Las Vegas Shopping

From the most expensive designer finery to the tackiest t-shirts, Las Vegas offers shopping for every taste and budget. The best place to start is the two-million-square-foot Fashion Show Mall, right off the Strip and recipient of a $362 million expansion and remodeling. Here you'll find anchor stores like Neiman-Marcus and Saks as well as numerous specialty stores. Many larger casino hotels also include vast shopping areas with a range of chain and specialty retailers. Don't miss the Grand Canal Shoppes at the Venetian, where you can browse amid a startlingly lifelike recreation of St. Mark's Square in Venice (complete with gondolas and all). Its 70-plus shops include Burberry, Jimmy Choo and Mikimoto. The Desert Passage at the Aladdin wows with Moroccan-style special effects, including a rainstorm, while the Forum Shops at Caesars Palace simulates ancient Roman life, but with thoroughly modern shops like Louis Vuitton, Escada, NikeTown and Virgin Records. The new Wynn Las Vegas, which opened to much fanfare, has created a shopping mecca for those with high-end tastes - the esplanade includes Brioni, Cartier, Channel, Manolo Blahnik and Oscar de la Renta, to name just a few.

Fashion Show Las Vegas
3200 Las Vegas Blvd S
At nearly 2 million square feet, The Fashion Show mall boasts seven anchor stores and 250 specialty stores and restaurants. The Cloud, an architectural canopy, hovers 20 stories over the mall, shading an outdoor plaza during the day and acting as a projection screen for multimedia shows at night. Department stores include: Macy's, Dillard's, Saks Fifth Avenue, Nordstrom, Bloomingdales and Neiman Marcus.

Miracle Mile Shops
3667 Las Vegas Blvd S
Miracle Mile Shops has acquired new, brand-name and internationally recognized retailers inside the center such as the funky, trendy men's and women's clothes, accessories and home decor of Urban Outfitters. The chic British men's and women's wear of Ben Sherman, the world's leading outdoor sports lifestyle company, Quiksilver, the all-encompassing Steve Wyrick Entertainment Complex and the "churrasco"-style Brazilian restaurant, Pampas Churrascaria just to name a few. Miracle Mile Shops will soon welcome the affordable fashions of H&M, Polynesian-fusion, food and fun at Trader Vic's restaurant, the trendy women's fashions of Marciano, authentic Greek cuisine at Taverna Opa and Hawaiian Tropic Zone, a dining and nightlife destination.

Forum Shops
Caesars Palace , 3500 Las Vegas Blvd S
The mall that kick-started Las Vegas's shopping boom in 1992 continues to be the most successful in the United States, generating $1275 annually per square foot, compared to the national average of $375. Having doubled in size in 1997, it added as much space again in 2002, and shows no sign of slowing up. That's largely because it's a great tourist destination in its own right. The basic concept is irresistible, with faux-Roman columns and fountains everywhere, "statues" that come alive, and an artificial sky that wheels each hour between dawn and dusk. Many of the larger stores join in the fun, so Mickey Mouse rides a chariot in the Disney Store, Elmer Fudd sports a toga at Warner Brothers, and Barbie strikes classical poses at FAO Schwarz. Others take themselves more seriously, so the mix is eclectic. At more than a hundred there are far too many to list here, but clothing outlets range from Gap and Banana Republic, through Diesel and DKNY, to Emporio Armani; there are eight jewelers and eight shoe stores, including the karaoke-happy Just for Feet and a showpiece Nike Town; specialty stores include the excellent Virgin Megastore. The Forum doesn't have a food court as such - there's one not far away in the casino proper - but it does hold some fine restaurants, such as Chinois , The Palm , and Spago's .