Page 120 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Southwest USA & National Parks

118  LAS VEGAS LAS VEGAS  119

and the Ca d’Oro, which overlook
the blue waters of the Grand
Canal – complete with a gondola
park beneath a Rialto Bridge.
Craftsmen have made sure that
every detail looks as authentic
as possible – even the concrete
has been aged to look like
400-year-old stone.
The colonnade of the Doge’s
Palace offers visitors one of the
best views of the Strip. Inside
the building, and up the stairs,
another separate section of
An example of the celebrity-owned cars on show at the LINQ canal, also plied by gondolas,
winds through the Grand Canal
t The Auto y The Venetian Shoppes. The Venetian fantasy
Collections at 3355 Las Vegas Blvd. S. Tel (702) 414- continues here with high-
the LINQ 1000; (866) 659-9643. Open 24 hours quality stores and restaurants
(see p240). 7 8 ∑ venetian.com set among cobblestone
3535 Las Vegas Blvd. S. Tel (702) 794- walkways and bridges beneath a
3174. Open 10am–5pm Mon–Sat. & An astounding piece of blue, painted sky that resembles
7 ∑ autocollections.com architecture that re-creates the a Renaissance painting. Acres of Palm trees and gentle rapids at the lagoon fronting Treasure Island resort and casino
city of Venice, the Venetian hotel lavish marble flooring, statues,
Located on the fifth floor of currently holds, along with its and replicas of famous Venetian u Mirage Treasure Island, and offers a one of 16 restaurants and bars,
the LINQ’s parking lot, this sister resort the Palazzo (see paintings are found throughout 3400 Las Vegas Blvd. S. Tel (702) 791- range of attractions to its own or see rare animal breeds, such
multi-million-dollar collec tion p239), more than 7,000 suites. this elegant complex. The 7111; (800) 374-9000. Open 24 hours. guests and Vegas visitors alike. as the Royal White tiger and
of classic cars from around the Together they typify the new stunning front lobby has a dome 7 8 ∑ mirage.com Its traffic-stopping façade white lions, in Siegfried and
world will impress even the breed of luxury Vegas mega- decorated with scenes from introduces the complex’s South Roy’s Secret Garden. This
most auto-phobic of visitors. resorts. The Venetian opened in Venetian master paintings, while Mirage hotel-casino opened in Sea island theme, with tropical delightful zoo and research
Ralph Engelstad, the former 1999 on the site of the the entrance to the Grand Canal the fall of 1989 at the stag gering gardens, waterfalls, and a center is set amongst the hotel’s
owner of the Imperial Palace legendary Sands Hotel, formerly Shoppes boasts a copy of cost of $620 million. At the time lagoon. But the star of the show lush, landscaped gardens.
(as the LINQ used to be the home of the “Rat Pack” (see Veronese’s 1585 painting, it was the largest hotel in the US, is undoubtedly a volcano that Adjacent to the zoo is the
known), began his collection p101) and a famous swim-up The Apotheosis of Venice. with 3,044 rooms. This new erupts, spewing fire and smoke, Dolphin Habitat, home to
with a 1929 Ford Model A craps table, and was demolished At the far end of the Shoppes, megaresort aimed to cater not daily at 8pm and 9pm, and also Common Bottlenose dolphins.
Roadster in 1979. Two years in 1996. walkways lead into the similar only to gamblers but also to at 10pm on Friday and Saturday.
later, the museum was opened The Venetian’s Strip façade Palazzo, completed in 2008, vacationers and conventioneers. Inside the complex, an atrium
with enough space for 200 cars. consists of facsimiles of the which holds more upscale stores, Perhaps more than any other filled with exotic plants (some i Treasure Island
As well as vintage Fords, the Doge’s Palace, the Campanile, restaurants, and nightclubs. hotel, the Mirage revolutionized real, some fake) is kept suitably 3300 Las Vegas Blvd. S. Tel (702) 894-
exhibition includes such the Strip, setting out to draw steamy by computerized 7111; (800) 944-7444. Open 24 hours
classics as Mercedes, Chevys, visitors with attractions other misters. Behind the main desk a (see p239). 7 ∑ treasureisland.com
Cadillacs, and others from than just the casino – a kind of 20,000-gallon (90,000-liter)
around the world. Today, all of fantasyland for adults. aquarium is filled with 85 This hotel resort and casino
the cars are for sale, some with The Mirage occupies an entire species of brightly colored fish. offers luxurious accommo-
price tags of more than one block along Las Vegas Boulevard, As well as gaming, visitors can dation and award-winning
million dollars. between Caesars Palace and shop in designer stores, eat in service. Originally pirate-themed,
The collection is constantly the hotel is now a more generic
changing, as cars are sold and young-adult resort, and often
new ones replace them. At abbreviates its name to the less
various times the exhibits have piratical TI. Guests can relax in
included a Duesenberg the hotel spa or sip cocktails by
Murphy Roadster owned by the heated outdoor pool. There
Howard Hughes. More recent, are eight restaurants to choose
but no less stylish, are the from, including a branch of
Cadillacs, Lincolns, and Señor Frog’s, the Mexican-
Chevrolets of the 1950s and themed chain of restaurants, as
1960s with their elong ated well as several bars and lounges;
tail fins, leather seats, and nightclubs include the honky
chrome acces sories, such as tonk Gilley’s Saloon.
the 1961 Lincoln Continental The hotel is host to the
used by Jacqueline Kennedy. exhilarating contemporary circus
A 1976 Cadillac that once Mystère™ by Cirque du Soleil®,
belonged to Elvis Presley is performed in a specially custo-
another former exhibit. The stylish Venetian Hotel, complete with reproduction Campanile The exotic rainforest atrium in the Mirage mized showroom (see p131).
For hotels and restaurants see pp238–40 and pp251–4

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