TODAY IN LAS VEGAS MAGAZINE - SHOPPING

LAS VEGAS – A SHOPPING MECCA
In recent years, Las Vegas has grown to become one of the country’s leading shopping destinations, home of many of the world’s great retail names. While we are able to list here only some of the significant locales, virtually every hotel resort features its own unique shopping opportunities.

BELLAGIO’S "VIA BELLAGIO" SHOPS
Located inside the magnificent new Bellagio Hotel, the Via Bellagio is a collection of illustrious, top name boutiques. It combines the timeless with the avant-garde, the extravagant with the simple, personified by such distinctive identities as Giorgio Armani, Chanel, Gucci, Hermés, Fred Leighton, Mo-schino, Prada, Tiffany and more. Via Bellagio is as tasteful as it is elegant. 10 a.m.-midnight. 693-7111.

DESERT PASSAGE AT THE ALADDIN
This unique “shopping adventure,” surrounding the Aladdin with over 140 shops in 500,000 square feet, offering a lavish bounty of shopping options. Its inspired design and special effects create a virtual journey through the exciting market places of distant places. Along the way are captivating designer shops with fashions for the home and hearth, mind and body, such as Sur la Table, Swarovski, Aveda, Z Gallerie, and Houdini’s. Also, top name restaurants and entertainment venues such as Commander’s Palace and Blue Note Jazz Club. 10 a.m.-11 p.m. Sun.-Thurs.; 10 a.m.-midnight Fri./Sat. 866-0710.

ESPLANADE AT WYNN
Inside Wynn Las Vegas, a long, gracefully curved and handsomely decorative corridor houses a who’s who of upscale brand names, including the country’s first Oscar de la Renta boutique fashion store and first Jean Paul Gaultier designer store. The list continues with the likes of Chanel, Dior, Manolo Blahnik, Judith Lieber, and Vuitton. The proprietor’s own name is on Wynn Signature Shop, Wynn and Company Watches, Wynn and Company Jewelry, and Wynn LVNV. Open from 10 a.m. daily, until 11 p.m. weekdays, until midnight on Friday & Saturday. 770-7000.

FASHION SHOW
Located where the Strip meets Spring Mountain Road, across from Treasure Island Hotel, this is a grand shopping mecca, the Strip’s largest retail destination and one of America's most attractive malls. You’ll find such top names as Neiman Marcus, Sak’s, Nordstrom, Robinsons May, Macy's, Dillard’s and more than 250 shops including Quicksilver, plus restaurants including California Pizza Kitchen and many more. Underground and garage parking, valet service. Mon. thru Fri. 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Sat. 10 a.m.-8 p.m.; Sun. 11 a.m. -6 p.m. 369-0704.

FORUM SHOPS AT CAESARS
"The Shopping Wonder of the World," this is more than a shopping center, it's a major attraction. Statues talk, fountains dance and the sky evolves dawn to dusk in an hour. Over 100 specialty stores & restaurants, such as Escada, Gucci, Hugo Boss, FAO Schwartz, Louis Vuitton, Nike-town and Spago, Palm, Cheesecake restaurants. All of these, plus Festival Fountain, new IMAX 3D feature, Lost City of Atlantis, and a 50,000 gallon tropical fish aquarium. Sun.-Thurs. 10 a.m.-11 p.m., to midnight Fri. & Sat. 893-4800.

GRAND CANAL SHOPPES AT THE VENETIAN
This is one of Las Vegas’ premiere shopping experiences. One strolls down stone walkways for nearly a quarter mile along Venice’s famed Grand Canal, encountering a long collection of fine stores and boutiques. You'll discover some of the world’s most famous retail names. The storefronts make spectacular showcase presentations of the fine goods and fashions. It all culminates at St. Mark’s Sq., a vast piazza, beneath a 70-ft. ceiling filled with the ever-changing Venetian sky. Here one finds a grand mix of shops, cafés & operatic “street performers.” Sun.-Thurs.10 a.m.-11 p.m.; Fri./Sat. til midnight. 414-4500.

MANDALAY PLACE
This is one of Las Vegas’ newest, if not most unusual retail centers, 41 unique boutiques and restaurants offering goods and services from some of the world’s finest retailers and designers. It’s located in a 310-ft.-long skybridge that spans the street dividing the Mandalay Bay & Luxor resorts. With one entrance from Mandalay Bay resort, another from Luxor resort and a third from a new 24-hour valet area, Mandalay Place is the world’s first retail facility directly attached to two major casino resorts. Sun.-Thurs. 10 a.m.-11 p.m.; Fri./Sat. til midnight. 632-7777.

MASQUERADE VILLAGE SHOPS AT RIO
One of the city's most colorful, if not most extensive resort shopping centers, some 60,000 sq. ft. of shops and boutiques, situated as part of the Rio Suites Hotel's fascinating Masquerade Village. Along with the daily "Masquerade Show in the Sky,” a fantasy public presentation that’s presented at intervals, 4 to 10 p.m., you’ll discover a profusion of name stores & shops, the likes of Alegre, Ben & Jerry's, Davante, Watch Zone & so many more. It’s open daily, 11 a.m.-11 p.m. 252-7777.

PARIS LAS VEGAS’ “LE BOULEVARD”
This colorfully themed resort offers some 31,500 square feet of French-flavored shopping along its unique “Le Boulevard” district. Guests stroll on quaint cobblestone streets and winding alleyways, taking in a wide array of authentic boutiques that include a wine and cheese shop, the world famous Lenotre bakery and pastry emporium, shops for gifts, men’s and women’s apparel, jewelry and dozens of other lines. It’s truly a shopping adventure. Open til 11 p.m. everyday. 946-7000.

STAR LANE SHOPS AT MGM
One of the more colorful Las Vegas shopping areas is the Star Lane Shops at the MGM Grand. Through a Hollywood themed entry, the lane’s strolling area can be reached from the hotel's lobby, parking structure or monorail. It comprises almost two dozen familiarly named retail stores/booths, all along a movie set-like promenade. 3-D shop fronts and entertaining facades make it fun just to stroll. There's also an "MGM Studio Walk" leading to food court, retail & arcade area. Open 9 a.m.-midnight. 891-1111.

TOWER SHOPS AT STRATOSPHERE
Las Vegas' lavish shopping promenade & center is one level up the escalator leading to the landmark Stratosphere Hotel Tower. The shops, some fifty of them, range from practical to fashionable with such names as Distinction, Cleo’s, and 004. It also houses the Ronnie Josef Inter-national Salon and Spa. Open Sun.-Thurs., 10 a.m.-11 p.m., Fri. & Sat. until midnight. 380-7777.