Las Vegas - 10 Things Apart from Gambling and Glamour

You are in the Sin City of the World and are wondering what you would want to do in here. It may seem strange but this city full of glitter and glamor has a lot hidden behind those blinding lights. It takes time, effort and will power to look away from the usual Vegas and explore the areas around it. There is enough natural beauty, monuments, trails and curios all around Las Vegas to warrant a quick getaway outside of the City. We believe, if you are in the city, you would obviously spend a lot of time in casinos, but you may also wish to look at some of the shows and performances in the city, a tour to Hoover Dam and Grand Canyon or a getaway to Red Rock Canyon National Park.

In this article, we showcase ten things one must definitely try when in Las Vegas. Each of them provides a different kind of theme to your experience in the city and is worth the effort.

Let's start with a v-log checklist of things to do in Las Vegas

If you are looking for a recommended 3-day itinerary for Las Vegas, read our article
Three Day Itinerary for Las Vegas - In and Out of Town

Gambling, Drinking, and Shows - That is Las Vegas ....right?

The reason you are in the town is primarily gambling and drinking and hence they definitely would take up a considerable amount of your time. The entire Strip is pouring with casinos - large and small - and each of them comes with their own unique flavor. The creators have thrown in their best work to mingle in varied themes - from the Disneyland look at the Excalibre to the Royal set up in Mandalay Bay, from a replica of Eiffel Tower in Paris to the Statue of Liberty in New York. While most of the casinos functionally are similar - familiar set-up containing slot machines, tables for blackjack and poker, high-value games arena and other similar suspects. There obviously is a large cashier's window in most of the casinos and the security team having a conspicuously small face-position. However, do not be confused with lesser on-the-face presence - they have eyes on each corner of the casino and no activity goes without their notice.

Most of the casinos offer free booze to the players (of course the service depends on how nicely you tip) and the atmosphere is pumped with oxygen to ensure you stay awake. The lighting and ambiance are so designed that it is difficult to realize the darkness outside the glittered halls. Some of the casinos we visited had the ceilings designed and lighted to give an impression of day-time sky thus creating a lively illusion to keep gamblers from realizing how late in the night they already are.

Many fail to realize that the casinos in Las Vegas are more than just gambling and drinking. The aim for most of them is to deliver an experience and provide visitors with entertainment in multiple forms. While gambling and shows are the more important features at most of them, many have additional activities that go along with the usual ones. Many casinos offer live music or performances to keep guests or their families engaged.

In addition to casinos, there is a lot around to do in this city with family and with kids. There is something for those who love nature or those who love views or those who love activities of some kind. It is about proper planning and adequate research - a small effort and you would find Vegas to be everything your dream holiday destination ought to be. We have segregated our coverage into three categories based on their location.

Las Vegas Boulevard - Right On-The Strip

Las Vegas Boulevard running across the city has today become the major center for development - casinos, hotels and tourist sites - and is popularly known as "The Strip". While there are other areas of the city which has a cluster of casinos, this newer part of the town has become the center for tourist attraction now. If you are a tourist to the city, chances are you have booked yourself at a hotel with quick access to the Strip and that is how it should be. For those concerned with a place to put their car in, most of the casinos offer free parking for a limited time (mostly two hours). There are also a few hotels including the Venetian, which offer unlimited free self-parking.  Here is a list of all you can do on the Strip.

1. The Bellagio Water Show Fountains

Bellagio Water Show

Bellagio Fountains have off-late become the face of Las Vegas and no picturization of the city is complete without a glimpse of these water-spraying machines swirling on popular music rhymes. Located right in front of the Bellagio in almost the center of the strip, this water show gathers quite a lot of traction with tourists. Visitor line around the periphery of the 8.5-acre lake built in the middle of this desert land. Those fortunate and opulent can opt to take a boat ride across the lake to enjoy the water rockets up close. The show involves over 1200 spritzers shooting 460-feet high water jets interwoven with lights and music to create an effect of dancing water streams. The view is one of the romanticism of the city otherwise popular of jazzy and glittery pleasures of life. The show is performed every thirty minutes past 3 PM and the frequency doubles after 8 PM when most of the crowd dawns the Strip.

2. The Mirage Volcano

The Mirage Volcano

Downwards into the city from Bellagio is another popular casino and hotel - The Mirage Resort & Casino. While the interior of the hotel is donned to create a mirage of a forest within the concrete building, there is another mirage enlivened outside of it with the Volcano show. Crowds take their position along the man-made lagoon in front of the imposing hotel building to witness a spectacular show of fireballs and music. Visitors get to see the sky explode with light when the fire shooters erupt 12 feet (3.6 meters) above the lagoon, illuminating faces in the crowd. If you find the right spot, which is by the lake or near the valet desk at the entrance, you can easily feel the warmth of the fireballs. The finale of the performance features one last explosion from the volcano, which bursts 60 feet (18 meters) into the air. Every evening two fire shows enthrall public with the careful choreography of the creators - which incidentally is the same company that designed the Bellagio Fountains.

3. Shopping on the Strip

The Grand Canal

The Venetian has a shopping center with a grand canal flowing across. A man-made water stream is a lovely place for window-shopping if you are someone like us - traveling on a budget. There are shikaras or row-boats offering boating across the lake. We loved spending some moments along the canal - unwinding and emerging ourselves in the romanticism of the entire set-up. The Venetian is already a perfectly located hotel/casino and with the canal, it is definitely a great place to hang out. There is also a fashion mall on the Strip which offers a good shopping experience. Well, all you need is money in your pockets and all would be well.

4. The High-roller at The LINQ - A view of the Strip from up high

High-Roller @ LINQ

There is all this shine of the city and lighting to dazzle its visitors which looks absolutely stunning from the ground. However, there is a very different view available - one from a height of a few hundred feet above the ground level. There are two options to attain altitude on the strip - one is the Eiffel Tower in Paris Casino and Resort where an elevator quickly takes you towards the sky and offers a lovely observation deck. We took a different approach and took heights in style. Located as part of the LINQ, the giant wheel is said to be the largest in the world. Charging something between $22-37 for a normal cabin seat depending on the time of ride and the method of booking, the observation wheel takes guests 550 feet high and offers spectacular views of the town with twinkling lights and spread out glamor. The thirty-minute ride is definitely something you would not want to miss and guess what - if you have the inclination and money, you could opt for one of the cabins with a running bar to satiate your thirst.

Off-The Strip - Around Las Vegas City

While the Strip is the prime tourist attraction, there is more to Vegas than meets the eye - at the Strip. In fact, the Strip is just the new destination of casinos in Vegas and there are other clusters of casinos that have existed traditionally. There are also other areas you may want to explore in the city as a tourist.

5. Welcome to Las Vegas Sign

Welcome to Las Vegas Sign

If you are in Vegas, the city welcomes you with open arms and so says this landmark. The city has developed signage to welcome visitors to the city which has caught enough fancy to become of the sites of tourist interest. "Welcome to Las Vegas" is rightly located near to the airport and on the way to the Strip. The popularity of the sign is such that you may have to line-up to get a picture with the sign and the line could run up to 15-20 minutes on a normal day. While we do not recommend spending too much time there and this by no means deserves to the first point on the list, welcome needs to precede other sites and hence the position of this site in the article.

6. Fremont Street Experience

Fremont Street Experience

Fremont Street Experience is a music, entertainment and gaming destination in the heart of the city. This is a pedestrian-only mall and entertainment center and located in what was actually the buzzing area of Las Vegas until a few years ago when the Strip took over that role.  This world-famous venue is home to Viva Vision, the largest LED screen in the world. The screen displays a marvelous show every hour during the evening. The mall is always abuzz with activities along with free concerts throughout the year. There are many special events and street performers that this place hosts. To add to it there is a zipline across the length of the screen which provides a unique experience to enjoy a show from the air - though only for moments it definitely looks exciting. However, we would like to caution you if you are visiting the place with your family. While it isn't unsafe, the crowd is not what you find at the Strip. Strip attracts a much more sophisticated (touristy) crowd whereas Fremont Street Experience may have a more local-like cloud that could be rowdy and rustic at times. Keeping this in mind you may not want to stay too late at this place.

7. Ethel M Chocolate Factory and Cactus Garden

The Chocolate Factory

We have all heard about the famous wine tasting in Napa Valley and other wineries across the country but here is the change for redemption - especially the ones who are a teetotaler and do not reap the optimal benefits of wine tasting. Here, Vegas amidst all the sins provides an option to take an official tasting tour through the chocolate factory. Visitors also have the opportunity to understand the chocolate-making process up-close - how chocolate is sourced, refined and produced, as well as the subtleties of chocolate tasting and flavor identification. It is a pretty informative and exciting experience and worth taking out a couple of hours. As an added benefit, visitors also have a chance to visit the botanical garden within the campus which is known for its variety of cactuses.

Getaways out of Las Vegas

Las Vegas has several sites of interest for tourists but if you have time at hand, there are various places within the driving distance from the city which offer unique experiences and scenic views. We recommend taking at least one of these de-tours if you spend anything more than two days in the city.

8. Hoover Dam - A modern engineering marvel

The Hoover Dam

Located about an hour away from the city, Hoover Dam is a modern marvel located over the Colorado River. This is a 700 feet high arch-concrete structure of a gravity dam and spreads across areas of two states - Nevada and Arizona. The lake was built to impound Lake Mead, one of the largest water reservoirs in the US. The lake along with the Black Canyon provided a perfect setting of building a large dam. The dam is well developed from a tourism point of view - in fact, the tourism angle was incorporated from the architecture stage itself. The makers provided interesting face to the dam and also included two pillars each within the two states it covers and added a clock to show the local time of each state, both of them being in the same timezone is just a coincident.

For a detailed trip report from our Hoover Dam visit, read the article - Hoover Dam - Experiencing the Engineering Marvel

The strategic importance of the dam is evident from the fact that park officers check each vehicle approaching the dam and you may even need to answer a couple of questions of the officers. Visitors can park the vehicle in the multi-story garage for a nominal fee (it was $10 when we visited) and walk across the dam enjoying views of the Lake Mead and surroundings. You also have a chance to admire and even walk through Mike O’Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge - tallest concrete-arch bridge in the world. There is also a small museum highlighting the story behind the dam, its history, and its construction journey. A half-day should be enough to get to the dam and be back in Las Vegas. We recommend taking the tour in the evening to enjoy some of the lighting and views of the curved roads around the lake from the height of the dams.

9. Grand Canyon - Experiencing a wonder of the world

The Grand Canyon

If you truly want to be humbled by nature, this is the destination you should look forward to. This vast and magnificent natural structure easily showcases the might of nature and how well it can be designed to bring forward the art of the almighty. The structure extends more than 250 miles from one end to the other and is about a mile deep where the rocky walls meet the swift course of Colorado River. The entire Grand Canyon region can be divided into three different regions - the North, West and South Rim. While the North and the South rims are part of a national park and all usual rules of the park are applicable, the West Rim is controlled by a local Hualapai Tribe. Branded as the Grand Canyon West, this region has its own rules and fees associated with a visit. While the other two rims provide a raw experience, this one is more touristy in nature and developed for the sole purpose.

For a detailed trip report from our Grand Canyon visit, read the article -  Grand Canyon West - Day-trip from Las Vegas to the Natural Wonder

If you want the actual Grand Canyon experience, it is recommended to try the South Rim given you have the time. South Rim is about a 5-hour drive from Las Vegas and is easily a two-day trip. Though not as an actual experience, West Rim is much more manageable from Vegas with a two and a half-hour drive. Once you park the vehicle in the vast parking lot, you would be taken in the shuttle buses and get to visit three distinct spots. The first of the three is a touristy ranch. The second one is the Skywalk - a suspension bridge which provides an opportunity to walk over the canyon and see its actual depth below your feet through the glass floors. The last one is a periphery view of the canyon. West Rim of the Grand Canyon can easily be covered as a day-long getaway.

10. Red Canyon National Conservatory

Red Canyon National Reserve

Red Canyons are another natural wonder in the vicinity of Las Vegas and is a worthwhile half-hour drive away from the city. The Red Rock Canyon National Park encompasses 195,819 acres within the Mojave Desert and the structure of rocks has created worldwide geologic interest and beauty. There are multiple avenues to explore the area and there are multiple hiking trails and campsites across the conservation zone. There is a visitor center which is manned by helpful guides who are more than happy to guide you based on your interest or needs.

For a detailed trip report from our Red Canyon Scenic Drive visit, read the article - Coming Soon

The easiest of the options is to take the 13-mile scenic drive across the developed route which takes visitors across the highs and lows of the canyon. Multiple viewpoints have been strategically developed to offer the best of the views across the natural wonder. The views comprise a network of narrow canyons, seasonal waterfalls, rock art sites, and surreal rock formations which easily tempt you to keep admiring them for any length in time. There is a nominal fee for entry to the scenic drive which is used to maintain the conservation area.

Random Accommodation Tip - We recommend booking a hotel slightly off the Strip but not too far from it. While you would spend most of your time on the Strip and hence staying closer is good, most on-the-Strip hotels have casinos and hence come with the rush and also the smoke and artificial injects in the air - ones to keep people engaged. If you are with kids or family, you would like to avoid this. Getting off the Strip also brings some economical benefits.

How has your experience been in Las Vegas? Do you have any pro-tips to enjoy the city better? Did we miss some must-to-do stuff from Sin City? Did you have ideas for improving our article? Would you like to collaborate with us on our next trip? Tell us all in the comments or send us an email - we are all ears?