Avoid the crowd during Vegas’ New Year celebration

Everyone knows Las Vegas is a madhouse New Year’s Eve, with visitors clamoring for cocktails elbow-to-elbow in crowded nightclubs before the clock strikes midnight. But Vegas also offers a menu of more refined options where you can toast to 2015.

For lovers who want to start 2015 cheek to cheek, Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga will share the stage on New Year’s Eve at the Cosmopolitan’s 40,000-square-foot Chelsea Theater, performing classic jazz standards before counting down to midnight.

Grammy winners Maroon 5 will ring in the New Year with a pair of concerts Dec. 30 and 31 at Mandalay Bay Events Center. The shows start at 8 p.m. when special guest Rozzi Crane takes the stage.

Looking to dine in style? Alize, the award-winning French eatery at the Palms, will offer a multicourse tasting menu featuring roasted lobster bisque, seared foie gras and venison carpaccio.

The restaurant boasts floor-to-ceiling windows and a 270-degree view of the Las Vegas skyline for watching the holiday fireworks. The first seating starts at 6 p.m. while the second at 9 p.m. includes additional courses.

Since resolutions (and diets) don’t start till 2015, Guy Savoy, the two-star Michelin restaurant inside Caesars Palace, will serve up two decadent special menus featuring its signature French fare on New Year’s Eve. The multicourse meals feature delicacies such as pan-seared quail, artichoke and black truffle soup, caviar and grilled Japanese Wagyu beef with shiitake-stuffed rigatoni.

If you’d like to sip a cocktail while watching the fireworks display, Mandalay Bay boasts two stylish lounges, Mix and the Foundation Room, pouring handcrafted libations with views of all the fireworks rocketing from the Strip.

Cirque du Soleil’s first permanent Vegas production, “Mystère” at Treasure Island, sets the standard for the Cirque lineup. The show weaves together acts of strength, acrobatics and theater into an imaginative and fun show that’s a delight for all ages. “Mystère” has two performances New Year’s Eve at 6 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.

-Jamie Van Bergen, Brand Publishing Writer