🏆 What to Do · Las Vegas, NV
Things to Do in Las Vegas
82 real, currently-operating attractions — free Strip spectacles, world-class shows, museums, and Red Rock Canyon to Grand Canyon day trips.
🏖️ The Strip to the Grand Canyon
✅ Verified Open
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🎭 Casino Resort Attractions
🤸 Cirque du Soleil Shows
🎤 Comedy & Magic
🎶 Concerts & Residencies
🏛️ Museums & Exhibits
🎢 Thrill Rides & Adventure
🍸 Nightlife & Rooftop Lounges
🛍️ Shopping & Districts
🏜️ Outdoor & Nature
🏞️ Day Trips
Las Vegas is built around spectacle — free fountain shows and neon-lit promenades, world-class Cirque du Soleil productions, museums covering everything from organized crime to atomic history, and desert scenery just outside the city that ranges from Red Rock Canyon to the Grand Canyon. We checked each attraction directly against its own official site or venue and confirmed several notable closures and rebrands along the way.
6 Places
Fountains of Bellagio
A world-famous free fountain show set to music in front of Bellagio on the Las Vegas Strip.
Sphere
The world’s largest spherical structure, wrapped in a massive LED Exosphere and hosting immersive concerts and films inside.
Fremont Street Experience & Viva Vision
A pedestrian mall topped by a 90-foot-tall, block-long LED canopy that runs free nightly light shows.
Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas Sign
The iconic 1959 neon welcome sign at the south end of the Strip remains one of the most-photographed landmarks in the world.
Eiffel Tower Experience at Paris Las Vegas
A half-scale replica of the Eiffel Tower with an open-air observation deck 46 stories above the Strip.
Gondola Rides at The Venetian
Indoor and outdoor gondola rides steered by singing gondoliers along a recreated Venetian canal.
5 Places
High Roller Observation Wheel
A 550-foot-tall observation wheel at the LINQ Promenade offering 30-minute rides with sweeping Strip views.
Shark Reef Aquarium at Mandalay Bay
A walk-through aquarium and marine habitat with sharks, giant rays, and rare reptiles beneath a recreated shipwreck.
AREA15
An experiential entertainment complex blending art installations, bars, retail, and immersive attractions off-Strip.
Meow Wolf’s Omega Mart
A bizarre, hyper-detailed fictional grocery store leading into a maze of surreal, interactive art installations at AREA15.
Gold & Silver Pawn Shop (“Pawn Stars”)
The real-life pawn shop made famous by the History Channel’s Pawn Stars, open for browsing and photos.
6 Places
“O” by Cirque du Soleil
A water-based acrobatic spectacle performed in and around a 1.5-million-gallon pool at Bellagio.
KÀ by Cirque du Soleil
An action-driven acrobatic production at MGM Grand featuring a massive moving stage and martial-arts-inspired choreography.
Mystère by Cirque du Soleil
Cirque du Soleil’s first-ever resident production, a surreal acrobatic fantasy running at Treasure Island since 1993.
Mad Apple by Cirque du Soleil
A New York-inspired mashup of acrobatics, comedy, and cabaret at New York-New York.
Michael Jackson ONE by Cirque du Soleil
An acrobatic and dance tribute to Michael Jackson’s music and legacy at Mandalay Bay.
Awakening (Wynn Las Vegas)
A large-scale multi-sensory production combining aerial acrobatics, dance, and water spectacle at Wynn.
9 Places
Penn & Teller
The Emmy-winning magic and comedy duo perform their long-running show at the Rio, meeting fans after most performances.
David Copperfield
The world’s most successful magician performs large-scale illusions nightly at MGM Grand.
Absinthe
An adults-oriented circus-cabaret hybrid staged in an intimate Spiegeltent outside Caesars Palace.
Blue Man Group
The blue-painted trio’s percussion, comedy, and multimedia show runs nightly at Luxor.
Mat Franco — Magic Reinvented Nightly
The first magician to win America’s Got Talent performs an interactive close-up magic show at the LINQ.
Piff the Magic Dragon
A dryly comedic magic act featuring a man in a dragon costume and his card-playing chihuahua, Mr. Piffles.
Carrot Top
The red-haired prop comedian’s high-energy stand-up show has run at Luxor for nearly two decades.
Jimmy Kimmel’s Comedy Club
A stand-up comedy club at the LINQ Promenade curated under late-night host Jimmy Kimmel’s name.
Brad Garrett’s Comedy Club
Actor Brad Garrett’s intimate comedy club at MGM Grand books top touring stand-up comedians nightly.
9 Places
The Colosseum at Caesars Palace
A 4,300-seat theater built for Celine Dion that now hosts A-list residencies from major recording artists.
Bakkt Theater at Planet Hollywood
A large concert theater at Planet Hollywood, renamed from Zappos Theater to Bakkt Theater, hosting major headliner residencies.
Dolby Live at Park MGM
A 5,200-seat venue with Dolby Atmos sound that has hosted residencies from Bruno Mars, Lady Gaga, and more.
T-Mobile Arena
A 20,000-seat arena behind New York-New York hosting major concerts, UFC events, and the Vegas Golden Knights.
Michelob ULTRA Arena
A 12,000-seat arena at Mandalay Bay hosting concerts, the WNBA’s Las Vegas Aces, and other major events.
The Chelsea at The Cosmopolitan
A 40,000-square-foot concert and event space at The Cosmopolitan with exposed-brick, industrial-chic styling.
Brooklyn Bowl Las Vegas
A hybrid concert venue, 32-lane bowling alley, and restaurant at the LINQ Promenade.
House of Blues Las Vegas
A mid-size concert hall at Mandalay Bay showcasing touring musical acts across genres in a folk-art-covered interior.
On The Record at Park MGM
A speakeasy-style club and late-night music venue at Park MGM, entered through a hidden record-store front.
12 Places
The Neon Museum
An outdoor and indoor collection of 200+ retired, restored Las Vegas neon signs housed partly in the historic La Concha Motel lobby.
The Mob Museum
Housed in a 1933 former federal courthouse, this museum traces organized crime and law enforcement history with real artifacts.
Atomic Museum
A Smithsonian-affiliated museum chronicling the history of atomic testing at the nearby Nevada National Security Site.
DISCOVERY Children’s Museum
A hands-on children’s museum with multiple floors of interactive science, art, and exploration exhibits.
Springs Preserve
A 180-acre cultural and natural history attraction with botanical gardens, trails, and exhibits on the origins of Las Vegas.
Pinball Hall of Fame
A nonprofit arcade packed with hundreds of playable vintage pinball and arcade machines, with proceeds going to charity.
Zak Bagans’ The Haunted Museum
A collection of allegedly haunted and paranormal artifacts curated by Ghost Adventures host Zak Bagans, in a historic mansion.
The Punk Rock Museum
A museum of punk rock memorabilia and stage-worn gear in the Arts District, co-founded by veterans of the punk scene.
Madame Tussauds Las Vegas
A wax museum with interactive celebrity, music, and sports figure displays inside The Venetian.
Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition
Real recovered Titanic artifacts and full-scale ship-interior recreations, including a genuine hull fragment, at Luxor.
Bodies…The Exhibition
An anatomical exhibition featuring 13 real, respectfully preserved human body specimens and 260+ organs at Luxor.
Discovering King Tut’s Tomb
A meticulously reproduced replica of King Tutankhamun’s tomb and treasures as found in 1922, at Luxor.
11 Places
The STRAT SkyPod & Thrill Rides
Nevada’s tallest freestanding observation tower features a 360-degree deck plus four gravity-defying thrill rides including SkyJump.
Big Apple Coaster
A steel coaster winding through a mini Manhattan skyline with a signature 180-degree heartline twist and 203-foot drop.
Circus Circus Adventuredome
Las Vegas’s only indoor theme park, a five-acre glass-domed complex with a double-loop coaster and classic carnival rides.
Fly LINQ Zipline
The Strip’s only zipline, launching riders seated or superman-style from a 12-story tower down the LINQ Promenade.
SlotZilla Zip Line
A two-level zip line sending riders down (or, on the upper line, flying superhero-style) the length of the Fremont Street canopy.
Machine Guns Vegas
An indoor/outdoor range offering shooting experiences with machine guns and military-grade firearms.
Exotics Racing
Drive Lamborghinis, Ferraris, and other exotic supercars on a professional racetrack near Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Las Vegas Motor Speedway
A major motorsports complex hosting NASCAR races, drag racing, and driving experiences just north of the Strip.
Topgolf Las Vegas
A multi-story golf driving range with interactive scoring games, bars, and Strip views next to MGM Grand.
Flightlinez Bootleg Canyon
A four-line zipline course over the desert terrain of Bootleg Canyon near Boulder City and Hoover Dam.
PLAY Playground at Luxor
An indoor play zone and arcade at Luxor with games and climbing activities for younger visitors.
9 Places
OMNIA Nightclub
A multi-room, multi-level nightclub at Caesars Palace known for its massive kinetic LED chandelier centerpiece.
Marquee Nightclub & Dayclub
A sprawling nightclub and dayclub complex at The Cosmopolitan spanning three stories plus an outdoor pool venue.
XS Nightclub
An indoor-outdoor nightclub at Encore built around a courtyard pool, long ranked among the top-grossing clubs in the U.S.
Hakkasan Nightclub
A five-level nightclub and restaurant complex at MGM Grand blending Cantonese dining with a major EDM dance floor.
Drai’s Nightclub & Beachclub
A rooftop nightclub and beachclub above The Cromwell with sweeping Strip views and A-list DJ bookings.
Encore Beach Club
A tropical dayclub at Encore built around three temperature-controlled pools, cabanas, and daytime DJ sets.
Palm Tree Beach Club
A tropical-themed dayclub and pool party venue at MGM Grand, relaunched under Tao Group after Wet Republic’s closure.
VooDoo Rooftop Lounge & Nightclub
A rooftop lounge and nightclub 51 floors above the Rio with panoramic Las Vegas skyline views.
Chandelier Bar
A three-level cocktail bar at The Cosmopolitan wrapped in nearly two million glass beads resembling a giant chandelier.
6 Places
The Forum Shops at Caesars Palace
A Roman-themed luxury shopping mall at Caesars Palace with a painted sky ceiling and a large freestanding aquarium.
Grand Canal Shoppes
An upscale shopping mall at The Venetian styled after Venice, complete with indoor canals and singing street performers.
Miracle Mile Shops
A mile-long indoor shopping promenade at Planet Hollywood featuring 170+ stores and a periodic simulated rainstorm show.
Fashion Show Mall
The Strip’s largest shopping mall, anchored by major department stores and topped by a distinctive solar-panel Cloud canopy.
Downtown Container Park
A boutique shopping and dining district built from repurposed shipping containers, anchored by a giant fire-breathing praying mantis sculpture.
18b Las Vegas Arts District
Downtown’s gallery and boutique district, home to dozens of independent art spaces and the monthly First Friday festival.
6 Places
Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area
A stunning red sandstone canyon just west of the city with a 13-mile scenic drive, hiking trails, and rock climbing.
Valley of Fire State Park
Nevada’s oldest and largest state park, famous for its vivid red Aztec sandstone formations and ancient petroglyphs.
Lake Mead National Recreation Area
The vast reservoir behind Hoover Dam, offering boating, swimming, and beaches within a national recreation area.
Mount Charleston (Spring Mountains)
A cool, forested mountain escape about 45 minutes from the Strip with hiking trails, waterfalls, and winter skiing.
Hoover Dam
One of the great engineering feats of the 20th century, this dam straddles the Nevada-Arizona border on the Colorado River.
Lake Mead Cruises
Narrated paddlewheeler cruises on Lake Mead offering views of Hoover Dam and the surrounding canyon scenery.
3 Places
Grand Canyon West & Skywalk
A glass horseshoe-shaped skywalk cantilevered 4,000 feet above the Grand Canyon floor, on Hualapai tribal land closest to Las Vegas.
Papillon Grand Canyon Helicopter Tours
The world’s largest Grand Canyon tour operator, flying helicopter tours that descend below the canyon rim.
Death Valley National Park
The hottest, driest, and lowest national park in North America, a dramatic desert landscape a few hours from Las Vegas.
Planning Tips for This Area
- The Mirage is gone. It closed in July 2024 and is being demolished and rebuilt as Hard Rock Las Vegas — if a guide or map still lists the Mirage Volcano, that’s outdated information.
- Book Cirque du Soleil and headliner residency tickets well in advance, especially for popular shows like “O,” KÀ, and any Colosseum residency — these regularly sell out on weekends.
- Pair a Red Rock Canyon or Valley of Fire trip with an early start to beat both the desert heat and the crowds — both are well under an hour from the Strip.
- Grand Canyon West with the Skywalk is the closest Grand Canyon access point to Las Vegas (about 2.5 hours by car, or a short helicopter flight), distinct from the South Rim, which is a much longer drive.
Is the Mirage Volcano still there?
No — The Mirage closed permanently in July 2024 and is being demolished and rebuilt as Hard Rock Las Vegas. The volcano attraction is gone along with it.
How close is the Grand Canyon to Las Vegas?
Grand Canyon West (with the glass Skywalk) is about 2.5 hours by car or a short helicopter flight from Las Vegas — much closer than the more famous South Rim, which is a 4-5 hour drive.
How does NME choose which attractions to feature?
We verify each attraction directly against its own official site or venue rather than relying on aggregator lists, and we exclude anything we can’t confirm is currently open. Read more on our methodology page.
Know an Attraction We Missed?
If you know a great thing to do in Las Vegas we’re missing, email us and we’ll take a look.
Heading to Las Vegas?
See the full trip guide — where to stay and where to eat, organized the same way, by category.
