Blue Man Group, Luxor - Enter a strange and unfamiliar world, in which three bald blue performance artists sell out a 1250-seat theater inside a giant pyramid every night of the week ... The Blue Man Group have followed up on engagements in New York City, Chicago, and Boston by establishing a troupe on the Strip where so many other shows - shows with stars, and plots, and words - have failed. And how have they done it? By the synchronized eating of Cap'n Crunch breakfast cereal; by performing live endoscopies on audience members; by catching marshmallows tossed across the stage in their mouths, until they burst out of their cheeks. In fact, although deadpan performance art is a major component of the evening, two further elements keep the crowds entertained. First is the deafening, exhilarating music, which as well as set pieces featuring the Sex Pistols and Jefferson Airplane includes lots of drumming from the Men themselves, playing instruments made from industrial tubing; and second are some truly stunning special effects, such as the 3-D floppy dancers brought to life by strobe lighting. It's not for everyone, but breathtaking novelty is at least part of what Las Vegas is all about.

Mystère, Treasure Island - When they first signed a ten-year contract with Treasure Island in 1993, Canada's Cirque du Soleil were widely seen as being too "way-out" for Las Vegas. In fact, Mystère proved to be the perfect postmodern product for the Strip, and its success has redefined the city's approach to entertainment. Almost wordless, Mystère is all things to all people. At base it's a showcase of fabulous circus skills, with tumblers, acrobats, trapeze artists, pole climbers, clowns, and strong men. Unless you read the program, you might not realize there's a plot - something about two hungry babies of different species at opposite ends of the universe - but whether you see its dreamscape symbolism as profound and meaningful or labored and empty, it's such a visual feast, and there's so much more going on than you could ever hope to follow, that it barely matters.

O, Bellagio - Las Vegas's most expensive show, both in terms of ticket prices and production costs, is an extraordinary spectacle. For anyone with an interest in theater, this Cirque du Soleil's extravaganza is an absolute must-see, a remarkable testament to just how much is possible when the budget is barely an issue. Bellagio built its theater specifically to house O, whose name is a pun on the French for "water." Any part of the stage at any time may be submerged to any depth; one moment a performer can walk across a particular spot, the next someone may dive headfirst into that spot from the high wire. The show features 81 performers and 74 technicians, fourteen of whom are scuba divers stationed to help out below the surface. With even less of a plot than Mystère, O is never portentous; from its beaming synchronized swimmers onwards, the cast simply revel in the opportunity to display their magnificent skills to maximum advantage. Highlights include a colossal trapeze frame draped like a pirate ship and crewed by a fearless assortment of acrobats and divers, and footmen flying through the air in swirls of velvet drapery.

Tournament of Kings, Excalibur - Excalibur can always be relied upon to know which side its bread is buttered; if the kids are happy, then everyone's happy. The Tournament is a twice-nightly piece of mock-medieval slapstick and schlockery, centering on a jousting match between a bad black knight and a good white knight. Their clash is accompanied by a great deal of tumbling, acrobatics, and hell-raising audience participation, plus the chance to devour a Cornish game hen without the benefit of silverware. It's top-notch family fun, though clearly more directed at the younger set.

Las Vegas Activities

Elvis-A-Rama museum contains just enough Presley memorabilia to satisfy avid fans of the King. Personal possessions like his 1955 concert limo (bought with his $5000 bonus for signing with RCA, and now worth an estimated $340,000) are complemented by stage costumes, movie posters, and mass-produced souvenirs such as lipsticks and key rings, billfolds and bubble-gum cards.

The single most popular day-trip from Las Vegas is the thirty -mile drive southeast to the vast artificial reservoir of Lake Mead, and to the mighty Hoover Dam that created it. In many ways, the dam is also responsible for modern Las Vegas's very existence, not so much as a source of energy but because the workers who built it triggered the city's first gambling-fueled boom. As for the lake, it makes a bizarre spectacle, utterly unnatural yet undeniably impressive, with its blue waters a vivid counterpoint to the surrounding desert. Both the lake and its 550-mile shoreline, however, can be excruciatingly crowded all year round.