The Strip
When you think of Sin City, you immediately think of this neighborhood. In fact, it's a 9 km stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard, stretching from south to north between the Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas Sign and The Strat Hotel. The development of the area began with the opening of the Flamingo in 1946. Over time, increasingly grandiose palaces appeared on both sides of the road. The rule of the Strip, governed by entrepreneurs with megalomaniac tendencies: what's too small can't be profitable enough, and so must disappear to be replaced. As a result, the area's history is barely visible: Howard Hughes' bedroom, Frank Sinatra's stage and Elvis' wedding chapel are all gone.
The district boasts some forty hotels, most of them among the world's largest. Most of them are also home to huge casinos, which all follow the same pattern: the rooms are divided into different "gaming areas" - slot machines, blackjack, poker room, roulette, craps, etc. - only the decor and themes change. - Only the decor and themes change, depending on the establishment's standing and target clientele. Each has a number of restaurants - from fast-food to gourmet - and nightlife venues: bars, pubs, lounges and clubs. Shopping arcades, systematically set up in hotel corridors, are also an important element: they are called forums, esplanades, corridors, promenade, via... In short, beneath the Strip's apparent variety lurks an absolute, if not monotonous, sameness.
Downtown and Arts District
Downtown. Historic and retro, Downtown is the heart of Las Vegas. When gambling was legalized in the 1930s and the Hoover Dam was being built, the part of the district that housed the first casinos was nicknamed Glitter Gulch. It was the workers' "glitter gulch", a place of entertainment glittering with thousands of white and yellow bulbs in the Nevada desert, as well as a pit of perdition where alcohol flowed freely and prostitution was commonplace. By the late 1980s, Downtown had run out of steam: with its concrete and steel behemoths, the Strip had overtaken it in width, height, pomp and eccentricity. It wasn't until 1995 that the old-fashioned charm of Glitter Gulch returned. This revival was made possible by the Fremont Street Experience, an illuminated vault built over Fremont Street.
Today, Downtown still plays the role of an old town, with its casinos and signs from another age. However, the development of the Cultural Corridor and its museums, as well as the completion of major buildings since the early 2000s - such as the new Town Hall and the Symphony Park complex - testify to its determination to modernize and remain attractive while preserving its heritage. As part of the development of Downtown, the city inaugurated a new district in 2007: Fremont East District. In addition to housing a number of bars and new restaurants, these few blocks brilliantly extend the vintage image of historic Vegas by preserving one of the city's oldest hotel-casinos: El Cortez, built in 1941.
Arts District. Located between the north end of the Strip and Downtown, this atypical district was born in 1998 and is nicknamed 18b, after the 18 blocks of buildings that originally formed the neighborhood. The area has gradually been taken over by a community of bohemian artists who have marked their territory by painting vast murals and cheerfully decorating the area's few small houses. Numerous antique stores with a hipster or vintage look have come together under the name of Antique Alley Mall, on Main Street. A great place to stroll, especially on First Friday. Every first Friday of the month, the Arts District organizes a major event where artists display their creations in the streets, which become pedestrianized for the evening. Food-trucks are set up next to their stalls, while impromptu orchestras liven up the alleyways, creating a delightful good-natured atmosphere in stark contrast to the Vegas of the collective imagination.
West and East Las Vegas
West Las Vegas. While this name officially applies only to a small part of Sin City, we'll use it here for addresses west of the Strip. Examples include the area around Springs Preserve, west of the heart of Downtown, and, above all, Chinatown, with its Asian shops and warped roofs, some 3 km west of the Venetian.
East Las Vegas. In the same way, this section covers the eastern part of the Strip, with the unincorporated towns of Paradise, Winchester, Whitney and Sunrise Manor. The area covered by the former is the largest, occupying most of the Strip as well as Harry Reid International Airport. As delineated in this guide, East Las Vegas is home to the gigantic Las Vegas Convention Center.
