Las Vegas

Bellagio Conservatory and Botanical Gardens

Inside of the casino is a display of trees and flower arrangements, changed once for every season and once for the Chinese New Year.

24 hours·Free

Clark County Museum

Historical exhibits include restored houses from various decades of Henderson's history.

Daily 9AM to 4:30PM·Adults $2; Seniors and children $1

Container Park

A unique open-air shopping center filled with boutique retail shops, restaurants, and live entertainment for the whole family. Be sure to see the giant fire-breathing mantis at night.

Desert National Wildlife Refuge

Though not regularly visited, this is actually the largest national wildlife refuge in the lower 48 states. Coincidentally, it overlies part of the Nevada Test Site, so you can't just wander too willy-nilly, although the latter is quite distant. But this refuge's visitor center and trails will introduce you to aspects of the Mojave Desert ecosystem that are framed by some rather tall desert peaks, with a chance to see bighorn sheep and other species and even a yucca forest if you hike far enough.

Discovery Children's Museum

A combination museum and playground, this museum lets children engage in creative play while exposing them to science concepts. Kids especially love the 70-foot-tall Summit tower with 12 levels of interactive exhibits. The one drawback of the museum is lack of food; it's in a remote part of Downtown with no nearby eateries and only has a snack area with vending machines so plan accordingly.

Winter: Tue–Fri 9AM–4PM, Sat 10AM–5PM, Sun noon–5PM; Summer: Mon–Sat 10AM – 5PM, Sun noon–5PM·$14.50

Eiffel Tower Experience

You can take an elevator to the top of the Eiffel Tower on the Strip, a half-sized replica of the one in Paris. This is a popular attraction, especially at night, for its excellent views of the Strip.

Mon-Fri 9:30AM-12:30AM, Sat Sun 9:30AM-1AM·Evening: $16.50 adults, $11.50 children/seniors; daytime: $11.50 adults, $7.50 children/seniors

Flamingo Garden

A 15-acre garden with flamingos and other exotic birds, as well as koi and turtles.

Free

Floyd Lamb Park

A pleasant oasis with ponds and tules and also the Tules Spring Ranch with some roaming peacocks and Pleistocene fossil exhibits.

Daily 8AM-5PM·$6

Fountains of Bellagio

The Fountains of the Bellagio perform a magnificent display, set to music. If you have the time, it's worth staying for two or three shows, as it is not at all the same show every time.

Mon–Fri every half hour from 3PM to 8PM and every 15 minutes from 8PM to midnight; Sat Sun and holidays every half hour from noon to 8PM and every fifteen minutes from 8PM to midnight·Free

Fremont Street Experience

A pedestrian mall lined by many of the downtown casinos, this is Las Vegas Downtown's equivalent of the Strip. Multimedia shows are displayed on a giant canopy over the street nightly.

Dusk to midnight·Free

Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve

at Moser Drive

Located within the Water Treatment Facility, this 140 acre preserve has nine ponds which attract migratory waterfowl and resident birds.

Hours vary by month

Hollywood Cars Museum

A 30,000 square foot car museum featuring vehicles that have appeared in over 100 films and TV shows. Visitors can see, among others, several James Bond cars, Knight Rider's KITT, Batmobiles, and a Back to the Future Delorean.

Open daily·$20 per person; kids under 16 are free with a paid adult. Cash only

Las Vegas Chinatown Plaza

Chinatown Plaza is where Chinatown in Las Vegas was born and designated as Chinatown in 1996. The Mall is a place to experience Asian culture, baked goods, dim sum, and an Asian market are available to explore. Throughout the year the mall hosts various cultural events such as Lunar New year. Since then the area have grown to include 20+ other surrounding strip malls with a wide range of businesses, including restaurants, shops, and other establishments catering to the Asian community. Visitors can find restaurants serving Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, and Thai cuisine, with everything from dim sum and noodle soups to sushi and Korean barbecue on the menu. click here for a list of other strip malls surrounding Chinatown Plaza along Spring Mountain Rd.

Madame Tussauds

The only celebrity wax attraction on the Strip, featuring wax recreations of 100+ celebrities and famous figures.

Sun-Thu 10AM-9PM, Fri Sat 10AM-10PM·$24 online, $30 walk-up

Mob Museum

National Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement

Extensive exhibits on the history of organized crime in the U.S., with lots of artifacts from famous mobsters and the law enforcement agencies that fought them. The museum is inside the old federal courthouse building, and includes a recreation of the courtroom where a major hearing on organized crime took place in 1950.

9AM-9PM daily·$29.95 adults, $27.95 military/law enforcement, $16.95 children/students, children 10 and under free; discounts for Nevada residents

National Atomic Testing Museum

Artifacts, pictures, maps and video footage presenting nuclear weapons testing and development in the southwestern US. If you're interested in science and history it's definitely worth visiting, and it's also a great break if you've become tired of the Strip. Videography requires special permission.

Mon-Sat 10AM-5PM, Sun noon-5PM·$29/adult

Nellis Air Force Base

Home base of the air demonstration squadron United States Air Force Thunderbirds among others, the base is open to the public during airshows. Other than that, you can see military aircraft taking off and landing from a distance.

Neon Museum

An outdoor lot loaded with huge signs that once twinkled in front of the Silver Slipper, Stardust, and El Cortez. See the giant horseshoe made of thousands of gold-colored light bulbs. Open only by one-hour guided tours.

$18

Old Las Vegas Mormon Fort State Historic Park

One of the few historic attractions in Vegas is this small park which preserves the restored Mormon Fort, the first structure built by European settlers in Las Vegas. A visitor center on-site has exhibits on the fort's past.

Tue-Sat 8AM-4:30PM·$3, children 12 and under free

Shark Reef Aquarium at Mandalay Bay

The highlight is walking through a transparent tunnel with sharks, sea turtle, fish on all sides.

Sun-Thu 10AM-8PM, Fri Sat 10AM-10PM; summer hours daily 10AM-10PM·$18 adults, $12 children

Springs Preserve

A large complex in the center of the city that features a Desert Living Center, interactive wildlife shows, galleries, museums, various gardens, and historical and nature trails.

Daily 10AM-6PM·$18.95 adults, $17.05 seniors/students, $10.95 youth (discounts for Nevada residents and active military)

Stratosphere Tower

The STRAT Tower

A 1,149 foot high tower, the tallest observation tower in the United States, with an indoor and an outdoor observation deck on top that offers a 360-degree view over the valley. A revolving restaurant also sits at the top, as well as a set of thrill rides (see below in "Do").

Elevator to the top: $20 adults, $12 children, $14 seniors/Nevada residents

The Simpsons House

Full-size replica created to closely mimic the design of the cartoon house from The Simpsons. Given way in a 1997 contest by Fox and Pepsi, it's now a private residence.

The Tank at the Golden Nugget Hotel

A huge outdoor pool complex with a shark tank, a 3-story enclosed waterslide which passes through the shark tank, and private cabanas above the pool.

Daily 10AM-8PM, weather permitting·$20 for non-hotel guests

Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument

For the more serious fossil bed hunter (see Floyd Lamb below for more accessible viewings).

Open during daylight hours

Urinals at Main Street Station Casino

The urinals in the men's room are mounted on an actual piece of the Berlin Wall. If you're a woman, ask an employee to let you see it, they almost always will accommodate you.

Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign

Possibly the most famous of Las Vegas' many signs, this landmark welcomes visitors getting in from the south along the Strip. And even if one has arrived into Las Vegas some other way, it's still very popular to go there and take photos and selfies of the sign.

West Wind Las Vegas 6 Drive-In

If time permits, and you don't mind watching a movie on your vacation, consider a visit to West Wind Drive-in; especially if visiting from out of the country where drive-ins are infrequent. And for an added bonus; it's normally a double-feature, so you get two movies for the price of one.

Liberace Garage

A gallery operated by the Liberace Foundation that exhibits several of Liberace's cars including a mirrored Rolls Royce and rhinestone-studded Dusenberg. This exhibit comes from the now defunct Liberace Museum. Tour package can include transportation to and private viewing of the Liberace Museum Collection located inside Michael Jackson's home, Thriller Villa.

Included with Hollywood Cars Museum ticket

U.S. Route 95 at night

This route climbs gradually northwest of Las Vegas so that the Strip's neon lights remain visible for a remarkably long distance, appearing as a luminous cloud from the furthest point.