Reno calls itself 'The Biggest Little City in the World,' and the famous arch over Virginia Street backs up that claim. This is a gambling town in northern Nevada, smaller and scrappier than Las Vegas, with a growing arts scene and easy access to the Sierra Nevada mountains.
Reno is a good starting point for Black Rock City and the annual Burning Man festival. The rest of the year, the casinos downtown — anchored by the three-property Eldorado/Silver Legacy/Circus Circus Row — are the main draw, but skiing at nearby Lake Tahoe, the Truckee River whitewater park running through downtown, the National Automobile Museum, and the Nevada Museum of Art give non-gamblers plenty of reasons to visit.