Las Vegas nights

For the overwhelming majority of tourists, Las Vegas means the Strip, drifting from one hangar-like hotel to the other, from one slot machine or poker game to the other, barely registering what time of day it is, hypnotised by the excess and the luxury on offer. Ordinarily there&rsquod be no reason to leave these pleasure palaces at any time during your vacation, except that the once seedy downtown area known as the &lsquoglitter gulch&rsquo has been transformed into the Fremont Street Experience, a pedestrian mall on a historic street with free concerts and a light show on most nights. So if the Bellagio or the Wynn palls, if the Strip seems too anodyne, defect to the Fremont Street Experience and spend a night or two in a livelier, less manicured Vegas. See www.visitlasvegas.com.