• Gamble at one of the many casinos lined up along the Las Vegas Strip (website: www.visitlasvegas.com). The Strip is best seen at dusk when it is lit up in neon lights.

• Get married in Vegas. More than 45 wedding chapels operate throughout the metropolitan area, including some in major hotels in the city. The Little White Chapel (website: www.alittlewhitechapel.com), 1301 Las Vegas Boulevard South, where Joan Collins was married, has a 24-hour drive-through window.

• See where Reno was founded, where Myron Lake’s bridge crossed the Truckee River. A white-water park on the river is a popular attraction with kayakers and thrill seekers; the park also includes an amphitheatre, picnic facilities and river access for boaters.

• Travel to Reno, self-proclaimed as 'The Biggest Little City in the World'. Many casinos are to be found downtown on Virginia Street including Harrah’s (website: www.harrahs.com), the Eldorado (website: www.eldoradoreno.com), the Golden Phoenix (website: www.goldenphoenixreno.com), Circus Circus (website: www.circusreno.com), Silver Legacy (website: www.silverlegacyreno.com), Fitzgerald’s (website: www.fitzgeralds.com), and the Sands Regency (website: www.sandsregency.com).

• Enjoy the outdoors at Lake Tahoe (website: www.tahoe.com), a top-class skiing resort with a vibrant nightlife, and home to the Shakespeare at Sand Harbor Festival, which takes place in the summer. The spectacular scenery can be seen from the lake’s excursion boats.

• Stop at Scotty’s Castle (website: www.nps.gov/deva/scottys1.htm), a popular, if slightly odd, century-old desert guest ranch.

• Discover Laughlin (website: www.visitlaughlin.com), the second most popular holiday destination in Nevada, owing largely to the reasonably priced accommodation and restaurants, and the fact that it has unusually sunny summers and mild winters considering its location. Laughlin Bay Marina (website: www.laughlinbaymarina.com) is the hub of entertainment in the Laughlin area.

• Ride the Canyon Blaster roller coaster at Adventuredome (website: www.adventuredome.com) in Circus Circus, Las Vegas. You can also see circus acts daily and experience other thrilling theme park rides.

• View the Las Vegas skyline from one of the observation decks of the Stratosphere Tower (website: www.stratospherehotel.com). At 350m (1,149ft) high, it is said to be America's tallest freestanding tower. Be sure to try one of the world's three highest thrill rides: Big Shot!, Insanity - the Ride, or X Scream.

• Go on a backcountry adventure in the Spring Mountains, while Mount Charleston (website: www.nevadawilderness.org/southern/charleston.htm) is good for winter sports and is home to the Las Vegas Ski and Snowboard Resort (website: www.skilasvegas.com).

• Take the Black Canyon River Raft Tour (website: www.grandcanyontourcompany.com/heloraft.htm) in Boulder City. The tour is a 19km (12-mile) rapid-free raft trip, beginning at Hoover Dam.

• Hike the River Mountain Hiking Trail, an 8km (5-mile) round-trip route with spectacular views of Lake Mead and Las Vegas Valley.

See Contact Addresses for further tourist information.