Since Wynn opened the Mirage in 1989, heralding a revolution on the then-stagnating Strip, the city has moved at the speed of neon light. The 1990s saw a flurry of destruction and construction, as the classic old casinos were pulled down to make room for a new breed of resort – smart, shiny and painstakingly, often painfully themed. While their original family-friendliness hasn’t lasted (Vegas is now, as it once was and as it should be, an adult city), the boost in popularity this gave the city hasn’t faded. Over 35 million people head to Vegas each year, to work and play and goodness only knows what else.

The majority of Las Vegas’s sights and attractions are, of course, its casinos, and the majority of these are on Las Vegas Boulevard, aka the Strip. This four-mile stretch takes in most (but not quite all) of the town’s most spectacular casinos and therefore, by definition, its sights. Here, you can look at some art at Venetian Guggenheim Hermitage Museum (3355 Las Vegas Boulevard South, NV 89109, +17024142440, www.venetian.com/guggenheim/index.cfm) before riding the rollercoaster at New York New York (3790 Las Vegas Boulevard South, +17027406969, www.nynyhotelcasino.com); you can climb the Eiffel Tower at Paris Las Vegas (3655 Las Vegas Boulevard South, NV 89109, +17029464222, www.parislasvegas.com) to watch a water fountain erupt below you (outside the Bellagio hotel and casino); and you can see a stunning show (check the nightlife section) after throwing the kids’ college fund into a gold-plated slot machine. Everyone should walk the length of the Strip at least once while they’re here, stopping to look around, have a drink or a bite to eat, and perhaps see a show or take a chance on a blackjack table. While the smaller, cheaper casinos downtown have their charms, the Strip is the Las Vegas of legend.

Away from the Strip sit some more esoteric attractions. There’s a glimpse of old Vegas at the super-camp Liberace Museum (Liberace Plaza, 1775 E Tropicana Avenue, NV 89119, +17027985595, www.liberace.org) and downtown in the Neon Museum (Neonopolis, 450 Fremont Street, NV 89101, +17022295366). At the Imperial Palace Auto Collections (3535 Las Vegas Boulevard South, NV 89109, +17027943174, www.imperialpalace.com), you can look at 200 rare and specialty cars (part of a fine rotating collection of 750, all for sale). And Star Trek fans won’t want to miss Star Trek: The Experience (Las Vegas Hilton, 3000 Paradise Road, NV 89109, +17027325111, www.startrekexp.com), which promises to ‘boldly go where no entertainment experience has gone before’.