Romantic ways to spend Valentine’s day in Vegas

Las Vegas may be known as Sin City, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of romantic ways couples can spend their Valentine’s Day together.

One of the city’s attractions that’s most beloved by couples is the Venetian gondola ride at the Grand Canal Shoppes at the Venetian and Palazzo (www.venetian.com). Guests can glide down the replica Grand Canal indoors or enjoy an open-air ride complete with stunning Strip views while staring into each other’s eyes and being serenaded by a classically trained singing gondolier.

Ethel M Chocolates’ free Valentine’s Day light display is another favorite (www.ethelm.com). Valentines can walk hand in hand through the Henderson chocolate factory’s 3-acre botanical garden while taking in more than 200,000 pink, red, white and purple lights.

For couples looking to reconnect, Costa del Sur Spa & Salon inside South Point Hotel, Casino & Spa (www.spacostadelsur.com), boasts its own couples-only relaxation lounge, sauna, steam room and Jacuzzi for those who book one of its luxurious couple’s treatments. Its 80-minute Private Party package ($350) not only includes side-by-side 50-minute Swedish massages, but also lets Valentines scrub each other from head to toe in a private steam room and paint their partner with detoxifying muds from around the world.

Couples can also take their love to new heights at Top of the World inside Stratosphere (www.stratospherehotel.com). Located 106 floors above the Strip, the revolving restaurant will be offering a four-course Valentine’s Day meal for two for $195 that concludes with a chocolate heart with raspberry trifle and berry marshmallows for Valentines to share. It’s sure to be love at first bite!

Las Vegas’ longest-running dinner show, “Marriage Can Be Murder” at the D Las Vegas (www.thed.com), offers a special Valentine’s Day experience, too. In addition to its usual three-course meal, each couple receives a rose, a box of chocolates and two glasses of champagne. It all adds up to one killer date night!

Sweets for Your Sweetheart
Ethel M Chocolates (www.ethelm.com) will once again be selling heart-shaped boxes of chocolates at its stores starting Jan. 18. Guests can choose the “Like” (14 pieces, $40), “Love” (28 pieces, $50) or “Forever” (46 pieces, $75) boxes, with pieces ranging from solid white, milk and dark chocolate hearts to chocolates filled with lemon, caramel and peanut butter.

Tie the knot with Zumanity
Explore your sensual side at “Zumanity” (www.zumanity.com), Cirque du Soleil’s provocative cabaret show inside New York-New York. This year marks the production’s first Valentine’s Day since adding new acrobatically erotic aerial acts, costumes, music and choreography in February. For those who want to make the evening extra special, beginning in January the show’s emcee, Edie, will be able to marry couples earlier in the day and then introduce the newlyweds at that evening’s performance in front of their family and friends. Talk about an only-in-Vegas experience!

— Heather Turk, Tribune Content Solutions