tymecard

Hello all. I need some help with our Las Vegas schedule.

We are arriving Saturday night 9/18 and will be departing on Tuesday 9/20 at 5pm.

The only thing we have scheduled so far is on Sunday 9/18 -- the Celine Dion show. 9/18 is our anniversary.

How long is the Celine Dion show? Should we have our anniversary dinner before or after the show?

Where is a nice place to go for our 1st year anniversary dinner (no buffets).

What else can we do during our stay here? We'll gamble here and there, but what are the must do type of things we should do?

Thanks!

vegasnative

I think the Top of the World Restaurant on top of the Stratosphere would be great for your anniversary dinner. It has spectacular views of the Vegas valley and it slowly revolves. It is at the far north end of the Strip from Caesars only about 1 1/2 mile but getting up the Strip on a weekend is a nightmare, might not be too bad Sunday night though. As far as other must do's, you have to see the fountains go at the Bellagio, and then go inside to their conservatory as it is beautiful! I would recommend visiting the Venetian to see the gondolas and then maybe go to Madame Tussauds Wax Museum which is right there at the Venetian. After Celine you can walk through the Forum shops, that is nice even if only window shopping. Off the Strip you can go to Ethel M's chocolate factory and walk through their cactus garden. You can take a day trip to Valley of Fire or Red Rock Canyon or get away up to Mt. Charleston for something a little more quiet (than the Strip).

tracys2cents

I wouldn't rush an anniversary dinner before the show, I'd just do a nice Sunday Brunch (Aladdin? Paris?) and then a snack-place after the show, maybe Bertolini's in the Caesars Forum Mall for gourmet pizza, or Margaritaville across the street at the Flamingo.

Then do your anniversary dinner on Monday night, when it will be easier to get a reservation anyway. Did you have a type of food in mind?

lemon2

We like the Eiffel Tower Restaurant for a special dinner. Look for the lions at MGM, the Secret Garden at the Mirage, and the big acquarium at Mandalay Bay. We like to wander thru the shops at the Aladdin, too. Ethel M is a great place to visit for both the cactus garden and the free chocolate at the end of the tour. The Flamingo has penguins and flamingos in their gardens which are lots of fun to watch. Take a day trip to the Hoover Dam. Enjoy and Happy Anniversary!

sylvia3

I think the Stratosphere is great for drinks, but the food is not that great. I love to people watch, gamble, enjoy the tacky glitz, but if you haven't seen Hoover Dam, that's one awesome sight! We think the shark/fish exhibit at Mandalay bay is cool, the Sirens of TI is a (ridiculously tacky) fun time, and whatever is showing at the Guggenheim is better than wax figures of pop icons that you may or may not recognize! The Secret Gardens are a very long walk with an unexpectedly high price tag.

flanneruk

The "Tsar's Treasures from the Kremlin Museum" exhibition currently showing at the Guggenheim oupost in the Venetian is utterly stunning.

I wouldn't touch the Eiffel Tower restaurant with a bargepole. Its entrance is virtually slap bang in the middle of Paris's repellent slot machine arcade, and the restaurant's reception staff have the overfamiliar incompetence that seems the hallmark of practically everything in what is undoubtedly one of Las Vegas's nastiest hotels. The truly vile ambience and staff ensured we simply turned round and walked out without bothering to get past the restaurant's reception.

The Commander's Palace at Aladdin, OTOH, was serving by far the best food we ate anywhere in the United States during a recent lengthy trip. The wine list was interesting, and offered some good, affordable stuff as well as the extraordinary price points at the top end. It's locateed in a quiet, tasteful and moderately interesting mall of shops, and getting to it doesn't force you through the smoke-ridden casino hellhole that so many other LV eateries do. And everybody involved in serving us at the Commander's Palace was polite, helpful and well-trained in what they did. The perfect antidote to what passes for service in so much else of the US West, and one of the most memorable meals we've had anywhere in the world. Sadly, like virtually everywhere in Las Vegas, it insists on background moronmusic being played on its address system. But it's less moronic and less ear-blasting that most of the rest of the city. If it got rid of that junk, it'd be a really good restaurant.

No idea what the food at the Stratosphere is like. But it's a doddle to get to from the Strip on the monorail. Which is itself nowhere near as efficient or technically advanced as claimed in the breathless self-promotion it endlessly plays (it's slow, bumpy, and has stiflingly hot stations) but does give you some interesting views. Including a view over the lush, green, former Desert Inn golf course which is amazingly refreshing when it's a Las Vegas 105 F degrees outside.

suechef

For a really special dinner, try Rosemary's at the Rio. Wonderful, innovative cuisine run by a husband/wife team..we were there 2 years ago and can't wait to go back. Try a google search I am sure they have a website with menu. They also have an off strip restaurant I can't remember where, but the Rio is easy to get to. A great Thai restaurant is Lotus of Siam..off strip but worth the taxi money to get there.