Ah, Vegas. The home of 24-hour gambling, sequinned showgirls and obscene extravagance; who wouldn’t jump at the chance to pay a visit?

Ostensibly, we’re here to discover how there’s more to this sprawling mass in the Nevada desert than those lazy clichés, but for the time being we’re reclining in a rooftop infinity pool at the 600ft-high Aria Hotel.

Perhaps, suggests my boyfriend, we could just forget about the “cultural stuff” and spend the whole trip here in the pool?

That’s not going to happen but I’m called for my “Red Carpet” facial before I have a chance to reply. We don’t have time to discuss it later – too busy watching the chefs’ flying knives in The Aria’s new Japanese teppanyaki restaurant Tetsu and scoffing plates of steak tartare, caviar and lobster.

There’s a moment when we could get back to the subject after dinner but then we have to rush off to see Zarkana, the latest Cirque du Soleil spectacle, and what with the giant spiders, computer- generated backdrops and jaw-dropping trapeze work, it rather slips our minds.

Right, culture; back at our room I get out our guidebooks and leaflets. Then I hear my boyfriend shrieking. “The bath turns into a Jacuzzi! There’s a heated toilet seat! I can see the whole of Vegas from the window!”

It’s not until the fourth day, after a number of trips to Caesar’s Palace and The Venetian, a stay in The MGM Grand, a night being served by bikini-clad waitresses at Brad Garrett’s infamous comedy club and a dizzyingly good, shamefully drunken meal at the Michelin-starred L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon, that we finally make it to a museum.

Believe it or not, there’s more than one in Vegas.

To my disappointment, the Liberace Museum is awaiting refurbishment but there’s still the Atomic Testing Museum, the Mob Museum and the Erotic Heritage Museum.

But those are for another day (or not). I’ve wanted to go to the Neon Boneyard since it was a vaguely mythical place accessible only by furtive phone calls and last-minute directions.

This collection of vintage neon signs has since gone overground which is rather less exciting but a heck of a lot easier.

It now has a proper reception, and tour guides – we get knowledgeable Vegas local Clay Heximer who is a mine of fascinating stories on everything from famous mobsters to the hotel where one of his relatives spent a night with Elvis.

An old sign for Binion’s Horseshoe Casino prompts a story about its shady founder Benny Binion, a convicted criminal who came to Vegas and built an empire, while the Stardust Casino sign tells of the city’s past as an atomic testing ground.

Rather than hide the fact, the enterprising owner decided to capitalise on it and at one stage, the hotel even ran viewing afternoons where guests could admire the mushroom clouds from the top floor, cocktail in hand.

But Clay grumbles that visitors don’t believe Vegas has any real heritage.

My boyfriend and I steal guilty glances at each other, while I wonder whether we will be able to get into a party at The Bellagio where Champagne apparently rains from the ceiling.

Back on The Strip later that night, I find myself looking at the jungle of flashy signage rather differently – and it’s not just the result of Jaegerbomb slushies we bought in the mall.

After getting off to a late start when it transpires that there are limitless free refills on our coffee, we make our ever-so-slightly jittery way out of Vegas to a bizarre sculpture museum.

The Goldwell Open Air Museum is in Rhyolite, a ghost town in Nye County. It gets more like a scene from The Hills Have Eyes with every passing mile.

Signs for “alien spacecraft centres” neighbour adverts for the area’s best beef jerky before vast expanses of desolate landscape with not a soul to be seen.

I wonder if a Beach Boys Best Of and two packets of cinnamon Hot Tamales is provision enough for a breakdown. But just off the road into Death Valley, we find our destination.

It is completely deserted save for the strange wraith-like plaster figures tending to bicycles and a giant woman made out of what appear to be Lego blocks.

It’s wonderfully weird and a world away from the lights and noise of Vegas.

Thankfully, it’s only a two-hour drive and after locking the doors and turning up the music, we make our way back to the city, a shimmering mirage on the horizon.

The tourism folk are right – there’s a lot more to Vegas than Elvis impersonators and divorce lawyers and it’s difficult to squeeze everything into a short break. Thank goodness for those free coffee refills.

  • British Airways offers three nights at the 4-star MGM Grand, Las Vegas, from £729 per person based on departures until March 24. Price includes return British Airways flights from Gatwick and accommodation only.
  • British Airways also offers three nights at the 4-star Aria Resort Casino, Las Vegas, from £759 per person based on departures unti March 24. Price includes return British Airways flights from Gatwick and accommodation only.
  • For reservations, visit www.ba.com/lasvegas or call 0844 4930758
  • Alamo USA offers car hire from £150 a week. For more details, visit www.holidayautos.com and www.discoveramerica.com 
  • For more on the Neon Museum, visit www.neonmuseum.org
  • For more on the Goldwell Open Air Museum, visit www.goldwellmuseum.org