Las Vegas is two cities in one trip. The Strip is a 4.5-mile line of resorts where the shows, the buffets, the clubs and the free spectacles are, and the desert around it holds some of the best day trips in the American West. Downtown, the Fremont Street canopy and the old signs of the Neon Museum are covered on the USA page; this page adds the rest of a first visit.
Plan the nights first, because the big shows and the Sphere sell out, and the days second. Red Rock Canyon is 30 minutes away, Hoover Dam under an hour, Valley of Fire about an hour, and Grand Canyon West, the Hualapai side of the canyon, two and a half hours by road or a helicopter ride. In summer the heat decides everything, so do the outdoor trips early and save the afternoons for the air-conditioned indoors.
Watch Cirque du Soleil's O on its water stage at Bellagio
O Theatre, Bellagio
90 minutes, no intervalBook ahead
Divers, synchronised swimmers and acrobats perform above and below the surface of a pool that looks like an opera house stage.
What it is
Of the long-running Strip shows, O is the one no touring show can copy. It has played at Bellagio since 1998, and what looks like an opera house stage is a pool holding 1.5 million gallons of water, where divers, synchronised swimmers and acrobats perform above and below the surface. The name is said like eau, French for water. It runs 90 minutes with no interval.
How to do it
Shows are usually at 7 and 9:30 pm from Wednesday to Sunday. Buy direct from Cirque du Soleil online, by phone or at a box office in Bellagio, MGM Grand or another MGM resort; tickets started at $125 in 2026. The North Valet is the entrance nearest the theatre.
Good to know
Children under 5 are not admitted, and flash and filming are banned.
Free shows set to music on the lake in front of Bellagio, with jets throwing water 460 feet into the air.
What it is
The fountains play on the 8.5-acre lake in front of Bellagio, set to music, and the tallest jets throw water 460 feet into the air. The shows are free and last a few minutes. On weekdays they start at 3 pm and run every 30 minutes, at weekends and on holidays from noon, and from 8 pm to midnight every 15 minutes.
How to do it
The classic spot is the balustrade along Las Vegas Boulevard, in the middle of the lake; for a view from above, the Eiffel Tower replica at Paris Las Vegas, across the boulevard, looks straight down on it. Stay for two or three shows, because the music changes each time. Then walk inside Bellagio to the Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, free to enter, where the floral displays change five times a year.
Las Vegas Boulevard, from Mandalay Bay to The STRAT
An evening for each halfFree
The busiest stretch passes the Bellagio fountains, Caesars Palace and the Eiffel Tower replica, with the glowing Sphere just behind.
What it is
The Strip runs about 4.5 miles from The STRAT to Mandalay Bay, too far for one walk, so take it in halves on two evenings. The busiest stretch runs from Park MGM up to the Venetian: the Bellagio fountains, Caesars Palace, the Eiffel Tower replica at Paris Las Vegas and, just behind the Venetian, the glowing Sphere.
How to do it
Cross the boulevard on the pedestrian bridges at the big junctions. Two free trams save your legs: the Aria Express links Bellagio, Aria and Park MGM daily from 8 am to 2 am, and another runs from Excalibur to Luxor and Mandalay Bay. To get back, take the Deuce bus, which runs all night, or the monorail behind the east-side resorts.
Good to know
The Mirage's rebuild as a Hard Rock and works at the LINQ slow the middle of the Strip on busy evenings.
A screen wraps over seats fitted with haptic effects inside the LED-covered globe, and its lit exterior is free to watch.
What it is
The Sphere, the LED-covered globe at 255 Sands Avenue behind the Venetian, works two ways. From outside, its lit exterior is free to watch from the Strip after dark. Inside, a screen wraps over seats fitted with haptic effects. The Wizard of Oz at Sphere is a 75-minute film experience with wind, mist, scent and indoor fireworks, for ages 6 and up, and concert residencies rotate: in late 2026 Metallica plays until March 2027 and the Eagles from 13 November.
How to do it
Tickets are mobile only, sold on Ticketmaster through the Sphere site, and all sales are final. Doors open 45 minutes early and there is no late seating. Enter by the stairs from the Venetian bridge.
Good to know
Bring at most a small bag, about 6 by 6 by 2 inches, since there is no bag check.
One slow turn in a glass cabin rising 550 feet over the Strip, timed for dusk to watch the lights come on.
What it is
The High Roller rises 550 feet at the end of the LINQ Promenade, the open-air street of bars and shops that runs off the Strip between the LINQ and the Flamingo. One turn of its 28 glass cabins takes 30 minutes, the slowest and calmest way to see the whole Strip at once, with the Sphere nearby.
How to do it
Go at dusk to watch the lights come on. From Monday to Thursday it turns from 4 pm to midnight; from Friday to Sunday it also opens from noon. Tickets are sold online and at the base, and a youth ticket covers ages 4 to 12. The Harrah's/The LINQ monorail station is a short walk away.
Good to know
Adults 21 and over can choose the Happy Half Hour, with an open bar and a bartender in the cabin for the full rotation.
Sit in the Kefauver hearing courtroom at the Mob Museum
The Mob Museum, 300 Stewart Avenue, Downtown
2 to 3 hoursBook ahead
The courtroom where the Senate questioned witnesses about Las Vegas organized crime in 1950, and a working speakeasy in the basement.
What it is
The Mob Museum fills the former federal courthouse and post office at 300 Stewart Avenue, opened in 1933 a few blocks from Fremont Street. Its centrepiece is the courtroom where the US Senate's Kefauver Committee questioned witnesses about organized crime in Las Vegas in 1950. The exhibits follow the mob from Prohibition to the casino years, and the agents who chased it. The basement holds The Underground, a working speakeasy for over-21s.
How to do it
It opens 9 am to 9 pm. Paid extras run in timed slots: a Crime Lab for ages 11 and up, a Firearm Training Simulator for 16 and up and a moonshine tasting.
Good to know
Non-Nevada residents save $7 online by entering before 11 am or after 5 pm, outside the busiest hours. The Underground is also reached by a side door with a weekly password posted on its Instagram.
Eat your way round the Bacchanal Buffet at Caesars Palace
Bacchanal Buffet, Caesars Palace
Book ahead
The largest buffet in the city: about 250 dishes from 10 kitchens, with lobster claws and crab legs at dinner.
What it is
The all-you-can-eat buffet is a Las Vegas institution, and Bacchanal at Caesars Palace is the largest in the city: over 25,000 square feet, 10 kitchens, nine stations where chefs cook in front of you and about 250 dishes. Dinner brings out the big seafood, with lobster claws, crab legs, shrimp and seafood boils, alongside prime rib and brisket; the Friday to Sunday brunch has its own crab version.
How to do it
Book a time ahead instead of turning up. In 2026 dinner ran from 2:30 to 9 pm Monday to Thursday and from 3 to 10 pm Friday to Sunday.
Good to know
Desserts come in single-serve portions, made for trying several.
Best time
An early weekday dinner, from 2:30 pm Monday to Thursday
Pool parties with DJs such as Calvin Harris or Diplo, and DJ nights at XS once the pools close.
What it is
Las Vegas dayclubs are pool parties with headline DJs, and Encore Beach Club, at the Encore tower of Wynn Las Vegas, is one of the best known, with the nightclub XS in the same resort for after dark. The day season runs from spring into October, and XS keeps its DJ nights going after the pools close.
How to do it
Check the calendar on Wynn's nightlife site: tickets for big names such as Calvin Harris or Diplo sell ahead, and tables and cabanas are booked separately.
Good to know
The door rules are strict. Everyone must be 21 or over with a valid government photo ID, visitors from outside the US must bring their passport, and copies or photos of IDs are refused. At night the dress code bans sportswear, trainers, flip-flops, shorts, hats, chains and baggy or torn clothes. No outside drinks are allowed, not even water.
Walk original construction tunnels to a platform over a 30-foot-wide penstock and feel the water rush, then into the powerhouse.
What it is
Hoover Dam stands 30 miles southeast of Las Vegas on the Nevada-Arizona border. Take the Powerplant Tour: it walks through original construction tunnels to a platform over a 30-foot-wide penstock, where you feel the water rush, and into the Nevada powerhouse with eight of its generators.
How to do it
The visitor center, on the Nevada side, opens daily from 9 am to 5 pm, with the last tour at 4:10 pm. In 2026 the tour costs $25 for adults and $15 for ages 4 to 16, and it is quietest from 9 to 11 am and 2:30 to 3:45 pm. Every car passes a security check, and the garage by the visitor center costs $10.
Good to know
The longer Dam Tour is sold only on site, first come, first served, often sells out and can be cancelled without notice: ask at the visitor center whether it is running. After the tour, walk the free path on the bypass bridge for the view down onto the dam.
Drive the Red Rock Canyon Scenic Drive on a timed entry
Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area
Half a dayTimed entry
A one-way loop past the red and cream sandstone of the Calico Hills, 30 minutes from the Strip.
What it is
Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area lies 17 miles west of the Strip on Charleston Boulevard, about 30 minutes by car. Its 13-mile Scenic Drive is one-way, so once in you follow the whole loop. The first viewpoints look onto the red and cream sandstone of the Calico Hills, and trailheads along the way lead into the canyons.
How to do it
No public transport goes there. From 1 October to 31 May, entering between 8 am and 5 pm needs a timed-entry reservation on Recreation.gov for each day, and you must arrive within your hour. Entry is $20 per car, and America the Beautiful passes are accepted.
Good to know
The drive opens at 6 am, so an early start needs no booking; weekend slots from 9 am to 3 pm go first. Bring plenty of water: inside, it is sold only at the visitor center.
Nevada's first state park, with red sandstone that seems to burn in low sun and petroglyphs more than 2,000 years old.
What it is
Valley of Fire, about 50 miles northeast of Las Vegas, became Nevada's first state park in 1935, and its red Aztec sandstone seems to burn in low sun. Petroglyphs more than 2,000 years old cover the rocks at Atlatl Rock and along the short trail to Mouse's Tank, and the road to White Domes leads to the striped swirls of the Fire Wave.
How to do it
Entry is $10 per vehicle, or $15 with out-of-state plates, from sunrise to sunset, with no reservation for day use. Skip rideshare: rides back are often impossible.
Good to know
Three rules shape a visit: many trails, the Fire Wave and White Domes included, close from 15 May to 30 September because of the heat; the whole park closes from 1 to 14 December 2026; and until the end of 2026 the West Entrance shuts Monday to Thursday, so use the East Entrance.
Fly to Grand Canyon West and walk out on the Skywalk
Grand Canyon West, Hualapai Reservation, Arizona
About 2.5 hours by helicopter, a full day by roadBook ahead
Land on a bluff above the Colorado River, 3,500 feet below the West Rim, on Hualapai tribal land.
What it is
Grand Canyon West is not the national park: it sits on the West Rim, on Hualapai tribal land in Arizona, about 130 miles and two and a half hours by road from Las Vegas. Helicopter tours fly there from the Strip over Hoover Dam and Lake Mead. A typical landing tour, such as Maverick's Wind Dancer, takes about 2.3 hours: 45 minutes each way and half an hour on a bluff 3,500 feet below the rim, above the Colorado River.
How to do it
That landing does not include the Skywalk, the glass bridge reaching 70 feet out from Eagle Point, about 4,000 feet above the canyon floor, which needs the All-Access Pass. Phones are allowed on it; bags and cameras go in free lockers.
Good to know
Hours follow Arizona time, the same as Las Vegas from March to early November and an hour ahead in winter.
See the Fremont Street canopy and the old signs at the Neon Museum
Downtown Las Vegas, Nevada
2 to 3 hoursBook ahead
A free show on the LED canopy over old downtown Las Vegas, then retired casino signs in the Neon Museum's outdoor boneyard.
What it is
The Fremont Street Experience is the covered pedestrian mall at the heart of downtown Las Vegas, the old casino strip under the Viva Vision LED canopy. The canopy show is free and plays on the hour in the evening, from 6 pm until 2 am, with live stages in between and the SlotZilla zip lines flying under the screen. For the vintage signs themselves, the Neon Museum at 770 Las Vegas Boulevard North, a short ride north, has retired casino signs standing in an outdoor boneyard.
How to do it
Book the Neon Museum: tickets are timed, are released 60 days ahead and sell out on many nights. From September to May it opens 3 pm to 11 pm; from June to August it opens 8 pm to midnight because of the heat.
Good to know
Arriving more than 15 minutes late can cost your place, and guided tours do not run above 100°F.
Harry Reid International Airport sits just east of the south end of the Strip. Taxis wait outside baggage claim at both terminals and charge flat rates by zone to the Strip; Uber and Lyft pick up in the garages, on Level 2 at Terminal 1 and on the Valet Level at Terminal 3. RTC buses leave from Level Zero at Terminal 1. From Southern California, the drive is I-15 north; leaving early in the morning or on a weekday avoids the worst traffic.
Getting around
Walk within one stretch of the Strip and ride between them. The Deuce bus runs the length of the Strip and on to downtown 24 hours a day, with a 24-hour pass at $8 in 2026. The monorail runs behind the east-side resorts from SAHARA to MGM Grand, every 4 to 8 minutes; in 2026 a single ride costs $6.25 and a one-day pass $15.50. Rent a car only for the day trips: no public transport reaches Red Rock Canyon or Valley of Fire.
How many days
In must30's view, four days is the right first visit: two evenings on the Strip for a show, the fountains and the Sphere, a day downtown with the Mob Museum and Fremont Street, and one day trip to Red Rock Canyon, Valley of Fire or Hoover Dam. Add a fifth day for Grand Canyon West. More than that and most people start planning the national parks across the state lines.
When to go
March to May and October to early November are the comfortable months. July averages a high of 104.5°F, and about 78 days a year reach 100°F, which closes many Valley of Fire trails from 15 May to 30 September. Red Rock Canyon's timed entry runs from 1 October to 31 May. The Formula 1 race closes Strip roads and lifts hotel prices from 19 to 21 November 2026, and big conventions do the same, so check the calendar before you book.
Where to base yourself
The centre of the Strip, from Park MGM to the Venetian, puts the fountains, the big shows, the High Roller and the Sphere within walking distance. The south end, around Mandalay Bay, Luxor and Excalibur, is linked by a free tram and close to the airport. Downtown hotels near Fremont Street usually cost less, and the Deuce connects them to the Strip. Since May 2025 a federal rule makes hotels include mandatory resort fees in the price they advertise, so compare those totals.
Questions travellers ask
Is the Bellagio fountain show free?
Yes. The Fountains of Bellagio play free shows every 30 minutes from 3 pm on weekdays and from noon at weekends, then every 15 minutes from 8 pm to midnight. Watch from the balustrade on Las Vegas Boulevard; strong wind can cancel a show.
Can you visit the Grand Canyon on a day trip from Las Vegas?
Yes. Grand Canyon West, with the Skywalk, is about 130 miles and two and a half hours away by road, or a short helicopter flight. It is run by the Hualapai Tribe and is not part of the national park. The South Rim, in the national park, is 278 miles away, which makes a very long day.
How old do you have to be to go to clubs in Las Vegas?
21, and the door checks a valid government photo ID. At the Wynn clubs, visitors from outside the US must show a passport, and copies or photos of IDs are refused. Dress codes are strict: XS, for example, bans sportswear, trainers, flip-flops, shorts and hats.
Do you need a reservation for Red Rock Canyon?
From 1 October to 31 May, yes, if you enter the Scenic Drive between 8 am and 5 pm: book a timed entry on Recreation.gov for each day. The drive opens at 6 am, so an early start needs no booking. From June to September no reservation is required.
Is the Las Vegas Strip walkable?
In sections. End to end it is about 4.5 miles, so walk one half at a time and use the pedestrian bridges to cross. Free trams link Bellagio, Aria and Park MGM, and Excalibur, Luxor and Mandalay Bay; the Deuce bus and the monorail cover longer hops.
.jpg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}