You can go wanting to hate the bright-light city, but it's hard to maintain that antipathy once you arrive. This is partly because Vegas does what it traditionally does – supersized, garish and OTT – so well that you can't help but admire the execution. But it's mainly because there's more than one Vegas – it can also be a luxurious place of top end restaurants, spas and world-beating shows, or a high energy land of superclubs and adrenaline activities. It's a genuinely unique destination, with so many ingredients – and they can be mixed into several recipes.

VISIT

The Mob Museum looks at the history of organised crime across the US, the vices mobsters dallied with, the metamorphosis from battling gangs to networked syndicates and the techniques lawmen used to catch them. The sections about Vegas are fascinating – particularly the old photos of the farms once there, the original city plan maps and the striking image of the first strip casino out on its own in the desert. See themobmuseum.org

EAT

Giada, a fizzy, open-plan Italian run by TV chef Giada  de Laurentiis inside the Cromwell resort, hits that right line between hot-ticket cool and informally enjoyable. It works especially well for groups ordering a series of small dishes such as the chicken marsala meatballs to share, and the mini-pizzas are howlingly good. See giadadelaurentiis.com/vegas

LOOK

The Fremont Street Experience is a feast for the eyes. That's partly due to the enormous 12.5 million-LEDs roof that covers several  blocks, displaying computer-generated art and video footage of the live music taking place on multiple stages. But it's mostly about the people watching, with mulleted country music-lovers swilling garish plastic tubes of cocktails, Chippendales posing for photos, street entertainers dressed as members of Kiss and men in giant baby costumes among those competing for attention.

MUST

Cirque  du Soleil has several shows on the Vegas Strip, but the Love show at the Mirage manages to work through the range of emotions while providing an epic visual feast. Fitted to a specially  produced soundtrack of Beatles songs, it combines how-did-they-do-that? acrobatics, ever-morphing set design, stunt rollerblading and light shows. There's so much going on, it's often difficult to know what to hone in on. See cirquedusoleil.com/beatles-love

SLEEP

The Cosmopolitan is very much the new Vegas – huge, slick rooms, an undeniably impressive spa and a defiant lack of tacky theming. It's also right in the middle of the Vegas Strip, so it's an excellent base for those who prefer to walk rather than wait for taxis. Rooms cost from  $345 a night. See cosmopolitanlasvegas.com

TIP

Las Vegas accommodation prices are usually excellent value, but they can shoot up at weekends so  head there during the week for the best deals.

David Whitley was a guest of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority; see lasvegas.com/au