New Year's Eve in Las Vegas

New Year's Eve in Las Vegas

By Dom Bewley

It's nearly time to ring in the new year. It's about time too. The last 12 months have been full of ups and downs, victories and tragedies. I guess it's the same every year, right? So, if you're heading to Las Vegas for New Year's Eve, you'll need to know about all the events in the city.

In our guide, you'll learn everything you need to know to have the time of your life. Read on, take notes, and see you next year!

Including:

  • When is New Year's Eve in Las Vegas?
  • Where is New Year's Eve in Las Vegas?
  • Things to remember over New Year's Eve in Las Vegas
  • Things to do on New Year's Eve in Las Vegas
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When is New Year's Eve in Las Vegas?

It may sound like a silly question, but New Year's Eve celebrations in Las Vegas tend to stretch from December 30 - December 31, so if you want to make the most of your time, you can get in on the action early.

Where is New Year's Eve in Las Vegas?

You'll find things to do and ways to celebrate all across the city. That's just a little tease, because we need to talk about some dos and don'ts before we explore the Strip's NYE offerings.

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Things to remember over New Year's Eve in Las Vegas

We're all for having a good time, but if you're celebrating your first New Year's Eve in Las Vegas, there are some things worth mentioning.

Firstly, from 6AM on December 31 to 6AM on January 1, you cannot hold glass or aluminum containers on Las Vegas Blvd. This is to ensure people stay safe, while limiting the amount of dangerous litter that can accumulate throughout the day.

It's also worth noting that large bags and purses, coolers, luggage of any kind (briefcases, backpacks, or cinch bags), computer and camera bags, strollers, and carts are also banned on the Strip and Downtown.

Even children under 18 are not allowed on the Strip or Downtown throughout this time. And, given the above, you can't even sneak them in with a stroller. All jokes aside, the cops take these rules very seriously, so don't give them any reason to kick you out!

Things to do on New Year's Eve in Las Vegas

Now we've got all the boring - yet necessary - stuff out of the way; let's talk about something fun! What kinds of things can you get up to on New Year's Eve in Las Vegas? Whether you're looking for thrilling sit-down performances, fireworks, clubbing, or otherwise, we've got you covered. Check out our recommendations below!

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Blue Man Group

This tireless trio of extraterrestrial entertainers will be at it one New Year's Eve too, bringing their liberally messy sound and color show to the Luxor Hotel & Casino at 2PM, 3PM, and 8PM.

If you've never been to a Blue Man Group show, then you're in for a treat. Landing somewhere between a music performance and an art installation, the three blue-migos combine paint and drums to bring their performance to life. And they also have a 'drumbone', an instrument that's half-drum and half-trombone. It might not make sense now, but when you see it, you'll understand.

It's worth noting that a combination of drums and paint is bound to make a splash. That's why we recommend that you take a waterproof and easily-washable clothes with you. There are dedicated splash zones, where punters are kitted out in stain-free gear, but you should always be wary of splash damage. The Blue Man Group takes no prisoners.

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Image courtesy of Marti Bug Catcher/Shutterstock

Vegas Strip New Year's Eve Fireworks

If you want to be out and about when the clock strikes 12, then you can't do much better than the New Year's Eve Fireworks. One of the most impressive fireworks displays in the country, you'll join thousands of other explosion-seekers as they gather around the Strip to ring in the new year.

As all eyes are drawn to the sky, a magnificent barrage of fireworks will be fired off from the top of eight casinos surrounding the Strip. Over the course of ten wonderful minutes, over 80,000 fireworks will crack the sky, lighting up the whole of Vegas. But they're not just fired off with reckless abandon. Instead, they're timed to music that will blare out across the crowd. So, if you've never seen a choreographed firework display, you won't want to miss it.

If you get there early, don't worry. The entire Strip becomes a pedestrian-only zone when the sun goes down, turning Vegas into one massive block party. Nice.

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Fremont Street Party

If you prefer pyrotechnics at eye level, then you'll find a similar block party at Fremont Street. While it may not boast the bangs of the fireworks on the Strip, it does come with some other exciting bonuses.

For one, you'll see live performances from the likes of Sugar Ray, Bush, Sugarhill Gang, and Julian Marley and The Wailers. Secondly, it being an adults-only party, you're free to revel in all the boozy goodness us adults tend to love.

So, if you aren't bringing the little ones with you and prefer bands over bangs, then check out Fremont Street Party.

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STARDUST at Downtown Las Vegas Events Center

If you're an EDM junkie and want to ring in the New Year on a neon-soaked dancefloor, check out STARDUST at the Downtown Las Vegas Events Center.

Headlined by none other than the famous disk spinner DEADMAU5, you'll have hours upon hours of boogies to woogie. Doors open at 5PM, and will stay open long into the January night. And if the mouse-headed man doesn't cut it, preceding him are equally funny-named DJs like REZZ, RL GRIME, Ghost RYDR, Marauda, Noizu, and Versa. Very cool.

And that's it! Everything you need to know about New Year's Eve in Las Vegas, all tucked up into one handy guide. Whatever you decide to do, have a happy new year! But why stop there? After the dust has settled and the hangover's dispersed, why not make the most of your trip? Vegas still has plenty to offer, and with Go City, you'll experience the very best of the city for one low price. Check out our All-Inclusive Pass and Explorer Pass to see which works for you!

Dom Bewley

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Popular Places in Las Vegas for Tourists

Las Vegas is one great big tourist theme park. Here’s where you can experience capitalist excess writ large against a backdrop of flashing neon signs, chiming one-armed bandits and dancing fountains that soar to over 30 stories high. It’s an eye-popping extravaganza of OTT attractions where tourists vie for those perfectly poised Instagram selfies and the hotels that line the Strip seem to scream for attention with their increasingly flamboyant facades and showstopping visual gimmicks. Join us on our whistle-stop tour of the most popular places in Las Vegas for tourists… Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas No trip to Sin City would be complete without nabbing a photo or seven at the iconic ‘Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas’ sign at the Strip’s southern end. Strike a pose for posterity then join a hop-on hop- off bus tour or board the Deuce service for a cheap’n’easy way to see the best of Nevada’s most celebrated thoroughfare in blissful air-conditioned comfort. Fremont Street Downtown is where it’s at for a flavor of vintage Las Vegas. Join a walking tour to follow in the footsteps of the Rat Pack, the Mob, the Golden Nugget gamblers, and the countless couples who’ve been wed by Elvis and Gene Simmons impersonators at the legendary Neonopolis wedding chapel. Right at the heart of the action is the Fremont Street Experience, an ultra-modern shopping, dining and entertainment complex that includes among its many attractions a slot machine-inspired zipwire ride and an utterly bonkers wraparound LED canopy the size of five football pitches, which ramps up the glitz with an epic light show hourly between 6PM and 2AM every night. Casino Crazy Tourists flock to the legendary Las Vegas mega-casinos in search of that elusive slot machine jackpot or big win on the blackjack tables. There are (as you’re probably aware) dozens of casinos to choose from. Play high stakes roulette in the glamorous surroundings of the Wyn, the Bellagio or Mandalay Bay, or put on your best poker face at old-school faves like Golden Nugget and Caesars Palace, stars of Viva Las Vegas and The Hangover movies respectively. New to the gambling game? Hit up Excalibur for free lessons in poker, craps, roulette and more beneath those fairytale red-and-blue spires. Minimum stakes here are also a fair bit lower than some of the more upscale resorts on the Strip, ideal for beginners. Strip Gimmicks Galore Some of the most popular tourist hotspots in Las Vegas are… wait for it…. absolutely gratis! We’re talking the likes of Mirage’s exploding volcano, which comes complete with leaping flames, fireballs and pina colada-scented smoke, and the dancing fountains at the Bellagio, great soaring plumes that seem to dance in time to their spirit-lifting soundtrack. Having to fork out upwards of $60 for a 15-minute experience doesn’t seem to have affected the popularity of gondola rides along the Venetian’s replica Grand Canal. Sure, it’s a bit of a tourist trap, but what price those ‘Venice’ views, a singing gondolier and the opportunity to snag some of the best selfies in Sin City? Grand Canyon Helicopter Tour Las Vegas tourists will find the lure of the Grand Canyon almost as inexorable as the blinking lights of all those thousands of slot machines. A helicopter tour is far and away the finest way to see this awesome natural wonder, with stunning aerial views of its rust-red landscapes and the added bonus of pausing for a wander (or, should you so desire, a champagne picnic) among the wildflowers on the south or west rims. Time your tour to enjoy an evening swoop over the Strip on the return leg; seeing those bright lights and towering skyscrapers against flaming sunset-orange skies is quite the intoxicating Sin City experience. The Mob Museum Unleash your inner Al Capone at the fascinating Mob Museum in Downtown Las Vegas. Interactive exhibits at this comprehensive history of organized crime include a rogues’ gallery of old-school mobsters, a firearms training simulator and an actual working distillery. Vamp it up in pinstripes and a fedora for visits to the museum’s own speakeasy, a secret Prohibition Era-style subterranean drinking den that’s accessed via an unassuming door in the parking lot. Las Vegas High Roller Las Vegas doesn’t do ‘small’, so it should come as little surprise that its 550-foot-high observation wheel is one of the planet’s tallest. Indeed, for several years it was the tallest, until the absolutely ma-hoo-sive Ain Dubai (820 feet!) came along in 2021 to spoil the party. Hop aboard at the LINQ Promenade and steel yourself for a leg-jellifying 30-minute rotation above the city streets. Daytime tickets to the High Roller are included with Las Vegas attraction passes from Go City, which also include many other top tours and activities, like Madame Tussauds, Grand Canyon tours, and Cirque du Soleil shows. Find out more here. Scares at The Strat High above the Strip, some 108 floors up the aptly named Strat (or, officially, the shouty STRAT) Hotel, Casino and Tower, teeter a terrifying selection of thrill rides, the very thought of which would make the blood of most normal people run cold. Up here in the clouds, adrenalin junkies can ride the (also aptly named) X-Scream, a death-defying roller coaster that dangles riders right over the roof’s edge. Then there’s Big Shot, a vertical-drop beast that catapults passengers up to a dizzying 1,081 feet before plunging 160 feet back down to the roof. Something of a rite of passage for first-time visitors to Vegas, these rides are very much not for the faint of heart. Take in a Show One of the most popular tourist activities in Las Vegas is going to see a show. Well, you’re in Vegas, baby, so it would be kind of rude not to. And boy can Sin City put on the ritz! Take your pick from eye-popping Cirque du Soleil extravaganzas at Mandalay Bay, the MGM Grand and elsewhere, catch the Blue Man Group at the Luxor, or seek out some of the best comedians and conjurors on the planet. The Colosseum at Caesars Palace and MGM Grand are where it’s at for the biggest names in rock and pop – between them they’ve hosted, Adele, Britney, Celine, Elton, Mariah and Sinatra, to name-drop just a few… Save on Popular Las Vegas Tours, Activities and Attractions Save on admission to Las Vegas attractions with Go City, and check out @GoCity on Instagram for the latest pics, tips and attraction info.
Stuart Bak
Stuart Bak
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Things to do in Las Vegas for a Birthday

Birthdays are precious things, a rare opportunity to make a whole day all about you. And, unless you’re the British monarch, you’ll only get to be this self-indulgent once every 365.25 days, a total of maybe 80-90 times in your lifetime.  Want to smash your special day right out of the park? There’s perhaps no better place to do so than Las Vegas, the hedonistic neon-lit Nevada playground that’s widely considered to be the entertainment capital of the world. Is Vegas fun for a birthday? Heck, you might as well ask if the Pope is a Catholic. Read on for our fun-packed guide to all the best things to do in Las Vegas for your birthday, including adrenalin-fueled activities, spectacular spa days, exciting live extravaganzas and, of course, a spot of birthday roulette. Las Vegas Birthday Ideas #1: Cake! Everything about Sin City feels supersized, technicolored and, well, magnificently and flamboyantly OTT. And the cakes in Vegas are no exception. There are dozens of bakeries on and around the Strip. Follow your nose for delectable French fancies at Patisserie Manon, Délices Gourmand, and Bouchon Bakery at The Venetian. Or pick up a face-sized wedge of the good stuff at the self-explanatory Cheesecake Baker, where the kaleidoscope of flavor options includes tiramisu, matcha, butterscotch and black forest. Rainbows of freshly baked doughnuts are the order of the day at Pinkbox and there are TV-famous gateaux to be had at Freed’s. Heck, it’s your birthday. Go wild, get sinful, and try 'em all! Las Vegas Birthday Ideas #2: Thrills and Spills Adrenalin junkies rejoice! Las Vegas is where it’s at for high-octane birthday adventures. It doesn’t matter how old you are: the appropriately named X-Scream roller coaster which teeter-totters over the edge of the STRAT hotel some 866 feet above the Strip will make you feel gloriously intensely alive. Likewise the Big Shot, which fires riders straight up the STRAT’s mast to a dizzying 1,081 feet above terra firma. For something (marginally) less terrifying, hit up the SlotZilla zipline at the Fremont Street Experience downtown, or head out on a skydive over the Strip or Grand Canyon. Top tip: all of these experiences are best enjoyed before cake, rather than immediately after, for fairly obvious reasons. Las Vegas Birthday Ideas #3: Next-Level Pampering The proliferation of mega-resorts in Las Vegas means football-pitch-sized spa centers are par for the course. Make like an emperor or empress and spend your day fully horizontal in the treatment rooms, snowy Arctic ice zone and balmy Roman baths at Qua Baths & Spa in Caesars Palace, where a 24-karat gold collagen facial massage is just about as decadent as it gets. Or mosey on down to the distinctly 21st-century Spa at Wynn, where the opulent surroundings and broad range of treatments have earned a coveted Forbes 5-star award. Meanwhile, the simultaneous head-and-foot Euphoria massage in The Spa at Encore has to be experienced to be believed.  Las Vegas Birthday Ideas #4: Pink Jeep Tour It’s your birthday, so you’ll want to kick back, put your feet up and make someone else do all the hard work. Which is where Pink Jeep Tours come in. All you have to do is choose your adventure – think in-depth guided drives along the Strip, cruises to Red Rock Canyon, and even 10-hour round-trips to Badwater Basin in Death Valley – climb into the titular shocking-pink 4WD and let your driver take up the slack, leaving you to soak up all the very best of Las Vegas and beyond without lifting a finger. Las Vegas Birthday Ideas #5: Roll the Dice You’re in Vegas and it’s your birthday. Frankly it would be rude not to try your luck in one of the dozens of casinos for which Sin City is famous. Get your glam on at some of the glitziest addresses on the Strip. We’re talking winning streaks at The Wynn, blackjack and bubbly at the Bellagio, and poker in Paris. Or go old school Vegas at Caesars Palace, the Golden Nugget and the Fremont. Top tip: many casinos, including the Wynn, Excalibur, Luxor and MGM Grand, offer free casino credit on your birthday. So grab your ID, stake your claim, and get ready to roll! Las Vegas Birthday Ideas #6: Buy Yourself a Birthday Gift Vegas’s arsenal of credit card-melting activities isn’t just limited to gambling, dining and entertainment you know. No! There’s world-class shopping to be had too, much of it with eye-watering Vegas price tags to match. But, hey, it’s ya birthday, so get yourself over to The Venetian, where the Grand Canal Shoppes boast some of the most luxurious brands in town, and gondola rides along the replica of Venice’s Grand Canal might just be exciting enough to distract you from that four-figure designer watch you’ve been ogling… Las Vegas Birthday Ideas #7: The Grand Canyon Outdoor types will struggle to resist the lure of the Grand Canyon, just a short and spectacular helicopter or plane ride out of Las Vegas (or a long and rather less wow coach trip). For our money, helicopter rides are the best value, affording quite remarkable panoramas and the flexibility to touch down among the canyon's rust-red rocks and wildflowers for bolt-on champagne picnics and other special birthday experiences. The sunset ride back along the Strip against flaming orange and bruised purple skies, as the city lights up with its trademark neon glow, is the kind of unforgettable experience of which Las Vegas birthday dreams are made. Las Vegas Birthday Ideas #8: Showtime! Fancy taking in a show? You’re spolit for choice in Vegas. Hit up the legendary Colosseum at Caesars Palace to experience some of the planet’s biggest music and entertainment stars up close (Cher, Mariah, Elton, Celine and Adele have all had residencies here), or catch one of the ubiquitous Cirque du Soleil spectaculars at major hotels across town. Then there’s the Blue Man Group at the Luxor and countless other live spectaculars, including magic shows, musicals, comedy, cabaret and more up and down the Strip and beyond. Fill your birthday boots! Save on attractions in Las Vegas  Save on admission to Las Vegas attractions with Go City. Check out @GoCity on Instagram for the latest top tips and attraction info.
Stuart Bak
Stuart Bak

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