Viva Downtown Las Vegas 1

Las Vegas, which is Spanish for “the meadows”, gained its name in the 1800s from the pioneers traveling along the Old Spanish Trail on their way to California. They stopped here to partake of the desert spring waters which created a lush green valley in the midst of a desert.

It was a sleepy little railroad stop until 1931. That year Nevada legalized gambling eased the divorce laws and the construction of Hoover Dam commenced. Boomtown Vegas was born and the city continues to reinvent itself today.

But beyond the glitz and glamour of the casinos and mega resorts there is a whole lot of Las Vegas just waiting to be discovered and explored. You just need to look past the neon and search it out on foot, in a rental car, via public transportation or on an organized sightseeing tour.

Let’s start our tour downtown or in “Old Vegas” to many. A must see is the Fremont Street Experience, a $70 million light canopy and 500,000 watt sound system that covers 5 city blocks. The performance starts on the hour nightly from 7pm until midnight and admission is free.

Check back soon for some more on Old Vegas.

Photo courtesy of the Las Vegas press & LVCVA