The best things to do in Vegas

If you know anything about Vegas (or you've watched The Hangover), it’s likely you’ll have the image of Caesars Palace burned into your brain. This iconic resort is at the heart of Vegas, and boasts a massive shopping center, a popping club and around 4,000 rooms. Some of the more luxurious villas go for $15,000 a night, but the most famous is the Nobu Villa, with a terrace and game room, where the likes of Justin Bieber, Drake and Taylor Swift have laid their heads. 

Remember when we said Vegas was an adult playground? Well, we weren’t lying. And here’s a good example. Head northwest from the north end of the Strip, and you’ll find this  'heavy equipment playground'. Literally, a place to jump in a life-size Tonka toy and play bulldozer, digging trenches, stacking huge tires, building mounds and more. Choose from a 315CL hydraulic excavator or a Caterpillar D5G bulldozer. Your inner child will thank you. 

Just left of the Strip, you’ll find this spectacular arena, which gave birth to Vegas’ first professional sports team, NHL’s Las Vegas Golden Knights, in 2017. If you time your trip with the NHL season, you can head to the massive T-Mobile Arena for a game. Often, there are some famous faces (previous performers have included Billy Joel, The Killers and Nicki Minaj). 

The Great Depression-era landmark that dammed the Colorado River and created Lake Mead, The Hoover Dam looms large in Las Vegas history, and the 726-foot-high curving cement facade makes for a striking view, whether you take a guided tour, walk along the bridge, or view it from a boat on Lake Mead. It took five years and 21,000 men to build the mighty dam on the Colorado River, and it’s worth stopping by to see the fruits of their labor.

Bellagio’s signature dancing fountains are arguably the most popular attraction on The Strip. The geysers—more than 1,200 in all—are nestled in the eight-and-a-half-acre lake in front of the resort. Set to music, the fountain erupts every half-hour in the afternoon and every 15 minutes throughout the evening until midnight. Not just free, the aquatic spectacle immortalized in Ocean’s Eleven is truly priceless.

The Venetian is an ever-expanding resort and entertainment complex with indoor and outdoor gondolas and larger-than-life décor. Inside, St. Mark’s Square is replicated, with costumed characters and gelato stands under a perpetually sunny sky. Bask in lavish comfort here, as The Venetian boasts some of the roomiest suites on The Strip and has multiple pools in Italian-inspired gardens.

Can you believe that during the 50s, people would saunter into the streets along The Strip, still clutching their Cuban Sunsets, and watch as enormous atomic mushroom clouds appeared on the horizon and arced skyward? The history and development of America's nuclear weapons program are both hypnotic and horrifying. And strangely enough, Las Vegas was close to the heart of it. A visit to this museum should absolutely, unequivocally be on your Sin City Must Do List. 

If you haven’t been to Peppermill, you haven’t really been to Las Vegas. The front half of the building is a 24-hour diner, where velvet booths welcome guests to hearty plates of eggs and hash browns and piled-high fruit plates. The back half is the Fireside Lounge, a glorious throwback to the days when disco ruled the dance floor, drowned in blacklight and packed with fake foliage and mirrors. Gather around a cozy fire pit and order a plate of nachos and the famous 64oz Scorpion Bowl.

The whole reason Vegas is even where it is is right here. The Las Vegas Springs Preserve is built around the original water source for the city, the Las Vegas Springs. Known as the Birthplace of Las Vegas, the springs offer enough fun things to do to fill a whole day, with activities for children, bike rentals to further explore the area, the Nevada State Museum, Origen Museum, and a variety of other exhibits. 

Las Vegas has a habit of blowing things up when they get old, musty, or simply unprofitable. While the city’s vintage architecture has often been reduced to rubble, many of its iconic neon signs have been saved from that fate and set aside at the acclaimed Neon Museum. Book a tour to wander among the relics, hearing tales of eccentric billionaires, long-gone landmarks, and the characters that helped make Vegas, Vegas.

Aficionados of old-school arcade games should make a beeline for the peculiarly beautiful Pinball Hall of Fame (which recently moved to a new location), a wonderland where you can admire—and play—more than 150 operational pinball machines, from throwback games to modern wonders. Bring your quarters.

Thanks to changing entertainment trends, The Strip is littered with stars as production shows have made way for resident headliners—A-list musicians and bands that set up shop in casino showrooms for extended runs. Park Theater regulars have included Bruno Mars, Lady Gaga, Aerosmith, and Cher. The venue seats 5,200, and VIP seating includes a dedicated cocktail service. 

Set in a former courthouse that hosted part of the Kefauver Hearings, this brilliant museum chronicles organized crime around the globe and in Las Vegas—where the Mob used to run the joint—as well as law enforcement’s efforts to combat it. Permanent exhibitions include a vintage electric chair, a piece of the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre wall, and a speakeasy display complete with a full cocktail bar. For an extra fee, you can venture into special experiences like the Crime Lab, Firearm Training Simulator, or a tour of the museum’s in-house distillery with tasting included.

Aerialists and acrobats and strongmen, oh my! Las Vegas has long been the stateside home of Cirque du Soleil, with five resident shows filling theaters along the Boulevard. For the most definitive display of Cirque’s charms, book O at the Bellagio, a marvelous spectacle based around a stage that transforms into a pool in the blink of an eye and is stocked with astonishing acts, innovative engineering, and the company’s classic clowns.

Vegas visitors are often shocked to find that The Strip isn’t four miles of glitz plopped down amid open desert. Rather, the city is ringed by mountains and canyons, which offer wonderful hiking. Visit Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, where rock walls are dotted with climbers on world-class routes, and trails lead into lovely gullies. Not into hiking? Drive a 13-mile loop through the park for a taste of the scenery sans the sweat.

Still one of the best things to do in town, the old Fremont Street casino district continually rebuilds itself into a thrilling entertainment zone thanks to new attractions, constant live entertainment, and budget-friendly eats. The overhead canopy light and sound show pumps out favorite songs paired with digital light accompaniment that nearly everyone stops to take in. Some folks pass through quickly, thanks to the SlotZilla zipline course. Take a stroll through old-school Vegas and pick up a beer to go in this pedestrian-friendly entertainment hub.

Whether you seek rejuvenating me-time or a romantic couple’s massage session, head to Spa at The Linq for an amazing recoup from whatever Sin City threw at you the night before. You can select your own music and choose your favorite aromatherapy scents, or let the pros pick a winning combination to ease your pains. The must-see feature here is the restorative Himalayan salt therapy cave that naturally soothes allergies and congestion.

A favorite among LV locals, Ferraro’s Italian Restaurant & Wine Bar has been serving up fine Italian cuisine for over three decades. The family’s southern Italian heritage is honored with artful dishes comprised of fresh pasta made in-house, premium cuts of meat, and seasonal produce. Paired with a stunning wine list your sommelier will decipher, Ferraro’s makes for a legendary night out on the town. 

Las Vegas pool parties are the place to beat the heat, and Mandalay Bay Beach is perfect for all ages—and even open to non-hotel guests with paid admission. Play along the 11-acre sandy shoreline, cool down in the rolling wave pool and lazy river or chill out in luxury bungalows. Three bars and a grill line the beach playground so you can soak in the desert sun all day long.

While just about every casino has a dedicated buffet on-site, Caesars Palace Bacchanal Buffet is hands-down the most amazing all-you-can-eat experience you’ll have in Sin City. The food is brag-worthy, and the atmosphere is refined, perfect for date night or family reunions alike. Pack your plate with everything from gorgeous dim sum to lump crab avocado toast to oysters on the half shell. Pick up a clean plate and pace yourself. There’s a bounty to enjoy. This is a marathon, not a sprint.

This is the world’s largest observation wheel, and it sits in the very heart of the city. Take a slow-motion spin 550ft above the Las Vegas Strip for unbeatable views of the skyline and desert beyond. A single loop takes 30 minutes. If you really want to take it to the next level, book the Happy Half Hour and enjoy an open bar on your ride.

Fremont East, north of the casino corridor, is Vegas’s urbane, work-in-progress neighborhood. What was once a blighted stretch of road has become home to gobs of trendy bars, restaurants, shops, and family attractions as Downtown is reinvigorated. Swill cocktails at the Downtown Cocktail Room or hit the Writer’s Block bookstore for something to read on the plane ride home. Pop into Container Park, a petite shopping and dining center made of shipping containers complete with a kids play area and live entertainment throughout the day.

The Bellagio Conservatory & Botanical Gardens is one of the city’s great free attractions, with a not-so-secret garden that gets a top-to-bottom seasonal makeover a handful of times per year. Step inside the 24-hour gardens, and you’ll be greeted by a themed horticultural exhibit that uses thousands of flowers to form gorgeous sculptures and landscapes. It’s like a miniature Disneyland for plant fans.

Las Vegas does nightlife the way it does everything else: big, bold, and positively over-the-top. For the all-out experience, enter the 75,000-square-foot OMNIA at Caesars Palace, where you can join the masses popping bottles and dancing to DJs like Steve Aoki and Zedd under a huge revolving chandelier.

Just 16 miles east of the Las Vegas Strip, Lake Las Vegas is an expansive complex with hotels, golf courses, and waterfront restaurants. The lake is calm and inviting, perfect for standup paddleboard sessions and kayaking, flyboarding, and rowing. Catch a dragon boat race or take a yacht cruise, then cozy up on the lawn for musical performances from spring through fall.