I tried the alternative Las Vegas – with secret food tours and desert trips

IT WAS while standing under the darkened desert sky in the beautiful Neon Museum that Las Vegas finally clicked for me.

The museum’s director Aaron Berger recalled visiting the towering Luxor Hotel as a child with his father, who asked why he thought it contained the world’s first diagonal lifts (yes, you actually ascend to your room on a 35-degree angle).

When young Aaron gave up on guessing, his dad simply replied: “To delight you”.

And that perfectly sums up the spirit of this city — every aspect of it is geared towards joy and excitement.

Those whose only experience of Las Vegas is what they’ve seen on the cinema screen will think of vast casinos, strip clubs and heaving bars.

But there is another side to Sin City just beneath its glitzy exterior, waiting for those willing to look for it.

Take the Neon Museum as an example — at first glance the signs that make up its exhibits seem to be the glowing altars in this temple to tackiness.

Yet taked a guided tour and you discover they are the mile markers of the city’s fascinating history, shining a light on everything from Vegas’s connections with the Mob to one hotel’s brave decision to shatter the colour bar in the 1950s.

Back in the present day, though, there’s only one way to properly explore this desert oasis — and that is by eating your way around the city.

Vegas loves to borrow the best bits from around the world (see the half-scale replica of the Eiffel Tower or the actual canals in the Venetian) and its culinary scene is no different.

Highlights for me included a delightfully authentic, and gut-busting, Italian feast at Esther’s Kitchen in the Arts District, and some of the best Chinese food I’ve ever tasted at Mott 32 — think a Friday night takeaway but with a Michelin star.

And for a real taste of the city’s soul, I’d recommend letting Secret Food Tours whizz you through a mystery selection of restaurants, each with their own unique role in its history.

Over the course of an afternoon, you can enjoy a selection of treats from lesser-known eateries to give you a true flavour of the place.

As for where to stay, there are endless glitzy hotels, with owners famously fond of blowing up underperforming sites and rebuilding in their place.

Indeed, during my stay alone I heard of two that were scheduled for demolition in the next few months.

For the classic Las Vegas Strip experience, you can’t go far wrong with Caesars Palace.

An institution here since it opened in 1966, Caesars won’t break the bank (with rooms from around £70 per night) and it’s only a 15-minute walk from just about anything in the city centre.

It boasts a host of restaurants, including branches operated by star chefs like Gordon Ramsay and Bobby Flay, as well as a stunning, Greek mythology-themed shopping mall.

And for some variety you can always stroll to other nearby hotels for a bite, all home to equally impressive restaurants, as well as next door to watch the world-famous Bellagio fountain display.

Guests of Caesars can also take advantage of a well-equipped gym, a spa, Roman baths and a wellness centre - you can even have some light cosmetic procedures done if they take your fancy.

Just bear in mind that some of these cost extra.

Get out and go wild

However, if you fancy stationing yourself Downtown instead — where many of the older, original casinos sit — the Main Street Station Hotel is a top pick.

It’s built on the site of the original railway station and its former owner had a fascination with antiques and interesting knick-knacks, leaving it as a sort of residential museum today.

Highlights include Sir Winston Churchill’s snooker table, a Pullman railway coach converted into a cigar lounge and a section of the Berlin Wall set behind the urinals in the gents’ loos.

Sitting right at the heart of the busy Freemont Street, the area is a firm favourite with Vegas natives — as a nightlife hub at more affordable rates than you might find on the main strip.

The main thing to know about Vegas is that there’s always something happening, some reason to get out and go wild — but what about those looking for a bit more peace and solitude?

Well, you can get that here too.

It’s one of the perks of a city built in the middle of nowhere.

A short ride out of town and you’ll hit the gorgeous wilderness of the Old West.

What happened in Vegas isn’t necessarily staying there, but after seeing those landscapes I sure wish I could

Firms such as Pink Jeep Tours will take you out to the Valley of Fire State Park, named for its towers of blazing red sandstone.

Standing out in the Mojave Desert, you could almost have no idea that one of the world’s most densely populated cities is a matter of miles way.

It is the perfect break from the hubbub of central Las Vegas, as you take in sights such as the eerily beautiful petroglyphs carved into the rock by native tribes, some of which are estimated to be thousands of years old.

And on cooler days, you can even make your way along a trail to a model Spanish town used as a set in the classic 1966 film The Professionals.

What happened in Vegas isn’t necessarily staying there, but after seeing those landscapes I sure wish I could.