Free Things To Do in Las Vegas
Yes, Vegas brims with cash, glitz, and glamour, but that doesn't mean you can't find freebies (or cheapies).
Experience Fremont Street. The Downtown casinos' answer to the spectacle of the Strip is the Fremont Street Experience, played out on a 90-foot-high arched canopy that covers the entire street. Every hour between sunset and midnight it comes alive with an integrated video, graphics, and music show. Several different programs run each night and contribute to a festive outside-in communal atmosphere that contrasts with the Strip's every-man-for-himself ethic.
Watch a Free Show. You can easily spend $100 or more on seats at a typical Vegas concert or big-name production, but several casinos offer fabulous, eye-catching extravaganzas that won't cost you a penny. There's the erupting volcano at The Mirage, the graceful Fountains of Bellagio, and the Wildlife Habitat (with a flamboyance of flamingos!) at the Flamingo Las Vegas. People-watching is a free show of a different kind, too.
See the New Old Downtown. The Downtown casinos don't attempt to compete with the opulence of the Strip, but area streets have their own charm. The Downtown Container Park is a collection of shipping containers that have been converted into an outdoor mall of shops, bars, and restaurants. Also, stroll through history as you marvel at Vegas Vic and other vintage neon signs (curated by the Neon Museum).
Preview a TV Show. Vegas is home to several preview studios, where you're asked to watch and offer feedback on TV shows. Some studios offer a small cash stipend for your time; for others you'll have to be satisfied with free refreshments, coupons, and the thanks of a grateful nation. We like CBS Television City (3799 Las Vegas Blvd. S, South Strip702/891–5753 tvcityresearch.com Daily 10–10) at the MGM Grand. No kids under 10.
Cruise the Strip. You haven't done Vegas until you've been caught—either intentionally or unwittingly—in the slow-mo weekend-night crawl of traffic down the Strip. You can handle the experience like a been-there local, or you can play the delighted tourist: relaxed, windows down, ready to engage in silly banter with the carload of players in the convertible one lane over. We suggest the latter, at least once. Just be mindful of all the pedestrians, who can crowd the crosswalks and are just as dazed as you are by the cacophony.
Appreciate Architecture. Las Vegas as a hot spot for architectural design? In recent years, yes. Check out the art deco–inspired Smith Center for the Performing Arts, which was designed to match the sweeping grandeur of the Hoover Dam. Elsewhere around Downtown, check out the Antonio Morelli House, a classic example of midcentury residential architecture, and the modern Frank Gehry–designed Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health. Of course, you always can wander through the older hotels on the Strip and Downtown that will, eventually and inevitably, be torn down to make way for new construction.
