Royally Flushed

The top spot on our Las Vegas list goes to Mon Ami Gabi at Paris Las Vegas. Grab a table here for primo people-watching plus a great view of the fountain show at The Bellagio.

Without further ado, here are my top five best spots for championship people-watching in Las Vegas.  Rather than counting backwards like we did with yesterday’s five great spots, today we start with number one – my absolute favorite spot for checking out the Las Vegas crowds.

1.  Mon Ami Gabi restaurant at Paris Las Vegas.  Not only does this center-Strip café and its year-round patio offer terrific food – it’s voted #4 out of 1600+ restaurants on Trip Advisor’s Las Vegas forum – it also provides diners with a birds-eye roost for viewing both Strip traffic and The Bellagio’s famous fountain show.   An excellent list of wines-by-the-glass, a sublime chicken liver mousse pate and loaves of warm, crusty French bread complete the experience. 

2.  Trader Vic’s at Planet Hollywood.  Another great Strip-side patio perch – this one offers live music at night as well as a prime spot for watching the steady stream of shoppers entering the Miracle Mile Shops as well as those hoofing it down Las Vegas Boulevard.    A seriously strong Mai-Tai – a Vic’s specialty – makes the night fly by (almost before you know it.)

3.  Parasol Up/Parasol Down at Wynn Las Vegas.  They’re two, two…two bars in one!  Well, not really since one really is up (stairs) and the other is down (the escalator) but both offer prime people-watching complemented by absolutely stunning décor.  ”Down” offers a great view of Wynn’s Lake of Dreams — don’t miss the singing frog — and lots of May/December couples sipping expensive wines.  (more…)

Spago Las Vegas offers world-class people-watching opportunities.

If people-watching was ever named an Olympic sport, I would be the Michael Phelps of that competition.  Really.  No, seriously, I would take home all the gold medals every four years.  Just ask P.B. 

So what better place is there than Las Vegas to grab a drink and sit and watch a microcosm of the world pass by?  Hence, (I love that word – I think I was a lawyer in a past life!) I have compiled this list of Top Spots on The Strip for enjoying the “People Parade” in all its glorious diversity.

10.  Wolfgang Puck’s Spago at The Forum Shops at Caesars Palace.  Order a thin-crusted roasted mushroom pizza, a glass of red, sit back and enjoy.  Offers lots of passers-by as well as great views of shoppers trolling the goods at high-end spots like Christian Dior and Loro Piana.

9.  Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville near the Flamingo.  There’s a small outside stand-up balcony for watching the traffic — on foot and on wheels — go by while you sip, what else?, an ice-cold tequila concoction. (more…)