This is the largest and only true fashion mall on the Strip. After unveiling an expansion in 2003, it now weighs in at nearly 2 million square feet. Anchored by Saks, Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom, Fashion Show more than 250 stores, many of them typical mall boutiques, such as J. Crew and Banana Republic. More unusual, it has runway shows featuring clothes from its many stores every hour from noon until 6 P.M., Friday through Sunday. On my last visit, I was most distressed by the number of aggressive hawkers on the lower level, where the independent carts are located. Still, if it’s major department stores you want, this is the place to find them. The eBar, outside the lower level of Nordstrom, is a wonderful spot for pastries and lattes in the morning and sandwiches or salads at lunch. There are tables and couches splayed out in front of the Nordstrom entrance, so you can ogle the shoes while you eat.

Adjacent to Caesars Palace, with more than 160 specialty stores, this has become one of the major destinations in the city. Delights include Tiffany & Co., the second Tiffany’s in Vegas (the first being at Bellagio) and the third De Beers diamond and jewelry to open in North America. Tip: If you take a cab to the Forum Shops, be sure to tell the driver to let you off at the shop entrance rather than at the entry to Caesars Palace. This will save you a very long walk.

There are a few very high-end stores here scattered among places like Banana Republic and Ann Taylor. When your bags are full, hire a gondolier to paddle you through the rest of the indoor mall, which winds along the canal located on the second floor of the hotel. Look for Lior, which carries European designers ranging from Ferre to Blu Marine and devotes half its space to men, with suits ranging from $2,500 to $12,000.

Most, but not all, of the resort’s twenty-seven boutiques lie along a 75,000-square-foot curving shopping esplanade with vaulted ceilings near the entrance of the South Tower. Among the standouts are Graff, the London-based jeweler that controls 65 percent of the world’s yellow-diamond industry and always has something completely decadent on display in the front window; Outfit, one of my favorite stores in all Las Vegas for its wonderful mix of known and up-and-coming designers offering Alexander McQueen, Zac Posen and Antonio Berardi and everything from business attire to party dresses; Jean-Paul Gaultier, the only freestanding Gaultier store in the country, which sold three months’ of goods in just three weeks upon opening; and Wynn & Co. Watches, one of two freestanding Rolex stores in the world (the other being at the Wynn in Macao, China), with more than 800 styles that absolutely never go on sale.

Eleven high-end designer boutiques that you’ll be happy to visit after hitting the jackpot are located here. The most impressive are Giorgio Armani, in a space whose futuristic design makes it feel as if it were bound for Mars, open every day of the year till late at night, so if you’re on your way to dine at Picasso, you can pick up an outfit to wear without going back to your room.