Tourist attractions

The major attractions in Vegas are the casinos. The most famous casinos line Las Vegas Boulevard South, also known as the Las Vegas Strip. There are many casinos in the city's downtown area as well, which was the original focal point of the city's gaming industry in its early days.

Los Angeles, California

Nickname: City of Angels

Los Angeles (often abbreviated as L.A.) was founded in 1781 by the Spanish Felipe de Neve. It was a part of Spain then Mexico until 1848, when Mexico ceded California to the United States by treaty at the conclusion of the Mexican-American War. The name Los Angeles is shortened from "La Ciudad de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles de Porciúncula" (The City of Our Lady, the Queen of the Angels of Porciuncula).

Los Angeles is one of the world's centers of culture, science, technology, international trade, and higher education. The city and its immediate vicinity lead the world in producing popular entertainment—such as motion picture, television, and recorded music.

Tourist attractions

Important landmarks in Los Angeles include Chinatown, Little Tokyo, Disney Concert Hall, Kodak Theater, Griffith Observatory, Getty Center, Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Mann's Chinese Theater, Hollywood sign, Hollywood Boulevard, Los Angeles City Hall, Hollywood Bowl, Watts Towers, Staples Center and La Placita Olvera, the birthplace of Los Angeles.

Some well-known shopping areas are the Hollywood and Highland complex, the Beverly Center, Melrose Avenue, Robertson Boulevard, The Grove, Westside Pavillion, The Promenade at Howard Hughes Center and Venice Boardwalk.

Los Angeles also boasts a number of sports venues, including the Staples Center, a sports and entertainment complex that also hosts concerts and awards shows such as the Grammys. Los Angeles has twice played host to the summer Olympic Games, in 1932 and in 1984. The 1984 Summer Olympics inspired the creation of the Los Angeles Marathon, which has been held every year in March since 1986. Super Bowls I and VII were also held in the city as well as soccer's international World Cup in 1994.

Miami, Florida

Nickname: The Magic City, M-I-A, The 305

Miami was officially incorporated as a city on July 28, 1896, although the area was first inhabited for more than a thousand years by the Tequesta Indians and was claimed for Spain in 1566 by Pedro Menéndez de Avilés. In the mid-1800s Fort Dallas was built and subsequently, was a site of fighting during the Second Seminole War. Miami's importance as an international, financial, and cultural center has elevated Miami to the status of world city. Because of Miami's cultural and linguistic ties to North, South, and Central America, as well as the Caribbean, Miami is many times referred to as "The Gateway of the Americas." Florida's large Spanish-speaking population and strong economic ties to Latin America also make Miami and the surrounding region an important center of the Hispanic world.

Miami is also home to one of the largest, most influential ports in the United States, the Port of Miami. The port is often times called the "Cruise Capital of the World" and the "Cargo Gateway of the Americas". It has retained its status as the number one cruise/passenger port in the world for well over a decade accommodating the largest cruise ships and the major cruise lines. Miami also boosts many leading universities such as the University of Miami, one of the United States' top teaching and research universities, and Florida International University, Florida's fifth-largest public research university. Miami currently has the five tallest skyscrapers in the state of Florida with the tallest being the Four Seasons Hotel & Tower.