I will be in Las Vegas from March 27-31 on a family trip, and I’m looking for places to do and things to see, emphasis on the weird and/or cheap. Strange museums, stores and tours, interesting places to eat, fun stuff to see etc.
Whatcha got?
I have a friend who has vacationed on the strip several times, trying to drink as much alcohol as he can, while spending as little as possible. Chugging mimosas at an AYCE breakfast buffet is how he starts his days. There are bars with slot machines where your drinks are free as long as you keep playing. He has a few “tricks” at those type places.
Then again, he considers Leaving Las Vegas to be a romcom.
Red Rock Canyon just outside the city is pretty cool if you’re into nature stuff. There are some good short hikes there, or you can just drive through the park and get some pretty good views.
Lots of good food, but the strip hotels restaurants are often over priced. And the Wynn. Crazy.
I likeFirefly. The Chart House in the Golden Nugget has a huge aquarium and pretty good food too.
You’ve got tons of steak houses to choose from, if that’s your thing.
I agree about Red Rock. There are some nice hikes and drives.
The Hoover Dam is fun, once.
There’s a “mob museum,” I’ve never been.
Be sure to try the shrimp.
Vegas Golden Knights play the Wild on Friday. That’s where I’d be.
I thought the Knights home base was Gotham? When did they get moved to Las Vegas?
There are shows, comedians, rides, and some interesting art to see in/near the strip. But for 5 days I think you’ll want to get out of town. Will you have a car?
Red Rock Canyon was already mentioned, but Valley of Fire State Park is also a great day trip. The Hoover Dam and some activities in Lake Mead are another good excursion. Mt Charleston would be a nice hike but in March it’ll probably be too snowy.
Did the dam/canyon bit the last time I was there, would like to stick to the city this time around, if possible.
There’s all the shows. Look around for discount coupons. Seems like we saw Penn & Teller for like $40ish. Great show, and they take the time after the show to talk with everyone.
Hoover dam is kinda cool, and free if you drive over the dam and park up on the hills (the tours cost money).
Death Valley is not too far and one of our favorite places to visit. Go to Rhyolite if you want weird.
Even if you don’t gamble, you can sit at a bar and play some video poker to get free drinks. This will vary by location.
The Double Down Saloon is a bit off the path but a lot of fun if you like punk rock. No cover, cheap drinks, live music most nights, and a drink called Ass Juice.
Penn and Teller was my first choice…but they happen to be out of town that week. Is Tapeface or Piff The Dragon an good option?
Assuming that this isn’t a woosh…
The Vegas Golden Knights are an NHL hockey team, which was an expansion team last season (and they made it to the Stanley Cup finals in their first year of existence).
I’m assuming that he’s a comics fan since the ‘Gotham Knights’ is a generic ‘sportsball’ name for Gotham City’s various teams. I remember them from Batman the Animated Series as their football team. I don’t recall them ever using the name for a hockey team though, but I’m only a casual comic universe reader/watcher. BTAS though was an excellent show.
Piff is great. But Penn himself says the best magic show in Vegas is Mac King. He plays in the afternoons, I believe. Haven’t seen him yet myself, but it’s on my list.
Yeah, I suspected that it might be a Batman reference, though there is also a New York-based rugby team with the name (borrowed, no doubt, from the Batman universe).
Oh yeah, the shows. There are some truly awesome shows in Vegas. You can’t go wrong with any of the Cirque du Soleil shows, but I highly HIGHLY recommend Ka. That was without a doubt the most spectacular show I’ve ever seen.
Downtown:
- The Mob Museum is pretty cool, and interesting.
- Near the downtown area (walking distance) is the Container Park. A small shopping “center” with each shop built out of converted shipping containers. Some quirky little shops (not the usual touristy crap).
Between the strip and downtown (on LV Blvd) is the Pawn Shop where the TV show “Pawn Stars” is set. There is sometimes a line of people to get in.
Just off (east) of the strip Flamingo is the National Atomic Testing Museum. Very cool and very informative.
On the strip close to the MGM Grand is the M&M museum. A little touristy, but kind of fun.
Off the strip a ways, east on Tropicana is the Pinball Museum. There is also a Liberace museum near there, but I’ve not been.
The High Roller ferris wheel at LINQ is nice, especially at sunset.
The various rides atop the Statosphere are fun if you like dangling 1000 feet above the street.
Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay is supposed to be a decent aquarium experience.
The Trick Art Museum looks interesting if you like that sort of thing.
Marvels Avengers Station at Treasure Island might be fun if you’re a big fan of the movies.
The National Atomic Testing Museum
Erotic Heritage Museum
The Mob Museum
In addition to all the above, be sure to eat breakfast at Mon Ami Gabi (Paris). Get a seat on the patio and watch the various Walks of Shame every morning.
Check out The Conservatory at Bellagio. Michael Symon just open Mabel’s at the Rio if you like good BBQ. Check out the Pinball Hall of Fame. Brings quarters. Go see Human Nature at the Venetian. Great show. Say Hi to Toby for me.
I took a non-gambling Vegas vacation about 10 years ago, so some of this information might be out of date.
First, if you’ve never been to Las Vegas before, everything is a lie. I much prefer the model where I know what I’m going to pay and know what I’m going to get. Las Vegas seems to be built more on the model of, “well how much money do you have?” Half price tickets are maybe 10% off. $40 tickets have a $50 service charge, etc. 10 years ago, there existed a discount coupon for everything, so a bit of work ahead of time meant that lots of things were much cheaper, so buy-one-get-one buffets, free admission to things, etc.
Here are some specific things that as non-gamblers my wife and I enjoyed. We weren’t there as long, so we spent all of our time on the strip and downtown.
Walking through all of the casinos. Some of them have amazing art, some just smell of stale cigarette smoke, and they all have weird little displays and stuff. I remember Donny Osmond’s winning outfit and trophy from Dancing with the Stars was on display in one. So stuff like that. Often not too exciting, but more of the, “hey look that’s the guiter…”
The car collection at the Imperial was really cool. Is the Imperial still a thing? I know the cars still exist. When we went it was a floor of the parking garage, closed in and done up with indoor/outdoor carpeting. Admission was $10 or so, but free with coupon. We just wandered around and took pictures, and nobody bothered us. A few years ago I was not able to find a coupon for a friend, so it might cost real money now.
We went for dinner in a brewpub in one of the downtown casinos. There are probably more brewpubs now, but at the time it was the only one in the area. It was a nice change of pace, and much cheaper than the strip.
Getting downtown, we made sure to time our walk through the Fremont Street Experience to get one of the light shows. Again, not incredibly exciting, but an enjoyable enough way to spend 10 minutes in the evening.
A friend did one of those driving track day experience things. It’s not cheap, but sometimes there are coupons.
Go to a show or two. They are expensive, but if you don’t really care which one you see, you might be able to find something in your price range. Of the three or so I’ve seen, my favorite was Zumanity, and not just because it was attractive people being naked, but because it was incredibly athletic attractive people being naked and doing crazy stunts.