit in the Spring Mountains, in Nevada, in the United States. 

Fremont Street (Downtown)

Right in the heart of Downtown Las Vegas, and therefore off the Strip, Fremont Street is a pedestrian street whose particularity is that it lights up once evening comes, projecting a sound-and-light show onto a canopy 416 metres long. The show runs every hour, which lets visitors use the evening to tour the city's oldest casinos and grab a bite. If there's less going on during the day, you can still take the chance to come down the street by… zipline! 

The Strip

The Las Vegas Strip is the city's most famous boulevard, an open-air spectacle nearly 7 kilometres long, lined with extravagant hotel-casinos, world-class attractions, fountains, shops and glittering neon. Officially known as Las Vegas Boulevard, it is the heart of the city and an essential destination for its entertainment, its spectacular architecture and its nightlife. You go from the black pyramid of the Luxor to the dancing fountains of the Bellagio, from the Eiffel Tower at Paris Las Vegas to the Venetian canals of the Venetian. In the evening, when the neon comes on and the free shows come to life, the avenue becomes a genuine open-air stage. Excess, creativity and magic gathered in one place.

The Venetian

A luxury Venetian-themed resort, with indoor canals and gondolas. It offers elegant suites, a great many restaurants, a casino and a replica of St. Mark's Square.

Bellagio

A luxury resort inspired by the Lake Como region of Italy, known for its old-world elegance and its modern comforts. Famous for its magnificent dancing fountains, the Bellagio also has botanical gardens and a very busy casino.

Luxor

A hotel-casino on an ancient Egypt theme, easily recognized by its 30-storey pyramid shape and by the powerful beam of light (the Sky Beam) that shoots out of it, the most powerful in the world. Next door to Mandalay Bay, it offers a spectacular visual experience from the outside alone.

Paris

A Paris-themed resort, which includes a replica of the Eiffel Tower. It offers a pool, a spa, many restaurants and shops in a setting that calls to mind the French capital.

Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino

An elegant luxury hotel-casino, famous for its impressive tropical water complex, often called "Mandalay Beach". At the south end of the Las Vegas Strip, this award-winning resort offers a sophisticated experience with an exotic touch.

Flamingo

One of the oldest hotels on the Strip, recognizable by its tropical theme and its retro decor. It has a large pool with waterslides and a habitat for flamingos.

New York New York

This hotel offers one of the most spectacular sights in Las Vegas. The recreation of New York includes the Big Apple's most emblematic buildings, such as the Empire State and the Chrysler, along with other famous landmarks like the Brooklyn Bridge and the Statue of Liberty.

Sahara Las Vegas

This hotel has large outdoor pools, fine-dining restaurants and a spa and wellness centre.

Madame Tussauds museum

The Madame Tussauds wax museum in Las Vegas is on the Strip, inside The Venetian Resort hotel-casino. It opened in 1999 and was the first Madame Tussauds museum to set up in the United States. A visit that's both fun and photogenic! The Madame Tussauds wax museum let us rub shoulders with our favourite celebrities long enough for a photo — Hollywood stars, music icons, athletes and historical figures. The statues are startlingly lifelike and the interactive setups make it an entertaining activity, ideal for an air-conditioned break between two outings on the Strip.