On our first full day in Las Vegas we woke up like clockwork at 6am. We set up our time-lapse before attempting to fall back asleep; but eventually gave in to our desire to explore.
We were staying at the Paris hotel which is directly across the street from the Bellagio and diagonal from Ceasars palace. Luckily this wasn’t our first time to Las Vegas and we knew to watch out for “walking traps” in Las Vegas. We also knew spots we wanted to revisit, especially some free ones! Here’s a break down:
Walking Traps to avoid in Vegas
- Lack of crosswalks: Las Vegas inconveniently has a lot of intersections where pedestrians simply can’t cross. Looking out from our room you could see an intersection to the left of the Eiffel Tower, and you would assume that it was crossable. NOPE! The only way to get directly to the Bellagio from Paris was to go right until you reached the pedestrian overpass. We advise asking someone in your hotel for the fastest route ANYWHERE because nothing is worse than walking around aimlessly in the desert heat for blocks and blocks and blocks…
- Connected Casinos: We started off our morning walking around the Paris hotel (which we highly encourage! It’s so whimsical and not too over the top). After walking the faux Parisian streets for an hour or two, we suddenly noticed the decor had subtly changed… then we were back in a casino… but wasn’t the casino way behind us?? Turns out we had walked into another hotel! Now, if you’re trying to avoid the sun, walking through connected hotels is a great idea, but we had no plans of visiting the hotel we ended up in. It can be a huge time, and money, waster if you only have a day or two to explore.
- Casino Mazes: Loud noises, bright lights, and curved walk ways; Casinos are made to lure you in and trap you. We were stunned at the amount of people who were walking around aimlessly; bumping into things and stopping in the middle of the walkway. Some of them would “come to” when a family member called them, but many of them continued to wander on seemingly lost in a dream. We understand that people may be overstimulated, but trust us, there are much more amazing visuals to see in Las Vegas than a slot machine with your favorite tv show characters on it.
Where to spend your steps, not money
When planning your stay in Las Vegas, consider all of the attractions at the hotel you’re staying at and two or three more hotels next to it. There are plenty of Pinterest lists of “free things to do in Vegas”, but you will find yourself exhausted and frustrated if you try to see them all in one day. The strip is MUCH bigger than you expect it to be.
For this Las Vegas trip, we stuck to our hotel (Paris Las Vegas), The Bellagio, and Caesars palace. We walked 18k steps just going between those three locations, that’s about nine miles!
The Bellagio
- Water Show (free): The Bellagio Water show is a Las Vegas classic. Inspired by romantic fountains around Europe, the Water show goes off every 30 or 15 min (depending on the time of day) and is visible from the street, the Bellagio, the Paris hotel and more. Water dances to music (songs and dance differ from show to show) in a pool that’s 1,000 feet wide, occasionally shooting up 460 feet into the air!! That’s almost as high as the Eiffel Tower across the strip at Paris Las Vegas!
- The Palio Cafe ($): The Palio cafe is not listed first when it comes to places to eat at the Bellagio, but it’s number one in Kk’s book. Inspired by the Palio race in Siena Italy, the Palio Cafe has flags, pottery, and artwork representing each of the contradas (neighborhoods) in Siena. Kk once studied abroad in Siena, so the cafe brings back a lot of happy memories for her.
- Botanical Gardens (free): One of our favorite spots to walk through is the Botanical gardens at the Bellagio. It changes seasonly with a different exhibit for Spring, Summer, Harvest, Holidays, and Chinese New Year. We saw the Spring 2019 exhibit on this trip and will be seeing the Summer 2019 exhibit on our way back home!
- The Bellagio Chocolate fountain (free): It’s the worlds largest chocolate fountain! We honestly accidentally stumbled across it, but it’s impressive (and free) non the less.
- The Bellagio (free): The Bellagio is honestly so gorgeous and clean that simply walking around the hotel is a treat for your eyes. Gorgeous Chihuly glass sculptures take over the main lobby and adorn the rest of the walk ways. Large windows allow ample amounts of light to fill the marble walkways. Even the people staying there are seemingly more beautiful, and window shopping has never been better.
The entry to the Palio Cafe features a Nicchio flag! Kk’s favorite contrada. 
Contrada flags in the Palio Cafe 
Palio cafe decor 
Tables at the Palio Cafe 
Palio Jockey helmets at the Palio Cafe 
Entrance to the Botanical gardens through the lobby 
Koi pond for the Spring Japenese garden exhibit 
Spring garden exhibit 
Chihuly sculpture in the lobby 
Largest Chocolate fountain! 
More chocolate
Ceasars Palace
- Sculpture scavenger hunt: Ceasars palace has a plethora of Greek and Roman inspired statues. Before walking in you’ll find hippocampus and pegasus statues flanking the walkway. When you first enter the lobby of Ceasars palace you’re welcomed by the three graces (above), and from that point on they’re everywhere. Mythology buffs can find Aphrodite with the golden apple of discord, Poseidon with his trident, and Hades abduction of Persephone.
Non-Mythology buffs can still spot familiar statues, like an exact replica of David (made out of the same marble), a smaller replica of the Trevi Fountain, multiple statues of Caesar, and Cleopatra’s bust. - Lush Bath Bombs ($): If your Las Vegas hotel room has a bathtub, GET BATH BOMBS. We first figured this out when we were given a room upgrade with a jacuzzi tub at the Treasure Island hotel. The receptionist had suggested we go to Lush immediately. “You can soak in all the relaxation without worrying about cleaning up all the glitter after”. She told us.
For those who may feel bad about the glitter residue, we always end up feeling bad too, so we just give the bathtub a quick swipe down with a hand towel. Just be weary of the amount of bubble bath soap you put into a jacuzzi tub. We’ve learned this the hard way… - Saving Atlantis Show (free): This show used to be the pre-show to a ride where you would race the gods to win the kingdom of Atlantis. We’re not sure why they ripped out this amazing, kid friendly, attraction in Vegas, but they left the animatronic show for all of our amusement. Poseidon’s two children bicker and fight over who deserves to rule Atlantis next. We couldn’t hear perfectly from our spot (too far back), so we didn’t follow along with the storyline but it was entertaining nonetheless. Before and after the show you can enjoy the large fish tank with manta rays and a variety of other fish.
Where do you like to go while visiting Las Vegas? Comment below to let us know!
Don’t miss out on our other Honeymoon Road Trip Posts!
Click here to read about Day 1 & 2 of our cross country Honeymoon road trip.
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Thank you so much Bridget!