Liberace Museum, Las Vegas

Walter Liberace is undoubtedly a great Las Vegas icon. His lavishly outrageous costumes, cars, pianos, and homes personify and capture the essence of the city of Las Vegas. The Liberace Museum is one of the best known attractions in Las Vegas, and it holds many of Liberace's dazzling and sparkling belongings. The museum was remodeled and further expanded in 2002.

Items on display at the Liberace Museum include the following:

• A black diamond mink lined with 40,000 Austrian rhinestones.
• The world's biggest rhinestone, measuring at 115,000 carats and weighing 50 pounds.
• A hybrid Rolls Royce Volkswagen car and a Rolls Royce decorated in bright red white and blue, as well as 17 other cars. (Liberace owned more than 30.)
• Dozens of pianos are on display, including a 1920 Chickering grand piano used by George Gershwin and a hand painted piano which Chopin played.

Liberace's cars, pianos, costumes and jewels fill multiple buildings with opulent silliness, and many of the items on display were used in his shows. The Liberace Museum also has a gift shop full of tacky knickknacks.

Location: 1775 East Tropicana Avenue (3 miles west of the Strip). Phone: (702)798-5595.