Las Vegas was built from almost nothing in the middle of the Mojave Desert on the premise that people will travel for spectacle, and eighty years later that bet has produced a genuinely unique concentration of entertainment, architecture, and, increasingly, serious food, all a short drive from some of the most dramatic desert scenery in the American Southwest.
Beyond the Casino Floor
The Strip's resorts have increasingly leaned into experience over gambling revenue alone, the Sphere's immersive 16K screen, Cirque du Soleil's various permanent shows, and an ever-rotating list of chef-driven restaurants from names like Joël Robuchon and Gordon Ramsay have shifted Vegas's identity considerably since its casino-only heyday.
The Neon Museum, an outdoor 'boneyard' of retired Vegas signage from the 1930s through today, offers a genuinely interesting look at the city's design history, a nighttime tour lights up several of the restored signs for a proper photograph.
The Desert Beyond
Red Rock Canyon, twenty minutes from the Strip, offers a scenic 13-mile loop drive and hiking trails through dramatic red sandstone formations, an easy half-day escape from the city's artificial environment into genuine desert wilderness.
The Hoover Dam and Grand Canyon's West Rim are both feasible day trips from Las Vegas, the latter including a glass Skywalk platform extending out over the canyon rim for those wanting the dramatic photo without the longer drive to the canyon's more famous South Rim.
Recommended Stay · Las Vegas · The Strip
Bellagio Las Vegas
A landmark Strip resort with its own botanical conservatory and the famous choreographed fountain show visible from many rooms facing the lake.
