With the sounds, sights and the neon lights, there is no other place quite like it.

No matter what you may call it — Sin City, jewel of the desert, glitter gulch or city of lights — Las Vegas is the entertainment capital of the world, where the days are never long enough and there is no shortage of things to do.

Vegas is a great vacation spot for any college student, not just for those who are over 21 or have a fake ID. With themed hotels, exciting entertainment and plenty of scenic beauty, there are a variety of things for everyone to enjoy that do not include drinking or gambling.

Fremont Street is where the city begins. Five blocks of hotels such as Binion’s Horseshoe, Lady Luck and the Golden Nugget show the older side of Las Vegas. The Golden Nugget is one of the accommodations in Vegas with rooms available for guests under 21.

Also on Fremont Street is Viva Vision, which houses the largest big screen TV on the planet. It is 90 feet long, displayed overhead and plays free state-of-the-art light and sound shows every night.

Four miles down Las Vegas Boulevard from Fremont Street, you’ve reached the infamous Strip. The Strip is 10 miles of extreme visual stimulation, with over 45 hotels, including the brand new Hooters Hotel.

Treasure Island offers a free outdoor show called the Sirens of Treasure Island, about a battle between scantily clad wenches and a group of pirates, with no shortage of singing and dancing. A ship bursts into flames, while another one actually sinks, and you can even stand in the splash zone where the pirates dive into the waters surrounding the hotel.

Outside of the Mirage, flames shoot into the sky. Smoke and fire spray 100 feet above the waters below, transforming a tranquil waterfall into a spectacular stream of molten lava as you watch the outdoor volcano erupt. Inside the Mirage is a tropical rainforest where you can walk through the Secret Garden where Siegfried and Roy’s white tigers are kept. The Mirage also houses a dolphin habitat.

Across the street is the Venetian, an Italian-themed hotel where you can take a ride through the canal encircling the hotel in an authentic gondola.

If you are in the mood to shop, be ready to drop. There are too many shopping malls to cover in one day. Many stores feature high-end designer labels, but there are plenty of stores for broke college students, too.

Vegas has an abundance of water, the most popular outside the Bellagio. Outside of the Roman-themed Caesar’s Palace hotel and shopping mall is a lavish setup of fountains and sculptures. Two of its three indoor fountains actually move and talk, acting out moments from Roman mythology.

Vegas offers visitors a tour of different lands and times. If you are interested in medieval times, you can go to Excalibur, which is a castle where Merlin the wizard casts spells.

Just a little way down the strip, you will find yourself in the New York-New York. This hotel’s interior is a recreation of old-fashioned New York City streets. The sewer grates even steam.

The Luxor invites guests to walk through Egypt. To reach the main entrance one walks right through the Sphinx’s legs and past a realistic Egyptian obelisk.

Situated in the middle of the strip is the Paris Hotel. An elevator travels to the top of the miniaturized version of the Eiffel Tower, offering a birds-eye view of the desert landscape beyond the city.

The Bellagio radiates class and elegance, and appropriately so as it is the most expensive hotel in Las Vegas. Its outdoor fountain show is a breathtaking union of music, water and light. Inside one finds botanical gardens and colorful blown-glass flowers hanging from the ceiling of the lobby.

There are hundreds of different kinds of shows you can see in Vegas, ranging from Cirque du Soleil to the ever-famous Wayne Newton to the natural beauty of Vegas. One may tour the nearby Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam and take a helicopter ride over the Strip.

With never-ending options, amazing sights and captivating scenery, Las Vegas is the perfect getaway destination that leaves you with experiences and memories that you will never forget.

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