If you can’t find something fabulous to do in Las Vegas, you might simply be suffering from overload (or need to take a break from The Strip). The most out-there things you never thought you’d do (or even want to do) are all at your fingertips. From yoga on the world’s highest Ferris wheel to dining surrounded by authentic Picasso paintings to racing street-illegal cars with professional race car drivers, here’s our short list of can’t-miss experiences. Read on for our editors’ picks of the coolest things to do in Las Vegas.
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Coolest Things to Do in Las Vegas
1. The Strip
The 2.5-mile-long central section of Las Vegas Boulevard, which runs through the city from northeast to southwest, known as the Strip, is where the action is. Lined with huge entertainment palaces, many built with a defining theme, and home to performance venues, luxury hotel rooms, and fine dining, this is what most people think of when they picture Las Vegas.
One of the must-do’s in Las Vegas is walking along the Strip and soaking up the sights. It’s particularly impressive at night, when the city is illuminated by an endless succession of glittering neon signs. This area is a never-ending feast for the senses.
Generally speaking, the Las Vegas Strip runs from the Mandalay Bay Hotel to Treasure Island Hotel. To truly experience Las Vegas, stay on The Strip, preferably at one of the major resorts.
2. Fremont Street Experience
In old downtown Las Vegas, Fremont Street is a pedestrian-only area with all kinds of unique sites. A five-block section of Fremont Street is covered over with a canopy of LED lights that illuminate the sky in a spectacle of different colors and designs as you walk below.
Known as the Fremont Street Experience, each night a fantastic music and visual show takes place overhead. Street performers and special entertainment acts often perform outdoors in this area. Fremont Street is in downtown Las Vegas, a few kilometers from the Strip.
The Neon Museum originated as the “neon boneyard,” a fenced-in yard where many of the Strip’s neon signs were stored after being removed from casinos that were either renovated or imploded. About 120 signs, mostly made by the YESCO corporation from the 1950s-80s, lie in the “boneyard” adjacent to the museum. On a guided tour, visitors can learn about the trends in sign design and technology, which played a huge part in Vegas history. The museum also houses the translocated lobby of La Concha, an old motel, which was saved from demolition and now serves as the visitors’ center. If you’ve had enough of the casinos and bars, make this spot a priority on your itinerary.
This Downtown Las Vegas museum showcases the history of organized crime in the United States. The building is housed in the 1933 U.S. Post Office and Courthouse that held some of the most important and defining trials in the world of organized crime–including the famous Kefauver hearings. Visitors can walk the same halls as federal investigators, informants, and mobsters once did as they wander the collection, which includes weapons, memorabilia from law enforcement and crime bosses, films from court hearings, and even part of a wall from the famous St. Valentine’s Day Massacre (complete with bullet holes and blood stains).
5. Venetian Hotel and Gondola Rides
The Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas is located on the Strip, across from Treasure Island. It is one of the city’s finest resorts and has many interesting tourist attractions. Inside is a themed shopping arcade built to resemble the city of Venice, complete with blue skies, canals, and gondoliers. The hotel also features recreations of the main attractions found in Venice, such as the Rialto Bridge and the Bridge of Sighs, along with many others.
The Venetian Gondola Rides are a fun way to see the complex. Situated out in front of the Venetian Hotel, near the sidewalk, boats await passengers who are then taken on a ride by their personable gondolier who sings as they take you through the shopping arcade inside the hotel.
6. Check out the latest Secret Burger event
Founded by Jolene Mannina, Secret Burger is a Las Vegas success story based on a simple concept: team up with top restaurants to offer one-night-only “secret” dishes with sales made in advance online. Even with the pandemic making things complicated, Secret Burger continues to move forward with a series of take-home dinners, pop-up events, and online cooking classes with accomplished local chefs. Mannina also founded the Vegas Test Kitchen, a new kind of food hall with a series of rotating culinary concepts under one roof. This experience would be one of the coolest things to do in Las Vegas.
7. Bounce around on a floating playground
Outdoor activities are in hot demand right now. Get away for the weekend at Lake Las Vegas, where you can enjoy boating, kayaking, and paddleboarding courtesy of Lake Las Vegas Water Sports. If that’s not enough, bounce and slide on the Aqua Park inflatable playground and zoom around on a flyboard, which propels you into the air with the power of water beneath your feet. Think Iron Man and you’ve got the right idea.
