74 Best Sights in Las Vegas, Nevada

Christopher Nolan's film Oppenheimer has renewed interest in that Cold War era of Las Vegas, when visitors could occasionally see a roiling mushroom cloud in the distance at the nearby Nevada Test Site. Located on the corner of the UNLV campus and operated in association with the Smithsonian, the museum is filled with film footage and artifacts from the Test Site, including bomb-testing machinery and the bombs themselves: a decommissioned B-53 \"bunker buster\" is 12-feet long and weighs 8,850 pounds. Some exhibits are pay homage to the sometimes frightening, sometimes comical treatment of \"the bomb\" in pop culture. There's a mini-theater that gives you the sensory jolt of an atomic explosion. Two galleries for rotating exhibits augment the permanent exhibition. Early 2025 brought the new \"Atomic Odyssey\" exhibit, a colorful, interactive, and kid-friendly introduction to the structure of the atom and how to tell nuclear fission from fusion.

The museum also offers virtual tours of the 1,375-square-mile Nevada National Security Site (larger than the state of Rhode Island) and is the starting point for occasional in-person group tours of the test site, which is still operational 65 miles northwest of Downtown. These tours book as much as a year ahead, with museum donors getting first chance.

Those who love hi-tech art served with a Burning Man or Electric Daisy Carnival vibe—and with the addition of air-conditioning—will gravitate to this indoor amusement park inside a giant warehouse next to Interstate 15 (the name is a play on both the highway and the mysterious Area 51). The very fluorescent interior (the black-light averse may feel like they are trapped in a giant Spencer Gifts) even features big Burning Man–style art installations indoors and out, such as a giant skull covered in video graphics, which greets you in the main building.

While admission to the facility is technically free—though advance reservations can get you in faster on busy nights—almost all of the attractions require you to pay a separate admission: Omega Mart is an otherworldly convenience store, which leads into a walk-through funhouse full of immersive art from the Santa Fe–based arts collective Meow Wolf (it's also the most expensive individual experience); Wink World is full of art and tech surprises courtesy of Chris Wink, a co-founder and original member of the Blue Man Group; Museum Fiasco is an immersive, disorienting clublike bombardment of light and sound. Peripheral attractions include axe-throwing, golf and racing simulators, and rides on ski-lift chairs suspended from a ceiling track. You can also simply chill out with a cocktail under a canopy in The Sanctuary lounge or beneath a luminescent tree in the Oddwood Bar in the center of it all. Food choices include burgers at The Beast or sushi at Kaia. If you are just looking to visit Omega Mart, you can avoid the more expensive \"Experience\" tickets by buying a general admission ticket on the Meow Wolf site ( meowwolf.com).

The original building is joined by other attractions just to the west, the latest being an interactive experience themed after the John Wick movie franchise. The Illuminarium offers a Rolling Stone magazine-branded history of rock and pop music called Amplified, including a montage of every single Rolling Stone cover on a projection surface that is 20 feet tall.

And that's all just in the main, original building. AREA15 was so instantly popular that a massive 20-acre expansion to the north was set to begin unveiling new attractions by the end of 2025. The anchor will be Universal Horror Unleashed, centered around four themed haunted houses (the classic Universal monsters, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Scarecrow: The Reaping, and The Exorcist: Believer) from the folks behind the Halloween attractions at Universal Studios. New retail and a non-gaming hotel will be part of the expansion.   Admission to the building is free, but online reservations let you skip lines out front and may be required on busy nights.

An intriguing concentration of antiques shops and galleries is found on East Charleston Boulevard and Casino Center Drive, anchored by The Arts Factory. This former warehouse with a colorful mural on the front houses studios and galleries for art of all types, including painting, photography, and sculpture. There's also a bistro on-site and a drop-in yoga studio. The Arts Factory comes alive on First Friday every month with gallery openings, exhibits, receptions, and special events. Preview Thursday, the day before First Friday, offers the same artwork with fewer crowds. Guided tours are available on request (and with a reservation).

This gallery—one of the last of its kind inside Strip hotels—was originally curated from Bellagio founder Steve Wynn's private collection. Today, with Wynn long gone, the gallery operates independently, bringing in traveling exhibits from some of the most famous art museums in the world. Shows have featured works by Picasso, Fabergé, and Warhol. The adjacent Perrotin Store offers prints, publications, and artist-designed objects.

Sightseers come to Bellagio for three main reasons: the fountains out front, the Dale Chihuly installation of glass flowers in the lobby, and the conservatory gardens. Any one of these attractions is worth the trip. All three make the casino resort a must-see. The fountains are a spectacle in and of themselves: 1,200 jets in all, streaming and bursting in a choreographed water ballet across the man-made Bellagio lake. The conservatory gardens are particularly stunning during Christmas and Chinese New Year. The glass flowers are pretty amazing as well: the sculpture is named Fiori di Como, and it continues to inspire more than two decades after it was created. But there are other reasons to spend some time at Las Vegas's first real destination resort. For starters, with restaurants from Michael Mina, Jean-Georges Vongerichten, and Wolfgang Puck, Bellagio still has one of the best restaurant rosters in town. Then, of course, there's the patisserie's chocolate fountain. This is one of the largest of its kind in the world and there's almost always a line to watch how it works. To cap it off, the Bellagio contains numerous luxe boutiques like Chanel, Dior, and Gucci.

The opulent entrance, fountains, Roman statuary, bas-reliefs, and roaming centurions all add up to the iconic, over-the-top Las Vegas hotel. Here you can get your picture taken with Caesar, Cleopatra, and the centurion guard; find the reproduction of Michelangelo's David; or amble along Roman streetscapes in The Forum Shops to see replicas of famous fountains in Italy. Vegas history is alive and well here, too, with the prominent main porte cochere and the old-school casino with crystal chandeliers. Several renovations and the addition of Nobu Hotel have ensured the resort remains current. Shopping here at The Forum Shops is among the best in the city. The hotel's pool complex, dubbed Garden of the Gods Pool Oasis, is arguably the nicest set-up on the Strip.

The best way to explore the mountains of Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area is by horseback, and Cowboy Trail Rides has it covered. The outfitter runs scenic  trips including the Sunset Trail Ride and Western BBQ (1 hour 45 minutes; dinner included) and the Canyon Rim Ride (2 hours). Beautiful views of the Strip give way to desert wilderness. Keep your eyes peeled for jackrabbits, Joshua trees, and other notable desert life. The view of the Strip isn't too shabby either.

This attraction is perfect for individuals and groups who like to play in a life-size sandbox—and use big toys to do it. In this case, the toys are heavy construction machinery: bulldozers, excavators, wheel loaders, backhoes, mini-excavators, and skid-steer track loaders. Guests don hard hats and spend 90 minutes or more driving the equipment on a big dirt lot, moving around giant tires, digging holes, and more. You can even crush a car, in an Aggression Session, and you can request specific equipment. There are experiences for kids starting as young as age 2 (15 minutes), up to 2 1/2 hours for teen-agers. Or book a  group session, to give team-building a whole new meaning.

Though smaller than its neighbor Wynn Las Vegas, Encore pulls together some of the best touches from the sister properties. For that we owe thanks to designer Roger Thomas, who invested in antiques from all over the world to decorate the resort. The other notable design element: sunlight, which streams in through window-lined corridors (a relative rarity in Vegas). Most people come to Encore for the partying, specifically at Encore Beach Club, Encore Beach Club at Night, and XS. The high-tech Awakening show blends myth and magic with deft choreography, and a modest but beautiful shopping strip, the Shops at Encore, features Christian Louboutin, Bruno Cucinelli, and Rene Caovilla.

The most exciting new concert venue in Las Vegas opened in 2023. With the largest high-definition (wraparound) video screen in the world, it's an unforgettable concert venue for such stars as Kenny Chesney, The Eagles, and the Backstreet Boys, but you don't have to see a concert to experience it. There are two other options to experience the magic. The \"Sphere Experience\" includes the Darren Aronovsky film \"Postcard from Earth\" as well as early entrance to play with some of the interactive, high-tech doodads in the lobby; it's usually shown daily (sometimes several times depending on the concert schedule). You can also watch a film of U2's inaugural concert at the venue in 2023 (called \"V-U2\"), which is shown on nights when there's not a concert or other event. The Sphere is accessible by a pedestrian bridges from The Venetian if you aren't arriving in a vehicle.

The acres taken up by the mega-resorts mean that open space is a premium on the Strip, which makes The Park a refreshing departure. Roughly situated between New York–New York and Park MGM, it reaches from the Strip itself west to T-Mobile Arena, home to the city's first professional sports franchise, the Vegas Golden Knights hockey team. Along the way, The Park offers natural touches such as desert vegetation and rock from local quarries. It also has features such as a water wall, shade structures made to look like trees, and a 40-foot-tall statue of a dancing naked woman named \"Bliss Dance.\" Restaurants offer outdoor seating and games for patrons to play while they relax.

Resorts World was the first new casino-resort on the Strip in more than a decade when it opened in June 2021.The 3,500-room property was developed by the Genting Group, a gaming company based in Singapore, and it features two hotel towers with rooms and suites representing three Hilton brands: Hilton, Conrad, and Crockfords. The resort has more than 50 food outlets, including Famous Foods, a tech-friendly food hall representing cuisines from all over the world, with an emphasis on Asia. Hotel guests can get room service from any restaurant on-site. The 5.5-acre pool complex (the largest in all of Vegas) includes seven pools and trees from the Stardust, which sat on the site many years ago. Headliners such as Katy Perry, Carrie Underwood, and Luke Bryan will pack theaters for years to come.

The \"mountains\" of Seven Magic Mountains aren't actually mountains at all; instead they're towers of multicolored stacked boulders standing more than 30 feet high. The art installation from renowned Swiss artist Ugo Rondinone is a commentary about human presence in the desert, and it stands tall about 10 miles south of the intersection of Las Vegas Boulevard South and St. Rose Parkway, near Jean. Visitors to the site can walk right up and pose with the towers, making it a popular place for selfies. The exhibit opened in 2016 and was only scheduled to run until 2018, but due to public demand, it's been extended. Watch for signs on I–15 directing you to the parking area. 

This attraction, just north of Encore Las Vegas, provides the thrill of skydiving without a plane. After 20 minutes of training you enter a vertical wind tunnel that produces a powerful stream of air. You'll float, hover, and fly, simulating up to five minutes of free fall, with more time for large parties. Airspeeds reach 120 mph. Plan to reserve at least two hours in advance, making payment in full. The place closes for private parties from time to time, so it's wise to call ahead.

In a city that keeps raising the bar for sheer luxury, Wynn Las Vegas—monolithic in both name and appearance—offers a discreet turn for the tasteful. The resort is a best-of-everything experience—a playground for jet-setters, high rollers, or anyone who wants to feel like one. This excellence starts with the gardens near the front entrance; though smaller than Bellagio's, they are just as exquisite. It continues with the waterfall that pours from (man-made) rocks into a interior lake, both visible from the Overlook Lounge. Instead of booking another Cirque du Soleil show, Wynn created Awakening, in a 360-degree theater designed for the show. On-site restaurants are just as appealing, with Wing Lei holding firm as one of the best Chinese restaurants in the entire city. High-end shopping options at The Shops at Wynn include Alexander McQueen, Bulgari, and Chanel, and the Wynn Plaza includes Breitling, Hermes, and Cipriani restaurant, whose forerunner in Venice was the birthplace of the Bellini.

If the sun is blazing, the kids are antsy, and you need a place to while away a few hours, make for the big pink dome behind Circus Circus. The 5-acre amusement park has more than 25 rides and attractions for all age levels and is kept at a constant cool temperature. The El Loco roller coaster ride includes a barrel roll and a number of G-force drops. Also check out the Canyon Blaster, the world's only indoor double-loop, double-corkscrew roller coaster, a huge swinging pirate ship, bumper cars, kiddie rides, two Bank Heist Laser Challenges, and much more. Families looking for gentler experiences will find them on the B.C. Bus, Drifters, Circus Carousel, and Road Runner. Catch a presentation of \"Ice Age 4D: No Time for Nuts\" or the Scooby Doo in \"Scoob!4D Experience,\" or computer-generated iterations of the Angry Birds. There also are arcade and midway games, and Circus Circus clowns roam throughout the area. Neon Nights after dark on Friday and Saturday give everything a whole new glow. Kids under 33 inches ride free with a paying adult.

This 6,000-seat arena (formerly Lifeguard Arena) serves as the practice facility of the Henderson Silver Knights, the American Hockey League affiliate of the Vegas Golden Knights. When the home team isn’t on the ice, there are adult and youth hockey leagues and clinics and camps to keep the puck moving. Open skate sessions and skating classes are offered as well. To keep energy levels up, visit the Public Works Coffee Bar in the northeast corner of the arena. On the building’s second floor, there’s MacKenzie River Pizza, Grill & Pub for bar bites and brews.

The hotel's collection of antiques, artifacts, and collectibles includes Louisa May Alcott's private railcar, stained glass from the Lillian Russell mansion, bronze doors and the facade from the Kuwait Royal Bank, and a variety of Victorian chandeliers. There's even a piece of the Berlin Wall—where else—in the men's room off the lobby. And if you prefer your wild outdoors very tame (and indoors), a bronze wild boar statue should stir your adventuresome spirit. Pick up a detailed brochure and map of the collection at the front desk or bell desk.

Glistening like a futuristic oasis in the heart of the Strip, ARIA is a modern spin on the Las Vegas casino of old. Its soaring, three-story atrium is bathed in natural light (a novel concept in this town). The casino has windows, too. Many onlookers come to marvel at the artwork in the atrium, including Maya Lin's Silver River, an 84-foot sculpture of reclaimed silver that mirrors the route of the Colorado River and hangs in the lobby behind the check-in desk. Much like the gardens at properties such as Bellagio and Wynn, the floral arrangements here change with the seasons. Other remarkable attractions include restaurant offerings on the mezzanine, as well as the design of the high-limit rooms, which are masked from the rest of the casino by opaque stained glass. ARIA remains one of the largest buildings in the world to achieve LEED Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.

ARIA boasts more than $42 million in public art by 15 artists. Pieces range from sculptures to paintings and elaborate fountains. Our favorite: Big Edge, an amalgam of kayaks and canoes by Nancy Rubins in the adjacent mall, The Shops at Crystals.

Enjoy a brief facsimile of a traditional ceremony at this venue, designed to be a turnkey wedding operation, with two chapels and an outdoor garden, as well as on-site flower shop, photography studio, and wedding coordinators. It's still Las Vegas, so an Elvis impersonator is available for all ceremonies.

Indoor ice rinks don't usually grab your attention, but City National Arena, a few blocks north from downtown Summerlin, is worth a closer look. This is the practice facility for the Vegas Golden Knights, who are here daily (when they're home), with practices open to the public and free. The rink also is the center of the region's amateur hockey scene, meaning ice-time is hard to come by on weekends. There are skating and hockey skill classes offered as well. On the second floor, a pub shows Knights games and offers food and drink specials. During big games, the scene up here can get pretty raucous.

A no-wait marriage certificate can be yours if you bring $77 cash (there's an additional fee for credit cards), identification, and your beloved to the Clark County Marriage License Bureau. Unless the office is unusually busy, the process normally takes less than an hour.

Step into the past (quite literally) at this modest museum, a 30-acre site that features a small exhibit hall with a time-line exhibit about southern Nevada from prehistoric to modern times. The facility also offers a collection of restored historic buildings that depict daily life from different decades in Las Vegas, Boulder City, Henderson, and Goldfield. Other attractions include a replica of a 19th-century frontier print shop and a 1960s wedding chapel that once stood on the Las Vegas Strip. There are also buildings and machinery dating from the turn of the 20th century, a nature trail, and a small ghost town. The museum also hosts a memorial to the 58 people killed in the Route 91 Harvest Festival shooting. If you can't get to the Las Vegas Springs Preserve, west of the Strip, this is a worthwhile substitute.

As Las Vegas grew, so did the amount of treated water released by its wastewater treatment plant. Recycled water making its way back to Lake Mead carved out a \"wash\" that needed to be constrained by a series of porous dams (known as weirs); the county turned it into a 2,900-acre refuge in 1999. Its wide-open spaces offer the unique charm of being able to see the Strip one minute, then be completely disoriented as you descend down winding paths surrounded by tall grass. All sorts of birds and critters call the place home, from great blue herons to beavers. The area is open daily from dawn to dusk; there's an impressive Nature Center (open from 9 to 3) complete with a small museum and children's area. But there's no restaurant or food service beyond a few bags of chips in the gift shop. Dogs and bicycles are allowed on the outer loop trail, but not in the inner core of the preserve.

The Cosmopolitan is a truly different Las Vegas resort experience—a blend of artistic sophistication and comfortable elegance. This is evidenced by the digital artwork on the columns near the registration desk, as well as the vending machines with wood-block paintings from local artists. Don't miss The Chandelier, a three-story bar that, as the name suggests, sits inside a giant crystal concoction. The property mixologist is an expert in crafted cocktails and comes out with a brand-new menu for the bar seasonally. Elsewhere on the property, hipsters love Marquee nightclub and dayclub. A slate of restaurants includes offerings from José Andrés (Jaleo, China Poblano) and Bruce and Eric Bromberg (Blue Ribbon). There's also a Momofuku and a Milk Bar, both of which have cult followings from across the country. Plus, there's chef David Chang's Bang Bar, a quick spot to grab freshly griddled flatbread sandwiches and rice bowls. Shopping at The Cosmopolitan is second to none: one-of-a-kind boutiques include Stitched (men's clothes), AllSaints (fashions from East London), and CRSVR (sneakers).

The DISCOVERY Children's Museum is one of the most technologically sophisticated children's museums in the entire country. The facility comprises nine theme exhibition halls, all of which are designed to inspire visitors—both children and adults—to learn through play. The star of the show: a 12-story exhibit dubbed \"The Summit,\" with education stations on every level and a lookout that peeks through the building's roof. Parents of the smallest visitors will also love \"Toddler Town,\" an area designed for those who are still crawling or just learning how to walk. \"Fantasy Festival,\" another exhibit, comprises a life-size pirate ship (yes, really), and ample clothes for kiddos to dress up.

This open-air shopping mall with more than 125 stores and restaurants sits at the center of the Summerlin planned community, and, since it opened in 2014, has become the very heart of town. Locals are delighted to have name-brand stores such as lululemon and Sur la Table around the corner, and on-site restaurants are always packed. On Saturday, the mall hosts a farmers' market from 9 am to 2 pm; other events are scheduled throughout the year. The mall has its own movie theater with luxury seats and a full bar, and is a short walk from Red Rock Casino Resort & Spa. In spring 2019, Downtown Summerlin welcomed another tenant: the Las Vegas Ballpark, home to the Las Vegas Aviators, the AAA affiliate of the Oakland Athletics.

Ethel M celebrated its 35th anniversary in 2016 and renovated its Henderson factory to commemorate the occasion. Today, watching gourmet chocolates being made on one of the daily tours will make your mouth water; fortunately the self-guided tour is brief, and there are free samples at the end. You can buy more of your favorites in the store. There are also chocolate tasting experiences beginning at $25, where you will learn about how chocolate is sourced and produced and become an honorary chocolatier complete with certificate afterward. Randomly, the factory also happens to be home to the largest cactus garden in the southwestern United States, and hosts spectacular light displays at Christmas, Easter, and Halloween.

Just next to the pool area at the Flamingo Las Vegas, a flamboyance of live Chilean flamingos lives on islands and in streams surrounded by sparkling waterfalls and lush foliage. Other animals on-site include swans, ducks, koi, sturgeons, brown pelicans, hummingbirds, and turtles. The 4-acre habitat makes for a fun, brief stroll. Learn more during the Keeper Talks at 10 am.

When the Fontainebleau opened on the North Strip in late 2023, it defined the idiom \"a long time coming.\" The project was born in 2005, but the effects of the Great Recession that soon followed kicked off nearly two decades of ping-ponging ownership and conceptual changes stemming from financial issues and shifting market conditions. Finally, the towering hulk of a construction site that had cast a damper of blight on the neighborhood was transformed into a gleaming point of pride. The sparkling blue resort rises 67 stories, making it the tallest habitable building in the state (the 108-story Strat is still the tallest structure, though most of it is elevator shafts) , and has a 3,644-room hotel, 550,000 square feet of convention and meeting space, the BleauLive showroom that quickly drew headliners and dozens of restaurants and retail outlets. Signature bow ties dot the exterior, the wall behind the front desk, the carpeting—just about anywhere you look.

Like a growing number of Strip resorts, the Fontainebleau has amassed a collection of fine art, which is displayed throughout the public areas. Outside, you'll find Gonzalo Lebrija's \"History of Suspended Time,\" a huge automobile suspended vertically over and nearly touching the surface of a pond. Three works by Urs Fischer—the 46-foot-tall metal sculpture \"Lovers #3,\" and the paintings \"The Touch\" and \"The Eye\"—are in the South Lobby. Elsewhere you'll find \"Oceans,\" a sculpture that mimics the shape of Fontainebleau Miami Beach; Richard Prince's five-panel \"Untitled 2018–2019;\" Ivan Navarro's \"Mirage;\" and dozens of others.