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Las Vegas

Situated in the midst of the southern Nevada desert, Las Vegas is the largest city in the state of Nevada. Nicknamed Sin City, Las Vegas and its surrounding communities are famed for their mega-casino resorts, often lavishly decorated with names and themes meant to evoke romance, mystery, and exotic destinations. Along the brightly-lit Strip through the center of the city, visitors will find all manner of amusements and entertainment: circuses, stage shows, thrill rides, erotica, exotic animals, fine dining restaurants, nightclubs, shopping, and elaborate fountain displays, to say nothing of the age-old allure of gambling and drinking.

Understand
Compared with other American cities, even those in the western United States, Las Vegas is a relatively recent arrival. It was founded in 1905 and for many years was a fairly small settlement. However, several pivotal events in the early- to mid-20th century catapulted Las Vegas to prominence and set it on the path to grow into what it is today. First was the construction of nearby Hoover Dam from 1931 until 1936, which brought thousands of workers to the area. Second was the legalization of gambling by the state of Nevada in 1931, which led to the establishment of casinos and speakeasies that established Downtown Las Vegas as an entertainment center for the Hoover Dam workers.

Amidst rapid growth in the local gambling industry, the luxurious El Rancho Vegas resort opened in 1941 on what would later become the Las Vegas Strip. This was followed up by Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel's Flamingo Hotel in 1946, starting the building boom and one-upmanship that continues today. This would also create a precedent of organized crime involvement in Nevada's gambling industry. While federal regulations and enforcement as well as investments by established corporations have virtually wiped out any mob involvement today, the building bonanza continues with ever-more elaborate resorts and attractions being constructed.

The city is laid out as follows: Main Street as well as the numbered streets run north-south, starting with Main Street in the west. The bus station is on Main Street. Downtown has several hotel-casinos, as well as the "Fremont Street Experience", a pedestrian mall lined with casinos, shops, and restaurants near the western end of Fremont Street. A couple miles south of downtown starts the "Strip" (Las Vegas Boulevard South), a north-south street lined with large casino-hotels, shopping malls, and many other attractions. The northern end of the Strip is marked by the tall Stratosphere Tower. Frequent city buses run up and down the Strip and connect the Strip to downtown. The Las Vegas monorail and the convention center sit just east of the Strip, and the University of Nevada at Las Vegas (UNLV) is slightly further east on Maryland Parkway. The airport is at the southern end of the Strip.

For a variety of legal and historical reasons, most of the largest casinos are not actually situated in the City of Las Vegas. The Strip and most other Las Vegas attractions actually sit in Paradise — an unincorporated town with just under 200,000 inhabitants. The City of Las Vegas only controls Las Vegas Boulevard as far south as Sahara Avenue. In the United States, most unincorporated areas lack municipal self-governance, are rural, and have populations in the hundreds or thousands. The lobbying power of the casinos has ensured that Paradise remains unincorporated and that Las Vegas cannot annex it. From a visitor's perspective, these legal distinctions are most important in terms of emergency services. You will see different fire trucks and ambulances depending upon whether you are north or south of Sahara Avenue, but the same police cars, since the city and county merged their law enforcement into one agency in 1969.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the Pacific, Macau has become an even bigger gambling center than Las Vegas by dollar volume. Many of Las Vegas' largest casinos have branches there. However, Macau is not (yet?) even close to Vegas as an entertainment venue, though it does have shows by major Chinese stars, and some Western entertainers.

Within the US, Las Vegas has no close competitors as a gambling destination; Atlantic City runs a rather distant second.

By car
Southern Californians crowd Interstate 15 every weekend going back and forth to Vegas, and from the Bay Area the quickest route comes down Interstate 5 through the Central Valley, takes State Route 58 east from Bakersfield, and joins Interstate 15 at Barstow. Expect this drive to be crowded and frustrating, unless you can come and go at off-peak hours; you may find air travel to be a better option with service to major California airports and many smaller ones as well. However, many find the 280-mile (450 km) drive along I-15 restful and scenic. Attractions along the I-15 include the California towns of Barstow and Baker; the Mojave Desert; and small hotel-casinos in Nevada at Primm (at the California border) and Jean, respectively. If you are traveling the I-15, you are crossing a desert, and should carry (and drink) ample amounts of water, especially on hot summer days where temperatures can reach 110°F (43°C).

From east of Las Vegas, travelers typically drive on I-40 through Arizona, and then head north toward Vegas on US 93 in Kingman, before US 93 becomes concurrent with Interstate 11 on the Colorado River bridge just downstream from Hoover Dam. I-11 is now complete from the river to an interchange with I-215 and I-515 in Henderson, bypassing Boulder City. The completion of the I-11 bridge eliminated what was once the biggest traffic chokepoint of an otherwise sparsely populated desert area. The old road through this area still carries traffic to the Lake Mead National Recreation Area and directly through Boulder City. Even with long-haul through traffic now routed on the new bridge, the old road is still crowded with tourist traffic to Lake Mead and the dam.

From the north, I-15 meets the Arizona border at the more relaxed town of Mesquite, Nevada and shortly goes into Utah. Most people driving from the east will exit onto I-15 at its junction with I-70, though those from further north may meet I-15 from I-80 in Salt Lake City.

Those traveling from the north drive on US-95 from Reno and Tonopah. This is a two-lane highway until it reaches the community of Mercury, where US-95 is a four-lane highway. The route is sparsely populated and travelers should ensure that their fuel tank is full.

By bus
Intercity bus companies have their own separate stops or stations in different parts of town. See the below links:

By plane

By train
Direct Amtrak service to Las Vegas was discontinued in 1997 due to budget problems. You can connect to existing routes using bus service, including Amtrak Thruway service via Santa Barbara, Oxnard, or Bakersfield.

A new railway line from Rancho Cucamonga known as Brightline West is under construction, and is scheduled to go into service in 2028.

By foot
If traveling along the Strip, walking is a reasonable option as the hotel-casinos are close to each other. However, what may look to be a short walk of only a couple hotel-casinos away may be farther than you expected as the resorts often look closer than they are due to their large size. In most cases, hotels are connected to each other either by bridge or underground or in the case of Excalibur, Luxor, and Mandalay Bay, by a complimentary rail shuttle. During the summer, the oppressive heat during the daylight hours may make walking a very uncomfortable activity. Take extra precautions when imbibing alcohol and walking outside as heat-stroke and severe dehydration are common health risks.

By monorail

Due to high prices, inconvenient station locations, low passenger ridership, and the lack of any connection to downtown or the airport, the Monorail is widely regarded as a failure. It operated under the supervision of a federal bankruptcy court from January 2010 to May 2012 before being acquired by RTC Transit.

By resort trams
The resort trams serve the west side of the Strip (the monorail serves the east side) and are all people movers / automated guideway transit on elevated tracks with free fares.

By bus
Buses can be an inexpensive and convenient option, especially if just traveling up-and-down the Strip, or to-and-from downtown. A bus ride is a good way to recuperate during those hot summer months after a long and tiring walk on the Strip since the buses are air-conditioned.

The fare is $2 for all RTC residential routes (transfers an extra $1), and $6 for Deuce service (includes transfer). The fare for residential routes and the Deuce may be paid in cash directly to the driver (no change given). It's also possible to buy tickets for RTC routes with credit/debit cards using the Ride RTC mobile app (iOS and Android). Ticket vending machines give change and accept credit/debit cards. A day pass which includes fare for Deuce service costs $8, while a 3-day pass costs $20. Passes are issued from vending machines on "Transit Pass" tickets printed on shiny card stock with magnetic stripes, which you slide through a reader in front of the bus driver.

By taxi
One of the easiest ways to get around is by taxi. Every hotel and most attractions have a taxi stand. It is relatively cheap to go from hotel to hotel, but since traffic is often so congested on the strip, taking a taxi often isn't much faster than walking. Many taxis will cut off the strip to use a parallel road—this is often faster but can double your taxi fare. The taxi driver is required to use the meter and to take the shortest route to your destination. There is a surcharge for rides originating at the airport, but not for extra passengers.

All taxis require an address for pickup and drop off. It is illegal in Las Vegas for taxis to pick up or drop off passengers on the street, especially on the Strip. It is customary to tip the hotel taxi dispatcher $1 and tip the taxi driver 15% of the meter, and about $1 per piece of luggage.

If you are traveling with a large group, consider hiring a limousine, as you will often forgo a wait and the price per person may even be lower than that using a taxicab. Limousines usually queue in front of the taxicab line and can be approached directly.

By ride hailing
Ride hailing companies have established legal operating status in Las Vegas, and operate throughout the Las Vegas Valley. The two most common rideshare services are operated by Lyft and Uber. These cars are typically Las Vegas locals who drive their personal vehicles full or part-time via the corresponding app. In order to utilize rideshare, you must have the Lyft or Uber app (or both) installed on your smartphone, a registered account, and a valid credit card.

Uber and Lyft drivers will take you anywhere in the valley for a fee calculated by a base-fare, duration, and distance traveled. This price is often much cheaper than a traditional taxi cab. Drivers can pick up or drop off at the airport, and even take you to Hoover Dam.

As with taxis, all rides must have an address for pickup and drop off. Again, it is illegal in Las Vegas to pick up or drop off passengers on the street. For every major hotel on The Strip, there is a designated pickup/drop off area for rideshare services. Drop off is usually done at the main valet or front entrance; however, pickup can be in the parking garage (e.g. MGM Grand), a tour bus lobby (Bellagio) or at a side entrance to the casino (Linq). Asking guest services at the hotel where the designated pickup area is will help a lot. It could take several minutes to walk to, or locate this pickup area. Ordering your ride before arriving at the pickup area is not recommended as many drivers stage at, or nearby the pickup area. You can be charged a "No-Show" fee if you do not arrive to the pickup area in as little as 2 minutes.

By car
Driving Las Vegas Boulevard (the "Strip"), especially on weekends, is an exercise in frustration. Due to extremely severe gridlock, you could easily spend an hour (or more) sitting in traffic on the Strip just to travel a couple of miles—good for viewing the spectacle, but bad if you're actually trying to get somewhere. The Strip's most critically congested section is the 1.7-mile-long portion between Spring Mountain Road/Sands Avenue to the north and Tropicana Avenue to the south, which happens to be where almost all of the major hotel-casinos are located (the intersection of Tropicana Ave. and the Strip is one of the busiest in the world).

Do what the locals do and avoid driving long distances on the Strip altogether. Instead take I-15, which parallels the Strip, and get off at the exit nearest your hotel and park there. Frank Sinatra Drive (which connects to Sammy Davis Jr. Drive) lies just west of the Strip, runs behind the casinos, and provides another option. Koval Lane and Paradise Road provide similar access on the eastern side of the Strip. If you need to do an east or west traverse of the northern half of the Strip and I-15, consider using the Desert Inn Road superarterial, which was built specifically to provide a fast grade-separated route for east-west traffic.

Virtually no major casinos on the Strip or downtown offer free parking anymore, but many offer valet parking for a charge. On Friday and Saturday nights, the self-parking lots fill up fast; consider splurging on the valet to avoid cumbersome delays and endless circling around.

Some intersections in Nevada have an atypical traffic light signal: a flashing-yellow left arrow. This indicates that you may turn left after yielding the right-of-way to oncoming traffic and pedestrians. From flashing yellow, the arrow can either go to green for a traditional protected left turn or to solid yellow which indicates it is going to turn red.

Rental cars
If you mostly plan to hang around one casino and your time in Vegas is short, you might want to forego a rental car altogether and just take taxis. On the other hand, taxi/rideshare fares add up quickly, and with car rental so cheap, anyone staying a few days or longer would be better suited with the flexibility of a car. Some of the best sights are located just outside of Las Vegas and require that you drive to those destinations. If you need to or might go farther (e.g., out of state), ensure your rental agreement allows it and sharing of driving duties.

The base rental price for a car at Harry Reid International Airport is quite competitive with other major cities. Unfortunately, agencies at the airport must levy very large fees (e.g., for airport improvements) and taxes on those base prices. These can increase the modest weekly cost of a compact or intermediate size car by nearly 60 percent.

 * All airport rental car agencies share a single off-airport facility, the, served by frequent free shuttle buses. However, the Rent-A-Car Center is located 2.8 mi (4.5 mi) south of the airport (meaning shuttle buses must pass through the congested Paradise Road tunnel).  Add at least 30 minutes to your schedule to pick up and/or drop off your vehicle to ensure you won't be late for meetings or departure flights.
 * There are numerous car rental offices on the Strip making it very easy to rent a car from your hotel for a day trip. Rent ahead of time as it can be busy during weekends and during major conventions.  Check to see if those off-airport sites must also charge the above fees and taxes.

See

Set in the middle of the desert of Nevada, Las Vegas can seem unreal at first sight. The skyline of the Strip features many unusual buildings side by side, and once you've come closer and get to travel along the Strip you'll to see replicas of buildings from around the world like the Eiffel Tower, the Great Sphinx of Giza, the Statue of Liberty or St Mark's Campanile. The buildings that aren't copies also look striking, and there are things happening along the street like the dancing fountains of Bellagio and the exploding volcano of the Mirage, not to mention the colorful signs, of which there however are even more in the old town of Las Vegas; Downtown.

Inside hotels and casinos (the terms are interchangeable), expect to see myriads of slot machines, and gambling from card games to craps and roulette to sports betting. Hotel casinos often have a certain theme, and is decorated and sometimes features attractions to that theme, like the flamingo garden in Flamingo.

A combination pass, the Las Vegas Power Pass, gives holders free admission to many of the attractions listed in the districts, including the Stratosphere Tower Observation Deck, Madame Tussauds, Siegfried & Roy's Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat, Springs Preserve, the National Atomic Testing Museum, and plenty of others, as well as numerous activities and tours.

Do
There's a great deal to do in Las Vegas; in addition to the gambling, the city is most famous for, you can for instance see a show, ride amusement park rides, watch and do sports or try to escape from an escape room. For mountain activities such as hiking, climbing, and skiing close to Las Vegas, see Go next.

Shows
There are places on the Strip where you can buy half-price show tickets, but generally not for the really popular shows on the same day of the performance. Cash or credit card accepted. Shows include circus shows, musicals, production shows, comedy, magic, tribute shows, adult shows,

Las Vegas hosts 8 popular Cirque du Soleil shows. To secure the best seats, reservations well in advance are recommended.

Production shows
Reserve your tickets well in advance for the best available seating. The most popular shows are sold out on the weekends. Make sure to always book your seats directly from the official hotel website.

Comedy shows
There are always different comedians coming to Las Vegas. Always a great way to get a laugh and end the night.

Gamble
Opportunities to gamble are found in most places in the Las Vegas metro area, even at Harry Reid Airport and small supermarkets.

Age restrictions
It is state law that all gamblers must be at least 21 years of age and state law also prohibits anybody under the age of 21 from loitering in any area where gaming is present. Even if you are at least 21 years old, you are required to bring to the casino a valid, government-issued ID that shows your current age or complete date of birth (e.g. driver's license, passport) as proof of your age. Photocopies of valid IDs are usually not considered valid and temporary paper documents (i.e. the documents issued while the actual ID is being mailed to you) are not generally accepted unless accompanied by the corresponding ID. Non-US drivers licenses and identification cards (aside from passports) can be accepted at the casino's discretion but do not count on it.

In-house security makes rounds of inspections to check compliance. If you are under-age or without a valid ID to prove your age and found in the gambling premises, hotel staff will ask you to leave, and could ask the metro police to issue you a citation. Moreover, under-age gamblers cannot collect any jackpot; such bets are void and the casino will at best return your wager before asking you to leave the premises.

There is a curfew for those under the age of 18 (unless accompanied by an adult) for Strip and Downtown areas of 9PM; for other areas in Las Vegas, the curfew is 10:00pm. During certain events (e.g. New Year's Eve) there are extended hours on the curfew.

The odds
It is beneficial to understand the rules, strategies, and odds of each game before you arrive. The games with the lowest house advantage if you know how to play are craps (dice) with full odds and blackjack; however, tables where a 21-blackjack pays only 6:5 or even-money instead of the traditional 3:2 give the house a big advantage, and should be avoided. Games in which the casino has the best house advantage include slot machines, roulette, and some craps bets (hardways and propositions). If a game is unfamiliar to you, just ask the dealer for advice on how to play. If you are playing during the daytime at a table that is not crowded, most dealers will be happy to explain the game to you, and even slow down the dealing.

While card counting (the act of keeping track of played cards in an effort to boost your odds) is not illegal under federal law, some casinos' policies bar/ban people who count cards or may refuse winnings.

ATMs
Most casinos offer ATMs and over-the-counter cash facilities, but beware about the charges set by your bank and the machine operator or establishment. ATMs in casinos may charge exorbitant fees for withdrawals.

Comps
One reason to gamble, aside from the hope of winning money, is that by doing so, you could receive complimentary ("comp") rooms, meals, and even airfare depending on your play (this is because the casinos want to "win some of their money back" from the high rollers). Most casinos issue free "player cards." It is generally to your advantage to show or insert your player card every time you play a table game or slot machine. At the end of your trip, you can ask the hotel if you are eligible for any comps, you might be pleasantly surprised. And if you arrive at the casino prepared to lay out $1,000 or more, don't be bashful; ask the pit boss to be "rated" for comps before or while you begin playing. Separate from comps, many hotels offer discount packages for travelers who book a Sunday-Thursday night arrival. Most of these packages offer gambling coupons or a matching play—see the Sleep section for details.

Poker
Texas Hold'em, 7-card stud, and Omaha can be found at almost all Las Vegas poker rooms. However, not all casinos have a poker room, so call the casino or ask a gaming floor attendant. Smoke sensitive players should note that while all poker rooms on the Strip are non-smoking, smoke may drift in from the casino if the room is not fully enclosed.

During June and July, the World Series of Poker (WSOP) is held in Las Vegas. If you are interested in poker, this is a must see and all top poker players are present. And if you are a skilled player, you can play the side games taking place during the WSOP.

Spectator sports
The Oakland Athletics of Major League Baseball will move to Las Vegas in the near future. With plans for a new stadium in the Bay Area having fallen into development hell, and the team's lease on the Oakland Coliseum running out after the 2024 season, the A's pivoted to Vegas. A new ballpark on the Strip at the site of the Tropicana resort is set to open in 2028. The team will play at a minor-league park in West Sacramento while the Vegas park is being built.
 * Formula One or Grand Prix motor racing uses an on-street circuit that includes The Strip. The next are 21-23 Nov 2024 then 20-22 Nov 2025.
 * Las Vegas is also a major regional center for college basketball tournaments every March. As of the upcoming 2024–25 season, four NCAA Division I conferences hold their annual men's and women's tournaments in the area; each of these tournaments sees the winner receive automatic entry to the NCAA tournament.
 * The Big West Conference, a league made up entirely of California schools save for one in Hawaii, holds its men's and women's tournaments at Dollar Loan Center.
 * The Mountain West Conference, home to UNLV, holds its men's and women's tournaments at UNLV's Thomas & Mack Center.
 * The West Coast Conference, a league made up of private faith-based schools along the West Coast, holds its men's and women's tournaments at Orleans Arena.
 * The Western Athletic Conference, a far-flung league with schools located everywhere from Seattle to east Texas, also holds its men's and women's tournaments at Orleans Arena.
 * Formula One or Grand Prix motor racing uses an on-street circuit that includes The Strip. The next are 21-23 Nov 2024 then 20-22 Nov 2025.
 * Las Vegas is also a major regional center for college basketball tournaments every March. As of the upcoming 2024–25 season, four NCAA Division I conferences hold their annual men's and women's tournaments in the area; each of these tournaments sees the winner receive automatic entry to the NCAA tournament.
 * The Big West Conference, a league made up entirely of California schools save for one in Hawaii, holds its men's and women's tournaments at Dollar Loan Center.
 * The Mountain West Conference, home to UNLV, holds its men's and women's tournaments at UNLV's Thomas & Mack Center.
 * The West Coast Conference, a league made up of private faith-based schools along the West Coast, holds its men's and women's tournaments at Orleans Arena.
 * The Western Athletic Conference, a far-flung league with schools located everywhere from Seattle to east Texas, also holds its men's and women's tournaments at Orleans Arena.
 * The Mountain West Conference, home to UNLV, holds its men's and women's tournaments at UNLV's Thomas & Mack Center.
 * The West Coast Conference, a league made up of private faith-based schools along the West Coast, holds its men's and women's tournaments at Orleans Arena.
 * The Western Athletic Conference, a far-flung league with schools located everywhere from Seattle to east Texas, also holds its men's and women's tournaments at Orleans Arena.

Finally, Las Vegas is one of the world's main centers for combat sports. For decades, many of the biggest championship events in boxing have been held at venues on or near the Strip. The Strip has also become an epicenter for mixed martial arts; the world's biggest promoter of MMA events, UFC, is based in Las Vegas.

Escape rooms
Escape rooms consist of themed rooms where a team of players work together to either escape from a locked room or complete a task (such as opening a safe or stopping a nuclear missile launch) by finding clues and objects or solving puzzles within a set time limit, usually one hour. Las Vegas has several escape rooms that vary in difficulty from easy for beginners to nearly impossible for the experienced player. Most escape rooms require advance booking and do not accept walk-ins. Some escape rooms will fill the number of players up to the maximum with other people so check with the location in advance if you don't want to play with strangers.

Get married
Las Vegas is the wedding capital of the world. To get married, first go to the Clark County Marriage License Bureau and apply for a marriage license. Both parties must have valid ID, such as a driver's license or passport. The cost is $60 per couple. The Las Vegas Wedding Bureau is open from 9AM-midnight seven days a week, including holidays. No blood test or waiting period is required. The marriage license itself is valid for one year. The minimum age to marry is 18; a 16 or 17 year old may marry if one parent is present or has given notarized permission.

Once you have a marriage license, the wedding ceremony can be performed by any priest, minister, rabbi or Justice of the Peace authorized to perform weddings within the Las Vegas area. Numerous wedding chapels are located around the Wedding Bureau and on the Strip. You can choose an elaborate theme wedding, such as an Elvis impersonator as officiant, or a simple ceremony and reception celebration.

Most major hotels and Vegas wedding chapels offer wedding packages for those who wish to plan a larger wedding ceremony. But don't let a lack of planning stop your nuptials; all Vegas wedding chapels can perform immediate weddings with no prior appointment, although it is recommended to make a reservation for your wedding. If you make a reservation most chapels will provide courtesy limousine transportation from your hotel to the chapel and back. Making a reservation also decreases the likelihood of having to wait.

Events
Las Vegas continues to grow with annual events and festivals held throughout the city.

Active sports

 * Tennis: Las Vegas is a great place for tennis fans. Not only do many of the hotels offer excellent courts but public courts abound as well. Vegas is also home to many amateur tournaments and UNLV tournaments.
 * Skydive Las Vegas are based at Boulder City, south towards the state line.

Ice skating and skiing
Given the very high temperatures during the summer it may be a surprise that ice skating is popular, but it is inside.

Seasonal rinks pop up at major Strip hotels like the Venetian and Cosmopolitan. Downtown Summerlin Mall also has one during winter.

Sales tax

The combined state and local sales tax in all of Clark County (meaning the entire Las Vegas metro area) is 8.375%. Only groceries and prescription drugs are exempt.

Like most U.S. states, Nevada has not implemented a tax refund mechanism for international travelers. The only retailers that can sell tax-free items to international travelers are the duty-free shops at Harry Reid International Airport.

Basics
Most hotel/casino resort complexes in Las Vegas have a gift shop open 24/7 that offers basic traveler supplies and sundries. Hotel gift shops are outrageously expensive and should be avoided except for emergencies.

If you are planning to not rent a car and to simply go up and down the Strip on foot or bus, the pharmacies are your best bet for basic supplies. They are all open 24/7 and accustomed to dealing with tourists from all over the world.

Like most U.S. pharmacies, they carry a very large variety of products besides pharmaceuticals and dietary supplements, including snacks, soft drinks, bottled water, cosmetics, toiletries, hats, sunscreen, maps, postcards, and so on. CVS Pharmacy has two branches on the Strip, one located on South Strip between CityCenter and Park MGM, and the other located on North Strip between Circus Circus and Sahara Avenue. Walgreens has one branch on Central Strip at Palazzo and another on South Strip in front of Planet Hollywood.

The Hawaiian convenience store chain ABC Stores has four stores serving the Las Vegas Strip.

There are also 7-Eleven convenience stores open 24/7 throughout the Strip, but their prices tend to be higher than the pharmacies and their product selection is not as broad. Souvenirs, drinks and snacks are also available at small stores along the strip; there is a cluster of them between MGM and Planet Hollywood as well as north of the Wynn. These are usually the cheapest places to shop, even if the selection is quite limited.

Importantly, there are no major supermarkets on the Las Vegas Strip near the resorts. The closest one that sits on Las Vegas Boulevard is the Whole Foods Market at Town Square (see below). Other than that, one has to travel as far west as Valley View Boulevard or as far east as Maryland Parkway to find supermarkets such as Vons, Albertsons, Food4Less, and Smith's. There is even a Walmart at Tropicana Avenue, about 6 kilometres (3.7 miles) east of the Strip. These places are however accessible by car or bus, prices are lower than on the Strip, and if you're, say a European looking for some authentic American specialties to bring home these are certainly better places to find them than 7-Eleven.

Eat
Large casinos will invariably offer a variety of dining options, ranging from the omnipresent buffet to simple cafes to gourmet restaurants to Michelin-star winning restaurants. While there are a few spots along The Strip where you can find a deal, expect to pay a premium even for a simple meal unless you venture to another part of town.

Buffets
The most famous buffets in Las Vegas are at the Bellagio, Caesars Palace, Cosmopolitan, and Wynn. The best buffets typically cost about $50 a person for a weekend dinner. Lunch is your best value at most buffets when they are around half price, breakfasts are cheapest and often have a great spread too. Do not forget that tipping your buffet waiter at least $1 per person/drink is customary. You can leave cash on the table at the end of your meal or tip the cashier at the counter on a credit card. Some buffets give "early bird" discounts, which means that if you arrive early the price is a few dollars lower.

Drink
In Las Vegas, free drinks are often offered to gamblers, even those playing 5-cent slot machines. You should tip the waitress at least $1 per drink; failure to do so will likely cost you free drink privileges.

Although it is officially NOT allowed per the lawbooks, drinking on public sidewalks and other areas on the Strip and Downtown is rarely if ever enforced. Thus it is entirely common to consume alcohol in public areas, including the public sidewalks within the Las Vegas city limits which includes all of Downtown, The Strip and close-by areas. Again, as previously mentioned, over-intoxication and disorderly conduct is frowned upon, so stay within your own limits. On special occasions (New Year's Eve and Independence Day for example) there may be bans on glass bottles and/or aluminum cans for the Strip and the Downtown area. Plastic cups and sports bottles are allowed at these times and either provided at purchase or often available at hotel/casino exit doors. When inside a casino or hotel there is seldom any restrictions on carrying drinks from one bar, restaurant or playing location to another with the exception of some showrooms and theaters where it will be clearly posted. Individual shops may also have rules about carrying in food and drink of any kind.

The towns of North Las Vegas, Henderson and other outlying areas have very different regulations forbidding removal of alcohol from bars, etc. so check with your host or doorman if in doubt. Many bars and liquor stores are open 24 hours a day. There are also posted laws for convenience stores, grocery stores and other retail liquor outlets restricting consumption in the immediate vicinity. Most of all, always drink responsibly and realize that the hot, dry desert air in the summer months can have very adverse health affects on people consuming alcohol such as rapid dehydration and deadly heat stroke, even after dark. Drink plenty of water as well!

Nightclubs/dancing
There is a club or lounge in nearly every hotel and casino. Most clubs remain open until 4AM, with various after-hour clubs available for the truly hard-core partiers. Drink prices can range anywhere from $4–8 for a domestic bottle of beer, $8–10 for well drinks made with cheap generic liquor, and $200 or more for a bottle of spirits. Clubs are always busy on weekends, and may also be packed during weekdays at places that have Service Industry Night (SIN), usually Tuesday to Thursday, when locals working in the service industry have their night off.

A good way to find out what places are hot in Vegas is to look up the "Vegas" or "LV" hashtag on social media services like Instagram or Twitter. The reason is that club and event promoters alike cleverly utilize the services as a way of reaching their audiences to announce specials, celebrity appearances, and guest list availability. They usually post a flyer of the event and include their cell number, so that you can text them and let them know the male-to-female ratio in your party. Groups with higher women-to-men ratios tend to have better offers for guest list entry, drinks, etc. Most promoters usually work for specific establishments, but generally connect you to other promoters in their networks who work for the establishment you ask for.

The top clubs will charge entry of $15 or more. Exceptions may include those who have reserved a table, those who get there early, ladies, and locals. Expect to wait in a line for 10 minutes to 2 hours, depending on the night. It is usually best to arrive before 10PM; while the club may be emptier, the line will be shorter and you may avoid paying a cover charge. Sitting at a table often requires a bottle purchase and if you stop making purchases, they will ask you to vacate the table so that someone else can occupy the table. Some nightclubs have official dress codes that, for example, advise against wearing hats, shorts, flip flops, sandals, sneakers, athletic wear, ripped or oversized clothing, or steel toe shoes.

Day clubs are usually open in the months between April and September.

Ultra lounge
An ultra lounge is a mix between a lounge and a night club, but the difference to "real" night clubs is tiny and vanishes completely when the DJ pulls out hard-core dance hits.

Sleep
Las Vegas is a very peculiar destination - and hotels in Las Vegas have a lot of peculiarities that you won't find in other cities.

The vast majority of visitors to Las Vegas arrive on Friday or Saturday nights and stay for the weekend. As such, room rates can seem ridiculously cheap from Sunday-Thursday night but zoom upwards on weekends. Travelers can plan a trip to their advantage: by staying, say, Sunday through to Thursday, one can not only save a bundle on hotel rates, but also take advantage of package deals that may include a show, meals, and gambling coupons—occasionally worth more than the cost of the hotel room itself.

A bad surprise at check-in are so-called "resort fees". Many hotels in Las Vegas collect this fee on top of the room charge (typically between $10 and $20 per night, but can sometimes be more like $40) when you check in. You won't get around paying it, even if you claim that your hotel booking website had indicated the total pricing as final. The resort fee is apparently an attempt at introducing low-cost airline-style pricing to hotels: splitting up the price into an attractively cheap basic fee, and charging the customer for almost everything separately. Thusly, in Las Vegas, the resort fee typically "covers" the usage of the swimming pool and of the fitness center. Some hotels do not collect resort fees. It may be worth it to ask the front desk to remove this fee, especially if you had a bad experience with your stay. However, keep your expectations low but be polite and reasonable.

In Las Vegas hotels, even the resort fee does not always cover hotel amenities that are included for free in hotels in the rest of the world. These charges may be eye-poppingly expensive. Most Las Vegas hotels charge separately for use of the fitness center with rates, around $20 to $40 per visit. Local calls are usually billed, and wireless internet is generally at least $12 per day. Unless the service is clearly marked as free, it is better to use your own cell phone or mobile router. In-room coffee may cost more than twice as much as the coffee shop down the street. The mini-bar, which you might think is a convenient in-room refrigerator, but which they think of as an electronically monitored, vibration-sensitive, highly profitable vending machine that will charge you the moment you move or lift any item off its sensor pad, is another poorly marked trap for travelers. Not only are the items overpriced – especially for bottled water, whose price generally is around $8–10 per small bottle, but which can be as high as $25 – but putting your own items in the in-room refrigerator may cost you $25 or $50. If you need to use a refrigerator (e.g., to store medications or breast milk), talk to the front desk about your options. A few hotels ban all outside food and beverages. Most don't object to carry-out food, but few permit guests to tote large amounts of outside booze up to a room, as that often ends with noise complaints and safety concerns.

Due to the flamboyant and lively atmosphere of most casino hotels, you may not get a good night's sleep, especially on weekends or during busy tourist seasons. Drunken parties and associated recklessness are frequent occurrences in most of the motels and hotels on the Strip. Most hotels will send security personnel up to disperse loud parties or to warn drunk patrons to keep the noise down if you call the front desk, but their effectiveness may vary. Quiet alternatives include the Four Seasons Hotel, Vdara, Waldorf Astoria, and Skylofts at MGM Grand.

In Las Vegas parlance, the words "hotel" and "casino" are interchangeable. There is a big difference between casino hotels and mainstream hotels without gambling. Casino hotels tend to be large (often with a long walk from the parking to your room and often via the gambling floor). The size of casino hotels means that they often have a wider range of services (restaurants, bars, shops, coffee shops, etc.) and many facilities have long opening hours or are open 24 hours.

Off the Strip
Along the main roads leading off the Strip are a wide variety of accommodations, ranging from basic budget motels to splashy, full-size resorts every bit as expensive as those on the Strip.

Downtown/Fremont Street
Most accommodations in Downtown tend to be of the budget variety, owing to the distance to the Strip. However, hotels in Downtown still put you within very close distance to the casinos of Fremont Street. The Downtown area is also where you'll find the few hostels Las Vegas has.

Further out
Many modest hotels, well-away from the Strip and downtown, cater to "locals"; many offer lower rates and (often) better games. These are complemented by plush, full-resort hotels/casinos in some locations. There are also a number of RV parks further out. Additionally, the suburbs of Henderson and North Las Vegas have plenty of cheap accommodations.

Stay safe
Be vigilant and do not leave any valuables visible in your car. If you are lucky enough to win a large jackpot, you can ask the casino to hold your winnings in its safe or to pay you with a check so that you are not walking out the door with a large amount of cash. If you insist on receiving all your winnings in cash, all casinos have security personnel available to escort you to your car or room upon request. Like most large tourism destinations, the Strip has its share of pickpockets, so keep your wallet in a front pocket or hold onto your purse.

Major casinos are generally very safe. Casinos take security very seriously and have cameras recording almost every square inch of their property, as well as uniformed and plainclothes security personnel patrolling at all times.

Make sure your hotel door is closed safely at night and use the deadbolt if one is provided. If there is knocking on the door at night, don't open it unless you are sure of the good intentions of the persons that knocked. If you are not expecting someone, do not open the door.

Street vendors selling water and other beverages do not have a permit to sell them and are frequently stopped by hotel/casino staff. Try to make sure whatever you're buying is sealed.

Additional information
Despite the advertising slogan What happens here, stays here, Las Vegas has laws that are vigorously enforced. Contrary to popular belief, prostitution is illegal in Las Vegas and all of Clark County, although it is legal at licensed brothels in a few rural counties of Nevada outside of the Las Vegas area. Pedestrians may drink alcohol from an open container on the Strip, but not in automobiles (not even for passengers) and the alcohol must be in a plastic container.

Driving dangers
Remain vigilant while driving. Las Vegas Boulevard ("the Strip") is notorious for fender benders and other traffic collisions as a result of the heavy stop-and-go traffic and the numerous distractions (electronic signage and water fountains) visible to drivers.

Interstate 15 is routinely under construction to relieve its perennial traffic jams. The construction zones tend to have inadequate signage and poor lane markings, which combined with the large number of tourists results in frequent last-minute lane changes and in turn, many multi-vehicle car accidents. Many people are also driving intoxicated as well; Nevada has an unusually high frequency of traffic deaths with alcohol involved, and most of them happen near the Strip.

Stay healthy
For non-emergency healthcare, there are several businesses offering same-day, walk-in care, such as UMC Quick Care. If you're staying in a hotel, the front desk will be able to recommend one to you. As with all of the US, the emergency phone number is 911 and, mid-July 2022, the crisis number is 988.

Heat exhaustion and dehydration
Expect extremely low humidity and temperatures above 105°F (40°C) June to September. Bring sunscreen and wear loose, light-colored clothing that substantially reflects sunlight. Avoid dehydration by drinking plenty of water.

Mental health, suicidal thoughts, substances, and other problems
Although the story about gambling away all your money and then dying by suicide is much more likely to happen in the movies than in real life, Las Vegas is no stranger to the person experiencing a crisis, and it offers substantial support when you need it. If you are in crisis, whether due to something you think is going to ruin your life, a crisis in a relationship, a bad trip (the drug kind or the travel kind), or a flare-up of a previous problem, contact emergency services or the crisis support line. You can also walk in to any hospital's emergency room or any urgent care clinic and ask for help.

For ongoing support, there are hundreds of Gamblers Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, and AA meetings in the Las Vegas area, and most meetings are open to travelers.

Internet
Essentially all hotels offer in-room Wi-Fi. However, unlike virtually everywhere else in the U.S., many hotels, especially those on the Strip, charge for Wi-Fi access, either separately or bundled into the so-called "resort fee". On the other hand, free Wi-Fi is readily available at most businesses. Temporary SIM cards for international visitors can be purchased at most convenience stores, drug stores, and at Harry Reid Airport.

Smoking
Inside all large casinos (generally those casinos exceeding 15 slot machines), strip clubs and standalone bars not serving food, smoking is permitted. In large casinos, there are areas which are smoke-free, but they may be very close to smoking areas. Poker rooms are typically smoke-free. Smoke-free table games and slot areas are also available. Restaurants inside casinos are non-smoking. Nightclubs and lounges may allow smoking if they do not serve food.

For all other standalone restaurants, bars, convenience stores, grocery stores and airport facilities smoking is banned in all establishments which sell food other than prepackaged snacks. This ban will be obvious in most places by the absence of ashtrays and the required clearly posted signs. In most cases, smoking areas may be provided outdoors, so always ask your server since various options are almost always available. The penalty can be a $100–$600 ticket if you are caught by authorities.

In practice, there is extremely lax official enforcement in most informal off-strip locations due to a lack of enforcement personnel, and some will even offer ashtrays "at your own risk" if you ask for one. Smoking is still permitted in any stand alone bar or club (with or without gambling machines) that do not serve food other than prepackaged snacks (such as chips, pretzels, candy bars). Although a gray area, some smoking-permitted bars which do not serve food will let you carry food in from adjacent/attached non-smoking restaurants so ask. Many stand alone restaurants now also provide a physically separated (separate entry doors and separate ventilatation) non-smoking dining area and a smoking bar or gaming area to accommodate both smokers and non-smokers.

ATM
Try to avoid ATMs inside casinos and nightclubs, as they will often charge high transaction fees. If you need cash, it's a good idea to get it before going inside a casino or club. Check ahead to see if your bank has locations in Las Vegas. If you bank at a credit union, check ahead to see if your institution has any ATM alliance partners in Las Vegas; most US credit unions are part of one or more alliances that allow members of all alliance institutions to use one another's ATMs without a fee. On the Strip, the following ATMs are safer bets:
 * For Bank of America customers, there's an ATM inside the M&M's Store on the 4th floor, and a pair in the Caesars Palace Forum Shops in the long hallway between the atrium closer to the Mirage and the fork in the Forum Shops where Trevi is.
 * For Chase customers, there are ATMs in both of the CVS Pharmacies on the Strip (one near the Monte Carlo, and one by the Hilton Grand just north of Circus Circus).
 * Wells Fargo has plenty of ATMs at the airport.
 * For Citibank customers, there are ATMs inside the local 7-Eleven convenience stores.
 * If you're not a member of any of these banks, there is also a cheap ATM that charges a $1 fee located inside Casino Royale, next to the cage to the left of the bar.

Consulates
Most consulates are honorary which means they offer limited services to travelers and their nationals living in the area and usually available by appointment only. They are located in different parts of town. The nearest cities for additional foreign consulates for the west coast are in Los Angeles and San Francisco:

 * 🇸🇻 El Salvador
 * 🇩🇪 Germany
 * 🇲🇽 Mexico
 * 🇵🇱 Poland
 * 🇨🇭 Switzerland

Go next
Though you might not expect it, Las Vegas is somewhat of an outdoor hotbed. In a days drive you can reach numerous national parks, state parks, preserves and wilderness areas. There are boundless opportunities for hiking, camping, rock climbing, mountain biking, skiing, 4x4 trails, watersports, dark sky gazing, etc. It continues to be a great home base for outdoor enthusiasts. Renting and traveling in a campervan has become more popular. As always, be sure to come prepared for the weather, follow fire restrictions, bring extra water and respect the rules of the land you are on.

 * Hoover Dam (east, ¾ hour car): is nearby, east of Boulder City.

Rock climbing and hiking

 * Lake Mead National Recreation Area (northeast, 1½ hour by car): hot springs.
 * Grand Canyon (southeast, 4 hours by car via the Hoover Dam): it's quite easy to make a day trip from Vegas to Grand Canyon as there are a lot of tour companies advertising their services at almost every corner on the Strip. A typical bus tour takes includes transport to and from your hotel as well as lunch and costs $100–300/person depending on the tour company. There are also helicopter tours which are more expensive.
 * Death Valley (west in California, 2 hours by car): lowest point in the Western Hemisphere and one of the hottest places in the world.
 * Mount Whitney (west in California, 4 hours by car): highest point in the lower 48 states. About four hours west: two hours to Death Valley, a further two hours beyond Death Valley.
 * Zion National Park (northeast in Utah, 3 hours by car): offers stunning scenery in a red-walled canyon.
 * Zion National Park (northeast in Utah, 3 hours by car): offers stunning scenery in a red-walled canyon.

Skiing

 * Mt. Charleston ski area in winter, hiking up to alpine zone in summer. 35 miles northwest of Las Vegas.
 * Mt. Charleston ski area in winter, hiking up to alpine zone in summer. 35 miles northwest of Las Vegas.
 * Mt. Charleston ski area in winter, hiking up to alpine zone in summer. 35 miles northwest of Las Vegas.

Mountain biking

 * White Mountains (California) includes the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest. To get there, take US-95 and S.R. 168 to Westgard Pass, then paved road as far as Shulman Grove at, gravel to Patriarch grove just below treeline.
 * White Mountains (California) includes the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest. To get there, take US-95 and S.R. 168 to Westgard Pass, then paved road as far as Shulman Grove at, gravel to Patriarch grove just below treeline.
 * White Mountains (California) includes the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest. To get there, take US-95 and S.R. 168 to Westgard Pass, then paved road as far as Shulman Grove at, gravel to Patriarch grove just below treeline.

Other nature

 * (west, ½ hour by car): views of red sandstone most wouldn't expect to see near a major metropolitan area.
 * Death Valley (west in California, 2 hours by car): lowest point in the Western Hemisphere and one of the hottest places in the world.
 * (north on US95, 30 mins): primitive camping on 1.6 e6acre of Mohave Desert.
 * Great Basin National Park (north, 5 hours by car): Nevada's only glacier and other excellent mountain scenery, Bristlecone Pines, cave tour with stalactites.
 * (northeast, 1 hour by car): 40,000 acres of bright red Aztec sandstone outcrops; ancient, petrified trees and petroglyphs. Hiking and Camping.
 * (west, under 1 hour by car): access to beautiful hiking, biking and camping areas. The connector road, Deer Creek Road, is a beautiful scenic drive. A great place to take a picnic and escape the summer heat.

Other cities

 * Los Angeles (southwest on I-15, about 4 hours by car). also accessible by Amtrak, Greyhound, Flixbus, and Megabus.
 * Mesquite (northeast on I-15, 1¼ hours by car): a delightful little resort on the Nevada-Arizona border near Utah.
 * Sedona (southeast in Arizona, about 5 hours by car). New Age tourist town in red sandstone canyon.
 * St George (northeast in Utah, about 2 hours by car): well-known for its spectacular scenery and proximity to Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park and the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.

title: Las Vegas


text:
Las Vegas (disambiguation)

There is more than one place called Las Vegas:

United States of America

 * Las Vegas - "Sin City" in the state of Nevada.
 * Las Vegas (New Mexico) - A small town in New Mexico near Santa Fe.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Las Vegas (disambiguation)


text:
Las Vegas (New Mexico)

Las Vegas is a lovely town in New Mexico in the United States of America. It is an under appreciated gem and a far cry from the Southwestern chic of nearby Santa Fe, with a large collection of historic Victorian homes and other remnants from when Las Vegas was a roaring railroad town. Other attractions include the Montezuma Castle, Storrie Lake, and the New Mexico Highlands University.

Understand
Las Vegas, NM is not to be confused with the far larger and better known major city of the  same name in Nevada. Within the confines of the northern New Mexico references to Las Vegas or Vegas are understood to refer to the local community. To avoid being considered rude, refer to the other Las Vegas as Las Vegas, Nevada. As the population is 83% Hispanic, expect to overhear Spanish frequently as many people are bilingual.

Get in
Las Vegas is about 60 miles east of better-known Santa Fe, along Interstate highway 25. The nearest major commercial airport is in Albuquerque, about 125 miles away. There are public airports in both Santa Fe and Las Vegas that handle non-commercial aircraft. There is Amtrak rail service via the Southwest Chief, the main Amtrak line across the southwestern United States. This stop has no ticket office and no passenger assistance provided by station personnel, though on-board employees will assist passengers between trainside on the platform and the train itself. There is a waiting room open at train time, within which is a Quik-Trak self-serve ticketing kiosk (credit card required to activate kiosk), so tickets may be obtained at the station before boarding the train. The New Mexico Department of Transportation also offers limited public bus service between Las Vegas and Santa Fe on a commuter schedule.

Get around
Drive, walk, bike, do what comes easily. The town is fairly small.

See

 * Las Vegas was an important waypoint on the Santa Fe Trail, and later on the railroad across the Southwest. There are over 900 structures listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In the central area of town, it seems almost every single building you see is significant in some way. Walking tour guides are available. Here are some of the highlights:
 * The, where Las Vegas was founded in 1835. Today it is a shady park with a gazebo, surrounded by historic structures. On the north side of the plaza is the Plaza Hotel, a railroad-era hotel which remains a fine place to spend the night in Las Vegas. Across the street from the southeast corner of the plaza is the old First National Bank.
 * Railroad District, where the Las Vegas train station is and so much of the city's growth centered around it. The Mission Revival, an old Harvey House hotel, is definitely worth a look.
 * , a local park surrounded by lots of beautiful old homes.
 * Douglas/6th Street District, once the central business area of Las Vegas, today there's plenty of interesting buildings here like the, the Old City Hall, and the.
 * , an area of town centered around Carnegie Park, which has a Carnegie Library that was modeled after Thomas Jefferson's home, the Monticello. The surrounding blocks are filled with old Victorian homes.
 * North of Las Vegas on SR-65 (Hot Springs Blvd) is the town of Montezuma and the Armand Hammer United World College of the American West. On the campus is the gorgeous, which was built as a railroad hotel and served a number of purposes before becoming part of the United World College campus. It is open for free tours, which start at 1PM on certain Saturdays and are led by students of the college. But even if you don't get inside the building, it's worth the drive up to at least see it.

Buy
Experience the quaint and charming shops within the Plaza, Douglas/6th Street, and Railroad Historic Districts. These areas provides many small home-town shops, antiques, book stores, and coffee shops.

Go next

 * Fort Union National Monument, about 30 miles east of Las Vegas via I-25, preserves the ruins of a major military installation along the Santa Fe Trail. There are interpretive exhibits and a 1.6-mile trail among the ruins. Day use, 7 days a week (closed Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years); $3 fee, Park Pass applies.  There are no services near the monument.
 * Santa Fe National Forest popular destinations near Las Vegas include Gallinas Canyon and Pecos Wilderness. The Pecos/Las Vegas Ranger District has full details.
 * Pecos is a small town just off I-25 between Las Vegas and Santa Fe, and is the home of the Pecos National Historic Park, a small NPS site that preserves the ruins of an abandoned Indian pueblo and Spanish mission from the 17th century, as well as the Glorieta Pass Battlefield, site of a major Civil War battle in the West.
 * Historic Route 66 (the "original" version) passed just southwest of town. Check its  itinerary page for ideas on things to do as you move on from Las Vegas to your next destination east or south.
 * Villanueva State Park is located 38 miles southwest of town. Take I-25 to the Villanueva exit and drive south 15 miles. Well-regarded for its picturesque setting, the park has overnight camping for a fee. The drive on SR 3 south from I-25 is especially appealing for those with a taste for rural Spanish settings.

title: Las Vegas (New Mexico)


text:
Latakia

Latakia (اللاذقية), also spelt Lattakia, is a major port in Syria, with a population of 550,000.

Understand
Latakia is a city extending back to Ancient Greek times, and continues to be an important commercial port for Syria today. The city itself consists largely of white stucco highrises and streets lined with palm trees, and the most popular beaches are along the coast to the north of the city. Latakia is home to one of Syria's largest universities, Tishreen University, and the city tends to be relatively socially progressive and liberal (by Syrian standards), with a mixed population of Christian, Alawi, and Sunni inhabitants.

By bus
Overland travel is limited, but buses connect with regional cities along the Syrian Coast. Bus travel from other cities, such as Aleppo, Damascus, Hama and Homs, is possible but arrangements have to be made on the ground. Expect very long delays due to security checkpoints and detours to avoid areas of conflict.

By train
As of 2018, trains are limited to a twice daily service from Tartous, taking about 1 hr 15 min. Long distance trains from Aleppo and Damascus are cancelled indefinitely. is located at the major roundabout Yemen Square (ساحة اليمن).

Get around
Much of Latakia is accessible by taxi.

One can walk along the corniche, although it is otherwise not a very walkable city, due to distances between points in the city (beach, downtown, resort hotels, Ugarit, etc.).

Bus
Latakia has quite a good bus system. Destinations are labeled in Arabic, but the buses are numbered, operate frequently and follow predefined routes. Illustrative maps indicating intersections of bus routes are found in the buses. Safuan hotel is able to provide you with a hand-made map of bus routes 1 and 2. A ticket is valid for two rides.

 * Bus number 1 runs in a circle from the train station via Zera'a, the port, the corniche back to the train station and may be useful for getting to/from the train station to the city center.
 * Bus number 2 starts near the city center at the beginning of 14 Ramadan Avenue and goes via the University to the new microbus terminal.
 * Bus number 3 operates round about the southern corniche.

See

The Latakia region is known for its diversity of landscapes, from the green mountains to the sandy beaches, with many important archeological sites, such as the Saladin Castle (a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2006) and the ruins of Ugarit, close enough to see on a day trip from Latakia.

Do
In the city center, the American street attracts the young and fashionable at night.

Also the Zira'a quarter and around the university are hip upcoming parts of the city.

Swim

 * There are two options here on this beach. Rotana Afamia is a luxury resort with clean sand, private pools, boats, jet skis, lunch buffet, and hotel. Afamia Beach is immediately next door with private cabins, snacks, crowded beach, and average clean sand.
 * There are two options here on this beach. Rotana Afamia is a luxury resort with clean sand, private pools, boats, jet skis, lunch buffet, and hotel. Afamia Beach is immediately next door with private cabins, snacks, crowded beach, and average clean sand.
 * There are two options here on this beach. Rotana Afamia is a luxury resort with clean sand, private pools, boats, jet skis, lunch buffet, and hotel. Afamia Beach is immediately next door with private cabins, snacks, crowded beach, and average clean sand.
 * There are two options here on this beach. Rotana Afamia is a luxury resort with clean sand, private pools, boats, jet skis, lunch buffet, and hotel. Afamia Beach is immediately next door with private cabins, snacks, crowded beach, and average clean sand.

Run
There are a few routes to run on with views of the sea and near green parks. However, carefully watch your step. There are obstructions along the way: holes, loose rock, gravel, construction, and garbage bags. Even cars share the side-walk.

Geocache
There are a few caches in Syria and some in Latakia. Check for availability on geocaching.com

Play
There are several neighborhood parks suitable for children to play on structures and in open spaces. List with map, descriptions, locations, and pictures is on waymarking.com

title: Latakia


text:
Latera

Latera is a small town in Italy, in the province of Viterbo, Lazio. With an elevation of 508 m (1,667 ft) (660 m in the highest point), and an area of	22.66 km² (9 sq mi), Latera had a population of	about 800 inhabitants in 2019. It's the last town before entering Tuscany.

Understand
Latera is first of all a little medieval town. Its current heritage is a combination of medieval history and rural traditions. Latera has a population formed most of all by senior citizens. This situation, and emigration of local younger people to the big cities such as Rome, Milan and Viterbo, reflects the high decrease of population since 1950s.

Latera can be a good destination both for high and low periods. It can be pleasant a short visit of half day to discover the little medieval town, but also a journey of some weeks if your looking for relax, nature and points of interest. Situated in fact in a strategical position, Latera is almost near to lakes (Lake Bolsena and Lake Mezzano), mountains (Amiata), sea (Montalto di Castro and Mount Argentario), UNESCO sites (Val d'Orcia and Pienza), historical and archeological sites (Vulci, Castro, Sovana, Pitigliano, Bolsena and many others).

Get in
You can reach Latera only by car. The nearest airport is in Rome and there isn't a rail network connected to the area (the closest are Orte and Viterbo (40-50 km far). The only main road that passes in Latera's territory is SS Castrense, a narrow and slow road which runs from Montalto di Castro to SS2 Cassia at Lake Bolsena.

Get around
It's very easy to visit Latera by foot: the historical centre is almost small and can be walked in about 1 hour. The only disvantage is that Latera is built on some hills, so you'll have to climb up at least one time. Taking a bike would be pleasant to visit the town and also its surrounding and very nice rural landscapes: the only trouble it's the same, climbing up. Avoid car if you're not experienced, you'll risk to remain fit in with your car in very narrow streets with huge medieval walls.

See
There are a lot of interesting buildings in Latera. The main is the big structure composed by the church, the belltower and the castle. They are united in a nice complex of medieval origin, situated at the top of the main hill where the town has been built, dominating the ancient walls and the old surrounding houses.

The San Clemente church, dating back about 1598, replaced an older medieval church and has been restored several times. If open, it's a worth a visit inside. The small square outside forms a semicircular shape with medieval houses and an arch of entrance. Outside the arch there's a little but tall bridge. The belltower, with a nice clock on its northern side, dominates the whole old town and it's a landmark of Latera.

On the back of the church there are the remains of the old castle of Farnese dynasty: unfortunately the interior is in ruin but it's anyway interesting outside. Another arc connects Farnese Palace to Latera's Comune (town hall): you won't notice it if you don't look at it carefully, because it's only a small door: the main things of town hall are inside, because the ceilings and the roofs are original of centuries ago. The interior of town hall is composed by offices so it's not opened to public to visit them, but you can even ask to watch them to some officers (maybe you won't be satisfied by them, but an attempt it's not a trouble).

Outside the western side of Farnese Palace there's a little but very nice square, Piazza della Rocca ("Rock's Square"), a rectangular shaped place with some trees: restored and re-paved, it's a very pleasant place for the stunning views that offers. Piazza della Rocca has been historically built over the top of Latera's walls, and the little stone at the edge wall faces a 20-m-tall slide, overlooking great part of the old town with its characteristic roofs and, in clear days, the valley and the far Valentano town.

Walking down the medieval walls is a good experience, as you'll be able to visit great part of the old town: the main and best preserved are in the western side of the town, in "Via delle Mura" (Walls' Street). The most interesting part is in a narrow and hidden street just after the Farnese Palace, which contains a combination of arches (I quattr'archi, "The Four Arches") with a little "Our Lady".

There are four historical fountains in the town, each one situated in an angle of the old town. Their position has associated them with four historical districts of Latera: the southern is the "Ducal Fountain" (Fontana Ducale) but it's better known as Ponte ("Bridge"); the western is Canale ("Channel"), a nice big fountain in a wooded ditch just outside the town; the eastern is Piscero (historically Viscero); and the northern one no longer exists but was replaced by a new version on a public park, Trinchieri.

Latera hosts a curious museum, the Museo della Terra ("Country Museum"). Located in an old granary built by some monks come from Mount Amiata, the exposition is made up of a private collection which includes tools and memories of the borough of Latera. Inside the building there are contained the tools used by the peasants to work in the fields and those of the craftsmen of the shops of the town, along with objects related to the religious and social life and children games. Some tools date back to the 19th century. You can learn more at the official site. The museum is open:
 * Summer: Tu 17:00-20:00; Th 09:00-12:00; Sa Su 09:00-13:00, 17:00-19:00
 * Winter: Sa 10:00-13:00, 15:00-18:00; Su 10:00-13:00

Do
Latera is surrounded by a lot of woods and fields. Excursions in the territory is a good and pleasant experience, both for trekking and bike. Local people enjoy sometimes bike excursions to Lake Mezzano, in Valentano's territory but very close to Latera border (the lake is closer to Latera town than to Valentano). Beware of hunters in hunting days! Or consider to hunt if you're a hunter.

Latera's greatest public park, I Castagneti ("Chestnut groves"), is located on the top of the town: it's a part of a chestnut wood transformed in a recreational area. In Castagneti you'll find tennis, basketball, volleyball and futsal fields. The park is almost crowded by younger popolation of Latera in summer days. In the evening they are open but almost empty because they are not lightened. The other public park is in Latera's entrance.

In autumn, if weather permits it, Latera is a very good place for mushroom fanatics. Consider that to look for mushrooms you'll need a permission granted by the authority and to use particular chests and behaviours: if Guardia forestale (a public police authority for the protection of the wild and woods in Italy) officers meet you without these requirements, they'll impound your mushrooms and sanction you with a huge fine.

Lake Bolsena, not in Latera's territory but very close to the town, is easily reachable by car, bike and, eventually, even by foot: car is the better option. Lake Bolsena's waters are pleasant for a bath, but be careful of streams and stones. The nearest beaches to Latera are San Magno in Gradoli's comune, and the long Bisenzio strip in Valentano's one.

Latera has a good soccer/football field. Their team play in lower Italian categories.

Talk
If not an Italian speaker, talking in Latera will be almost surely a trouble for you. Consider to bring with you at least a phrasebook. Latera's people talk in Laterese between them, a dialect formed by a combination of Roman, northern Latium, Tuscanian and Umbrian dialects; laterese is very similar to Italian language (to be precise, it's Italian with some particular expressions and slangs) and is easily understood by every Italian. Most of all can speak good Italian of course, but consider that some older person will speak only in the local slang.

Forget about talking in English or other languages. It would be very hard to find someone who speaks English, because the young population is small, and they are not used to interacting with tourists or travellers. Maybe you'll be lucky, but don't depend on it.

Stay safe
Latera has only a chemistry/pharmacy: Farmacia "Giambra Gianluigi", Via I Maggio 8.

Consider that, due to the small size of the town, sometimes you won't find the medicine you're looking for. Consider to check it in bordering towns like Gradoli or Valentano, or better Acquapendente. If not, you'll have to wait the ordination.

There are not hospitals or clinics in Latera, usually population goes to Acquapendente or Montefiascone.

There's only a doctor in Latera, people will direct you to him.

Drink
It's a worth trying local wine, most of all if someone will offer you its own from a fresh and old cellar. In the region of Latera there are some famous wines, such as Est Est Est! produced in Montefiascone and Aleatico, in the bordering town of Gradoli. The Tuscan towns of Scansano and Montalcino, famous for their Morellino and Brunello, are not far from Latera and you'll be able to appreciate their wines in restaurants.

Latera was once a town rich of spring water. A lot of sources were sold in 1970s by local administration. Now you can find some water fountains, but they have been marked as not drinkable. Don't worry if local people invite you to drink that water, they'll say "I've grown up drinking this water, is fresh and good and I've never felt bad". The water is in fact tasty and fresh, but drink it at your risk: you could be the first one to feel bad.

Connect
There's a post office in Latera's main street, but you won't find internet points or other forms of contact. There is an old but still working telephone box at the entrance of the town.

Respect
When you are in Latera, consider that is a small town with a lot of senior citizens. Catholic customs are a sensitive matter in small towns like Latera so avoid discussions, most of all with older people. Be polite with local people, and consider that offending one person would involve the dislike of one third of the population. A person in Latera is linked with at least half of the inhabitants for kin, relationship of friendship.

If you come in Latera for the first time and feel yourself a bit scowled by local people, don't worry. They are only trying to understand who are you and what are you looking for there. Knowing or helping someone will bring you an immediate esteem and friendship: after the first impact, Lateresi are very friendly and opened to foreigners.

title: Latera


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Latgale

Latgale is Latvia's easternmost region, bordering Russia and Belarus.

Cities

 * – The second largest city in Latvia, after Riga. It is a delightfully charming, spacious, green city with the biggest fortress in Europe, which has withstood many many wars and remains virtually unchanged since its construction in the 19th century.
 * – A major railway junction with important food and textile industries, where travellers may get stuck for a few hours or a day between trains.

Other destinations

 * – A village famous for its Basilica of the Assumption, 40 km northeast of Daugavpils.
 * – Small and scenic town with another beautiful Church of the Assumption, 25 km from Rēzekne.

Talk
Latgalian is a language similar to Latvian, the official one. Unlike the rest of Latvia, where only the cities are heavily russified during the Soviet period, in Latgale even much of the countryside areas are more Russian than Latvian/Latgalian-speaking.

See

 * Latgale has thousands of lakes. Make sure to swim in some of them in summer or to see them at least. A boat trip in lakes is a good idea.
 * Latgale is also rather hilly, even though the hills are not high compared to other countries.
 * Latgale is also famous for its pottery. Visit some pottery workshops and countryside houses.
 * Latgale is also famous for its pottery. Visit some pottery workshops and countryside houses.

Eat
Try the traditional pork products. Delicious!

Go next

 * Vidzeme – The most touristy region in Latvia with the Gauja National Park and its river valley, many medieval castles, estates and churches, and numerous interesting cities, towns and villages.
 * Zemgale – Flattest region in Latvia, and famous for the neighbouring and historically related Jelgava Palace and Rundāle Palace, near Jelgava and Bauska, respectively.

 * Onward travel into Lithuania, Belarus, and/or Russia is straight forward, if you possess the necessary papers.

title: Latgale


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Lathrop

Lathrop is a city in San Joaquin County in California's San Joaquin Valley.

Go next

 * Stockton - take Interstate 5 North.
 * Sacramento- take Interstate 5 north past Stockton.
 * Bay Area- take Interstate 205 & Interstate 580.
 * Los Angeles- take Interstate 5 south.

title: Lathrop


text:
La Thuile

La Thuile is a town and comune in the Aosta Valley of northwest Italy.

Understand
La Thuile is situated in the Alps at the extreme north-west of the country, close to the French alpine town of La Rosière. La Thuile is situated along a road going from Pré-Saint-Didier in the north-west up to the Little St Bernard Pass in the south-east linking Italy to Bourg-Saint-Maurice and the Isère Valley in France.

Get in
Public transportation includes regular buses connecting La Thuile to Pré-Saint-Didier, the latter has a railway station connected to the Italian railway network via Aosta.

title: La Thuile


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Latina

Latina is a city in Lazio in Italy, capital of the Province of Latina.

Understand
Latina was inaugurated in 1932 as the city of Littoria by the fascist government. Therefore, the city is full of fascist architecture such as you can see on this page.

Climate
Latina enjoys a mediterranean climate with long, hot and dry summers and short, mild and moderately wet winters. The intermediate seasons are generally warm with variable weather. Sunshine is abundant year-round and is guaranteed virtually every day in summer.

By train
The train stop is in Latina Scalo. From there, you will need transportation to Latina city.

Go next

 * Rome is not far by train, and includes the EUR neighbourhood, if you want to see even more fascist architecture.
 * Naples is the next major city to the south.
 * There are also various pleasant villages and monasteries further inland and south, including the Abbey of Fossanova in Priverno.

title: Latina


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Latina (province)

Latina is a province of the Lazio Region of Italy.

Cities

 * - Capital of the province, it was founded in 1932 by the fascist government and features fascist architecture
 * - Old city with an imposing castle that was the seat of the noblewoman Giulia Gonzaga and her court during the last renaissance period.
 * - The city where Cicero, the Rome's most revered statesman, spent his final days before being murdered by two soldiers on the orders of Marc Antony.
 * - A walled harbor set on the slopes of Monte Orlando, a promontory jutting into the Tyrrhenian Sea.
 * - A traditional village on the hills overlooking a bewitching crescent of scenery, including the Fondi lake and the coastal strip from Terracina to Sperlonga.
 * - A charming walled hill village with a castle at its peak
 * - The prettiest resort on the Lazio coast that had been the summer residence of Emperor Tiberius.
 * - A pleasant seaside resort renowned for its ancient quarter and the roman Temple of Jove Anxur on a cliff edge overlooking the city center and the ancient Appian Way.
 * - A beach town among extensive sand dunes and salt marshes.
 * - Old city with an imposing castle.
 * - Old city with an imposing castle.

Other destinations

 * - A park in the southernmost portion of the Latium region across the Aurunci and the Ausoni Mounts.
 * - Created by a Roman nobleman in 1921, in the English garden style, Ninfa has been described as "the most romantic garden in the world".
 * - A 541 m. high promontory connected with the Greek myth of Circe, the goddess of magical potions mentioned in Homer's Odyssey.
 * - The last remains of the Pontine Marshes, once occupying much of what is now the province of Latina.
 * - The largest of the Pontine Islands.

See
A Cistercian abbey built between 1163 and 1208.

title: Latina (province)


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Latin America

Latin America includes those countries in South, Central and North America where Spanish or Portuguese is the official or most common language. Although the term is sometimes used in the United States to refer to the entire region of the Americas to the south, it is more properly a cultural or linguistic term. It is not precisely defined, but does not include the United States of America (except Puerto Rico), Canada, Greenland or Caribbean islands where English or Dutch are dominant. (French-speaking nations are sometimes included, as the language is Latin-based, but this isn't the usual sense of the term.) The term was made popular by emperor Napoleon III's government to justify their intervention in "Latin" Mexico.

Understand
The term "Latin America" dates to propaganda efforts by French Emperor Napoleon III (reigned 1848-1870; the first few years as President) to exert French influence in the Americas on the basis of Spanish and Portuguese being languages derived from Latin just as French was. While this effort was an embarrassing failure for France (their would-be puppet Emperor Maximilian of Mexico first refused to be a puppet and was later executed by republican Mexicans), the term did replace the earlier term "Iberoamerica" almost entirely and is now in use in most languages, including Latin American Spanish. There are debates about which lands in the Americas should be encompassed by this term, but this guide uses it only for Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking places. Do not conflate all of Latin America with South America, as it includes most of Central America, and most of Mexico is actually part of North America proper even if one considers Central America a separate geographic entity (most geologists see it as part of North America).

Pre-Columbian highlights
There were several great civilizations in what's now Latin America prior to the arrival of the Conquistadores. Mexico is well-known for the Aztecs and the earlier Olmec civilization; Central America from the Yucatan Peninsula to Honduras is full of Mayan ruins and is still populated by Mayans to a significant extent; the Incas had a large empire in the Andes; and evidence of a great civilization in the Brazilian Pampas that may be about 2,000 years old has been discovered since 2021 and is being further investigated. All of the civilizations mentioned above except for the yet-to-be-named Brazilian one and indeed many others produced large quantities of pottery, sculptures and other artworks that can be seen in numerous museums, and some impressive ruins have been left behind, including Machu Picchu, Teotihuacan, and Chichen Itza. The Gold Museum in Bogota, Colombia is a good place to look at artworks made of gold from the pre-Columbian era.

The native peoples of the Americas have also had a large impact on other areas of life, including cultivation and cooking. Potatoes in many varieties are native to the Andes and have been cultivated there for at least 7,000 years; corn is native to Mexico, where it has been developed and grown for about 10,000 years; tomatoes are from Mexico and neighboring areas and were grown and used in cooking by the Aztecs and previous civilizations starting before 500 BC; chilis originated in Bolivia and were first grown in Mexico about 6,000 years ago; the cacao bean from which chocolate is made is native to the Amazon and was grown in South America 5,300 years ago before being introduced to Mexico by the Olmecs; and the Caribbean Tainos used a cooking technique that became the basis of today's styles of barbecue (Spanish: barbacoa) in the Americas. Beans were also a part of pre-Columbian cuisines in the Americas. All or most of these ingredients remain central to the cuisines of most of Latin America today.

Shared history

 * This is intended as a short overview of general historic themes shared by most of Latin America and not as detailed coverage of individual countries' particulars. For that see the country guides or Wikipedia

Much of Latin America was conquered by Spanish or Portuguese adventurers, soldiers and missionaries in the decades following 1492, but the Mapuche in what is now Chile held out until after independence, and colonial governance took centuries to penetrate deeper into all facets of life. Native languages and in some cases social structures endured and even thrived. Some more outlying areas that were hard to reach and seemed of little value were later claimed and settled by European powers outside the Iberian peninsula, which caused their history to diverge. Here the mainland areas of "the Guyanas", French Guiana, Guyana (former British colony), Suriname (former Dutch colony) as well as Central American Belize (British colony until 1980) and most of the Caribbean have markedly different histories from the rest of the region, which engenders debate about whether to consider them part of "Latin America".

During the 19th century, independence movements mostly led by the criollo (people of European descent born in the colonies) elite won independence for most former Spanish colonies. Slavery was either abolished upon independence or put on a course of extinction, unlike in the United States or Brazil which clung to it until 1865 and 1888 respectively, and the black and native populations were at least in theory granted full citizenship rights upon independence. Spain maintained control of a few particularly lucrative island colonies such as Cuba, Santo Domingo (now the Dominican Republic) and Puerto Rico before losing them to the U.S. in the Spanish-American War of 1898. The U.S. granted nominal independence to Cuba in 1902 while retaining strong de facto control until 1959, but Puerto Rico remains a U.S. territory, albeit with Spanish instead of English being the dominant language. While the new constitutions were ostensibly color-blind, the criollo elite mostly took power for itself, only slowly integrating a select few mestizo (of mixed European and Amerindian descent) families into the governing elite. Similarly, native culture was often ignored or even persecuted, and the introduction of stronger bureaucracy, public schools and more direct administration of far-flung areas created a continuing pressure on indigenous languages which only a few languages survived in a truly healthy state.

Social inequality introduced in the colonial era but sometimes predating it, is one of many causes of a tumultuous and fractious political history throughout much of the 19th and into the 20th century. Often a caudillo, a charismatic military leader, would rise from outside the governing elite and challenge it with populist policies and the support of the vast economic underclasses only to turn into a dictator who clung to power. With the passage of the Monroe Doctrine that prohibits other countries in the Americas from forming military alliances with other great powers, the U.S. began to assert its influence over the region and the U.S. continues to be an important trading partner, hated, loved and feared to varying extents across the political spectrum. During the 1850s, private US citizens, so-called "Filibusters" tried to conquer Latin American nations and convert them into puppets of mostly Southern slaver interests and by the end of the 19th century, business interests, especially in bananas, had many countries firmly in their grip, giving rise to the term "banana republic". The U.S. has often intervened to overthrow socialist governments and prop up right-wing authoritarian regimes that collaborated with U.S. business interests, causing resentment on the losing side of those political battles. During the Cold War this tendency dating at least to the Woodrow Wilson era was exacerbated by the accusation that any leftist movement was a puppet of the Soviet Union and the natural inclination of such movements to accept Soviet (or later Cuban) aid. Perhaps the most notorious example was the 1973 Chile coup d'état, in which the socialist president Salvador Allende was toppled in a U.S.-backed military coup led by the far-right general Augusto Pinochet and forced to commit suicide, with Pinochet proceeding to rule Chile with an iron fist until the 1990s. In the 21st century, China is increasingly challenging American dominance in the region, having overtaken the United States to become the largest source of foreign investment in Latin America.

Coca is native to the Andes and as such cocaine production naturally happens in Latin America and all aspects of the production, trade and consumption of this and other substances illegal under U.S. law have had a large and sometimes controversial influence. While there have been plans to entirely eradicate the coca plant on US suggestion and a "law and order" approach with "super mano dura" (super hard hand) still enjoys some popularity, countries such as Uruguay have since experimented with the legalization of cannabis and others propose even further ratcheting down of the "war on drugs". Regardless, criminal enterprises fueled partially or entirely by the drug trade have had a large influence on many parts of Latin America.

After 1990, several Latin American countries elected left-leaning presidents in a trend sometimes called "pink tide" which recalibrated the political compass of many areas. While most of those leftists ruled constitutionally and were willing to let at least some foreign investment untouched, the rules of Hugo Chavez in Venezuela (1999 to his death in 2013), Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua (1979 to 1990, and 2007 to present), Rafael Correa (2007 to 2017) in Ecuador, Evo Morales in Bolivia (2006 to 2019, when he was toppled in a U.S.-backed military coup) and Chavez's successor Maduro have garnered international controversy and accusations of US meddling on one hand and dictatorial tendencies on the other. The Odebrecht corruption scandal has implicated high ranking political figures in virtually all Latin American countries and left no side of the political spectrum untouched. In some cases, Western governments have outright refused to recognise the legitimacy of socialist governments in Latin America, instead alleging electoral fraud, while regarding right-wing opposition figures as their officially-recognised heads of government.

Culture
Although a very culturally diverse region, unsurprisingly, as former Spanish and Portuguese colonies, influences from the former colonial masters is evident in the local cultures. Perhaps the most noticeable influence is the Roman Catholic Church, and every Latin American country has a Roman Catholic majority. Indigenous cultures have in general survived much better in Latin America than in the United States and Canada, and most Latin Americans have at least partial indigenous ancestry, with indigenous cultural elements forming an integral part of the national identities of most Latin American countries. Latin American culture has also been shaped by the African cultures of the slaves who were brought over during the Atlantic slave trade, as will as by that of other immigrant communities such as the Arabs in Mexico, the Germans in Brazil, the Welsh and Italians in Argentina, the Japanese in Brazil and Peru, and the Chinese in Cuba and Peru.

Talk
Naturally according to (almost) all definitions at least one Romance language will be spoken by a large portion of the population. In most cases this will be Spanish and in Brazil this will be Portuguese. Both Spanish and Portuguese diverged significantly from their "metropole" varieties spoken in Europe and slang terms in particular as well as some aspects of pronunciation can trip up the uninitiated. Moreover, there is also significant regional variation in both Spanish and Portuguese within Latin America. However, besides some snickering at an innocently used word that has a different (slang) meaning this should not pose too big a challenge. Foreign language proficiency outside of language border regions or relatively small young urban populations tends to be poor but varies widely even between neighboring countries such as Nicaragua and Costa Rica. While the common cliche would have it that native American languages died out the second a Spaniard (or Portuguese) set foot in the respective area, languages such as Nahuatl (Mexico) Maya languages (southern Mexico and northern Central America), Quechua and Aymara (Andes) remain in widespread usage and show even some tentative signs of revitalization. In Paraguay most of the population — even those with no indigenous heritage — are bilingual with Spanish and Guaraní in part due to Jesuit missionaries making extensive use of the language.

Sports
Latin Americans take their sports very seriously. Two sports that stand out from the rest are football (soccer) and baseball. Baseball is the dominant sport in the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Nicaragua, Panama and Venezuela, while football is the dominant sport everywhere else. Passions for football in particular run very high, and violent incidents between fans of opposing teams are a regular occurrence, sometimes even resulting in fatalities. The football rivalry between Brazil and Argentina is one of the most intense and iconic in the world.

Besides football and baseball, other sports which command strong local followings include volleyball in Brazil, as well as basketball, field hockey and rugby union in Argentina.

Eat
Cuisines vary widely between countries, and in many cases between different regions of a single country as well. See the individual country articles for information about their cuisines. The same names are often used to refer to very different dishes in different countries, and to add to the confusion, many Spanish and Portuguese dishes have the same name but are vastly different from their respective Latin American counterparts. For instance, tamal refers to related, but very different dishes in Mexico and Colombia, while Colombian empanadas are very different from their Argentinian counterparts, as are Spanish tortillas from their Mexican counterparts. The drink known as horchata differs significantly between different Latin American countries, all of which are significantly different from the Spanish version of the drink. You might have a cliche in your hand of all Latin American cuisines being spicy and this indeed true for large parts of Mexico and northern central America and the chili pepper is native to the Americas, but several other Latin American countries have virtually no capsaicin influence in their cuisine.

Drink
American soft drinks are omnipresent in Latin America and are safe for really off-the-beaten-path destinations. Tap water ranges in quality from better than at some U.S. localities to not fit for human consumption and while there is a certain amount of "getting used to the local bugs in the water" anything serious will affect locals and tourists in equal measure. Bottled water is usually widely available if overpriced — getting a larger container often saves considerable amounts of money.

As for alcoholic beverages, large parts of Latin America never get cold enough to brew certain types of beer without artificial refrigeration. As it was a German who first perfected this technology for large scale use, naturally many breweries have German roots. From the Costa Rican "imperial" whose name and large eagle shaped logo makes it hard for Germans to not think of the war to some excellent craft breweries, there are some countries that have an acceptable brewing offer if not the five-century-old tradition in every second village found in much of Europe.

Much of Latin America is climatically unsuited for viticulture and thus most wine is imported and expensive. The most notable exceptions are Argentina and Chile, which are major wine-producing nations that are well-regarded by many connoisseurs. However, their wines are typically exported to the United States or Europe instead of other Latin American countries.

Corn is a local staple food in many countries and has been turned into booze for centuries. Nowadays some beers contain corn but there are also other maize-based drinks — even alcohol-free ones.

Sugar cane was among the crops Columbus and his crew brought to the Americas personally and as such they were and in some cases continue to be a cash crop of many countries many of which also make some sugar cane derived liquor, be it rum, cachaça or generic aguardiente.

Respect
While most of Latin America is nominally Catholic, actual religiosity varies widely. As many common swearwords are considered to be blasphemous, you should tread with caution using even mild swearing around religious or conservative people. Different from the European situation where Catholicism tends to be the most conservative brand of Christianity and most leftists are also secularists, there are many Catholic priests and even bishops that adhere to a much more "left-wing" interpretation of religion called "liberation theology" which while condemned by the pope is still often invoked in politics. On the other hand, 20th- and 21st-century U.S. missionaries have brought their brand of charismatic evangelical fundamentalist Christianity, which tends to be much more strict, much more socially conservative and taken much more earnestly by its believers than many "submarine Catholics" who only "surface" in church during high holidays.

Latin Americans tend to be very affectionate, both in speech and body language, compared to most people from the Anglosphere. Keep in mind that this is usually just a sign of friendship, and not necessarily an indication that the other person wants to have sex with you. Cheek kissing is a common greeting between friends throughout Latin America.

While you won't have a problem just because of your nationality even if you are American and the attitude of Latin America to the five-hundred-pound gorilla up north is highly ambiguous and at times contradictory (Nicaragua, a country that greatly suffered from 1980s American imperialism is also a country that greatly enjoys Walker, Texas Ranger) avoid any comments on politics that come off as condescending. Chances are, the average Latin American can rattle off encyclopedic knowledge of invasions, interventions, underhand dealings and injustices the US or European countries perpetrated against their country that you haven't even heard of. You can talk politics and will find enthusiastic and opinionated conversation partners, but the wiser course of action is to listen and ask rather than to opine and preach.

Another thing, partially caused by language and cultural differences is the usage of the term "America". Portuguese and Spanish speakers tend to see the entire landmass between Tierra del Fuego and Alaska as one big continent "America" rather than the two or even three "Americas" the anglophone world tends to see them as. Hence all who live in said landmass are "Americans". The United States is referred to as Estados Unidos in Spanish, and never as América. Spanish also contains the word estadounidense ("United Statesian") as a neutral and common term for citizens of the US and Latin Americans tend to cringe at the common shorthand americano for things related (only) to the US. Try to avoid it unless you particularly enjoy lectures on how the term "America" belongs to "the entire continent" rather than one - albeit large - country. On the other hand, norteamericano, North American, is sometimes used when referring to the U.S. (as in dólares norteamericanos for the U.S. dollar, widely used as a hard currency around Latin America). The term "Gringo" is used in many places and by many people to refer to all things U.S. and sometimes to all things non-local. It may have derogatory connotations but it doesn't necessarily have to.

Compared to the Anglosphere, extended families tend to be more closely knit in Latin America, and large family gatherings are common.

title: Latin America