What happens in Las Vegas... - Jochens Pictures

…stays in Las Vegas, as the saying goes. However, this trip and the photos I took are worth an exception.

It’s Now or Never

Welcome to Las Vegas Sign — The famous “Welcome” sign on the Las Vegas Boulevard

Opinions about Las Vegas vary – recommendations generally range from “definitely go there” to “definitely don’t go there”. Ultimately, it’s probably best to go and see for yourself. September 2024: I was at a conference in Phoenix, Arizona, for the second time. Last year, I took the opportunity to visit the Grand Canyon afterwards. Now I was faced with the choice of going there again to use the local knowledge I now had, especially for night photos in the Grand Canyon – or driving roughly the same distance in a different direction to see Las Vegas.

In the end, the choice fell on Las Vegas. Firstly, because I probably won’t be coming back to Phoenix – the conference will probably take place on the US East Coast again in the future. So this was a “now or never” opportunity. Secondly, I was less dependent on the weather. This consideration turned out to be absolutely right, as it was a very cloudy night with a full moon, which would have made the photos I had in mind at the Grand Canyon impossible.

And so left the airport in Phoenix with a rental car on Friday at about noon. After three hours on the direct route via Highway 93 I reached Kingman, where I had booked a hotel room. As I had to be back at the airport in Phoenix by 10 a.m. on Saturday, I wanted to drive back part of the way at night so that I would have less stress the next day.

After another hour and a half of driving, I reached my destination!

Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas

Las Vegas New York — Colorful even on dreary days: “New York, New York”

The first stop was the famous welcome sign on Las Vegas Boulevard. The sign has its own parking lot and is a must-see attraction, especially for Instagram tourists. The queue is correspondingly long if you want a picture of yourself in front of the sign. As I didn’t want to be in the picture myself, I was able to simply sneak past the side.

I then parked my car a little further on, in the “Luxor” parking garage with its striking pyramid, and set off to explore the Las Vegas Strip. Even though it was a gloomy evening, the colorful splendor of the various casinos and hotels was at least as overwhelming as the crowds of people bustling along the sidewalks and squares.

The facade of “New York, New York” was the first thing that impressed me. A huge roller coaster winds its way between famous landmarks such as the Empire State Building, the Chrysler Building and the Statue of Liberty! When it was dark after dinner, I headed for the “Paris Las Vegas” next. From the top of the Eiffel Tower – half the size of the original in France – you have a fantastic view over the city’s sea of lights and the water games in front of the Bellagio on the other side of the street.

I spent around five hours on the Strip before making my way back to the hotel. It was definitely impressive to have experienced the nightlife of Las Vegas for myself and the various themed worlds of the casinos. However, the gaming dens themselves are rather sobering – the “one-armed bandits” are not much more than the slot machines mounted in almost every pub in Germany. And if there is a roulette table in between, it looks more lost than glamorous. In the same way, the sparkling image of the city falls apart if you venture just one side street away from the Strip, where dark corners between empty houses have left a thoroughly queasy feeling on the way back to the car.

And so the conclusion is: it was great to have seen Las Vegas once. But I don’t have to go there again.

The Results

I was definitely able to achieve my goal of taking home some great night photos of Las Vegas. The picture of “Paris” is fittingly also the September picture in my 2025 calendar.