The 'Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas' road sign at sunset

Things to do in Las Vegas at Night Time

It’s difficult to accurately convey the excitement of Las Vegas after dark. It’s the kind of thing that really has to be experienced, at least once, to be believed. We’re talking kaleidoscopic neon lights that set the night sky ablaze from dusk till dawn, larger-than-life dancing fountains and exploding volcanoes on the Strip, and hands-down the best nightlife on the planet, from mega-clubs to world-class concerts to huge, cavernous casinos. And that’s just for starters. They don’t call it the entertainment capital of the world for nothing, you know! We’ve attempted to distill the very essence of Sin City into just 10 essential after-dark activities. Check out our favorite things to do in Las Vegas at night time below, including:

  • The Strip by bus and by helicopter
  • Flamboyant Bellagio and Mirage hotel shows
  • The Fremont Street Experience
  • A date atop the Eiffel Tower
  • A cacophony of clubs, concerts and casinos
  • The Neon Museum
  • The High Roller observation wheel

Vegas Night Rider

Las Vegas skyline at dusk

A bus tour is one of the easiest ways to get a flavor of Sin City at any time. But it’s particularly special at night, when the desert city transmits its bright neon glow out into the stratosphere and the streets are abuzz with party people. Ride the Strip and marvel at the flamboyant mega-resorts, pause for a night time selfie at the iconic ‘Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas’ sign and experience a little old-school Vegas downtown, where you’ll have free time to explore the epic Fremont Street Experience and nab yet more snaps in front of the famous Golden Nugget casino, an essential part of the landscape here since 1946.

Free Strip Entertainment

Crowd of tourists watching the dancing fountain show at the Bellagio in Las Vegas

You can find all the night time entertainment you’ll ever need along the length of Las Vegas Boulevard, aka the Strip, where mega-hotels vie for your attention with increasingly flamboyant live spectacles, perfect for lighting up your Insta. Chief among these must-sees are the Bellagio fountains: great skyscraping jets of balletic water that sway in time with classical music belters and modern pop bangers. Then there’s the volcano at Mirage, complete with leaping flames, eyebrow-singeing fireballs and, um, pina colada-scented smoke. Only in Las Vegas. Both shows run at regular intervals throughout the evening, right up until midnight.

Ride the High Roller

High Roller observation wheel capsule at night

Towering a casual 550 feet above the Strip, the Las Vegas High Roller is second only in height to the Ain Dubai in the hotly contested observation wheel world league. As the sun sets over Sin City, the High Roller is illuminated with 2,000 LED lights, creating an eye-popping display that stands out superbly against the night sky even in this perpetually neon-lit metropolis. Step aboard at the LINQ Promenade for a smooth 30-minute ride that soars over the streets, affording dizzying views along the Strip and beyond. Over 21? Steady vertigo-induced nerves with a Dirty Martini in one of the open-bar cabins.

Feeling Lucky?

Roulette croupier in a Las Vegas casino

Can you even say you’ve been to Vegas if you haven’t spent time in one of the city’s cavernous mega-casinos? No, dear reader, you cannot. Take your pick of the slots or try your luck on the poker, craps, roulette and blackjack tables. There are (obvs) dozens of casinos to choose from (it’s Vegas, baby!) but for pure old-school charm, Caesars Palace and the Golden Nugget are tough to beat. Good luck, and don’t forget to gamble responsibly, kids.

Fremont Street Experience

Casino sign at the Fremont Street Experience in Las Vegas

Easily one of the coolest things to do in Las Vegas at night time, the Fremont Street Experience is an epic downtown entertainment complex that includes fine-dining restaurants, trendy cocktail bars and – because this is Las Vegas – a 1,700-foot-long zip wire with a launch platform that’s designed to look like a slot machine and comes complete with 35-foot showgirls. Highlight of the complex is the utterly bonkers LED canopy; essentially a wraparound video screen that’s the length of five football pitches. Don’t miss its mesmerizing nightly Viva Vision light show every hour between 6PM and 2AM.

See the Strip in Style

Helicopter ride over the Las Vegas Strip at night

If there’s a better way to see Vegas at night than from a helicopter we’ve yet to discover it. Hop aboard for a whirlwind adventure that takes in the bright lights of the Strip and the sparkle of downtown. Eyes peeled for Vegas giants including the STRAT’s rooftop roller coasters, Paris’s replica Eiffel Tower, the High Roller observation wheel, and the ever-changing facade of the Sphere.

Romance, Europe-Style

Gondolier at the Venetian in Las Vegas

Looking to impress your date? A night ride along the Venetian’s replica Grand Canal, complete with singing gondolier, is sure to set hearts aflutter. Afterwards, head over to the Paris resort’s glitzy Eiffel Tower facsimile, where a ride up in the great glass elevator is rewarded with fine French dining far above the Strip. Bon appetit!

See the Bright Lights

Glittery stiletto-shaped sign at the Neon Museum in Las Vegas

The Neon Museum is a quite astonishing al fresco boneyard that preserves and showcases that most Las Vegas of art forms: the neon sign. Check out retired masterpieces of the Sin City skyline including signage from Sassy Sally’s, the Stardust, the Hard Rock Cafe and the Lucky Cuss Motel. This is a favorite night time activity in Las vegas, so be prepared to queue for those all-important Instagrammable photo opportunities, with the signs lit up against the desert sky in all their technicolor glory.

Take in a Show

Concert-goer filming a show on their phone

Las Vegas doesn’t half know how to put on a show. Magicians, musical icons, comedians, theatrical groups: there’s something for everyone here. Check out one of the many spectacular Cirque shows at resorts including the MGM Grand and Mandalay Bay, catch the legendary Blue Man Group at the Luxor, or go old school at the Coliseum in Caesars Palace, where mega stars including Cher, Adele, Mariah and Elton have all held long-running residencies.

Get Your Boogie On

Club DJ

The club scene in Las Vegas is legendary, from night time pool parties to cavernous clubs like Hakkasan at the MGM Grand where superstar DJs such as Calvin Harris and Tiesto bring the beats. Hit up Omnia in Caesars Palace with its huge outdoor terrace, or enjoy some of the best people-watching in town at Mandalay Bay’s upscale LIGHT venue. It’s Vegas, so naturally there’s also the option of joining a VIP nightclub tour, an ideal entry point for the uninitiated.

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
Freelance travel writer

Stu caught the travel bug at an early age, thanks to childhood road trips to the south of France squeezed into the back of a Ford Cortina with two brothers and a Sony Walkman. Now a freelance writer living on the Norfolk coast, Stu has produced content for travel giants including Frommer’s, British Airways, Expedia, Mr & Mrs Smith, and now Go City. His most memorable travel experiences include drinking kava with the locals in Fiji and pranging a taxi driver’s car in the Honduran capital.

Continue reading

The 'Welcome to Fabulous Downtown Las Vegas' sign at night
Blog

Things to do in Downtown Las Vegas

Seeking a little respite from the non-stop sensory assault that is the Las Vegas Strip? Then Downtown may be for you. The city’s historic heart promises much the same in terms of top-flight dining, high-stakes casinos and flashing neon signs, but is a much more laid back affair, with street eats, free live shows and an artsy enclave that feels more NYC than Vegas Strip. There are stacks of things of things to do in Downtown Las Vegas, too, and we’ve put together a few of our favorites below, including: Fremont Street Experience Golden Nugget casino Mob Museum Container Park SlotZilla Zipline Neon Museum Las Vegas Arts District Fremont Street Tour A tour of historic Fremont Street is hands-down the best way to find your bearings on your first visit to Downtown Las Vegas (and a great way to discover things to do on Fremont Street once the tour is over). During the tour you’ll follow in the footsteps of the first settlers, see where the Rat Pack used to hang out and learn about Sin City’s past links to organized crime. Your guide will also point out old-school Downtown icons like the Golden Nugget casino and Neonopolis wedding chapel, where you can – should you so desire – be married by Elvis and Gene Simmons impersonators. You’ll also discover the iconic Main Street Station hotel and casino which promises, among its many treasures, chandeliers from the Coca-Cola building in Texas and the Figaro Opera House in Paris, and a section of the Berlin Wall in the, um, gentlemen’s conveniences. Fremont Street Experience The undisputed highlight of the Fremont Street Experience is its absolutely humongous vaulted canopy. At 1,500 feet in length (that’s about four blocks or five football pitches, fact fans) and containing nearly 50 million LED lights, this unashamedly decadent wraparound video screen is the world’s largest. Grab a drink at one of the many bars in this (mostly) pedestrianized part of town and settle in for the mesmerizing light shows that burst out of the big screen every hour. There’s also free live music across three stages here, starting at 6pm every single evening. The Golden Nugget You’ll recognize The Golden Nugget from its cameos in dozens of Hollywood flicks down the years, perhaps most notably Bond classic Diamonds are Forever and Elvis fave (yup, you guessed it) Viva Las Vegas. Enter beneath the iconic neon sign and check out the huge Hand of Faith nugget on display in the lobby before trying your luck at the roulette and blackjack tables or just grabbing a cocktail and soaking up the distinctly old-school vibes of this, Las Vegas’s oldest large casino. SlotZilla Zipline From high stakes to high wires, the SlotZilla Zipline is pure Vegas, with an 11-story launch deck that’s designed to look like a giant slot machine, complete with cascading coins and a pair of 35-foot showgirls. Incurable thrill-seekers can fly, Superman-style, along the epic (and appropriately named) Superhero-Zoom, which traverses the length of the Fremont Street Experience. The Zip-Zilla is a somewhat less frightening half-length option that flies a little lower and allows you to travel in an upright seated position, for those not feeling quite so dare-devilish. The Mob Museum Practise your best Al Capone impersonations on a visit to the quite excellent Mob Museum, with its plethora of interactive exhibits that chart the history of organized crime in the US, with a focus on mob activity in Las Vegas. See if you can hit the target in the firearms training simulator and visit the rogues’ gallery charting over a century of made men. There’s even an underground speakeasy here serving Prohibition-inspired cocktails to thirsty visitors. Enter via the secret door by the parking lot, but watch out for shady-looking gentlemen in fedoras and pinstripe suits! Container Park A giant metal mantis with flaming antennae and an ear-shattering sound system marks the somewhat apocalyptic entrance to the Container Park, a Downtown shopping and entertainment mecca built out of old shipping containers. It’s a pretty cool hangout, with a little something for people of old ages: there are independent boutiques, bars and live music for the grown-ups, while a huge slide and water-play area in the central courtyard keeps the kids happy. The Neon Museum This huge outdoor museum preserves and exhibits that most Las Vegas of art forms: the neon sign. It’s a kind of retirement home for neon signs, giving these masterpieces of the Nevada skyline a second lease of life as part of a major tourist attraction. This is where you’ll find classic old-school signage including sparkling examples from the Stardust, Sassy Sally’s, Lucky Cuss Motel and the Hard Rock Cafe. We recommend visiting the Neon Boneyard at sundown for the most Instagrammable photo opportunities, when the signs are lit up against the fiery desert sky in all their technicolor glory. SkyPod at the Strat Ok ok, so it’s not strictly part of Downtown, but it does command some of the best views of Fremont Street you’ll find anywhere in the city, so we say it counts! Another bonus is that this is one attraction you really can’t miss: just look for the skyscraping observation tower south of Downtown in the direction of the Strip; it's only the second-tallest of its kind in the entire Western Hemisphere! And, should your nerves be able to withstand the head-spinning super-speed elevator ride up to the 108th floor, there are plenty of attractions up here, nearly 1,000 feet above the Strip, to keep adrenaline-seekers occupied for hours. Board the aptly-named Insanity ride, a giant metal claw that dangles (and spins) its victims passengers over the edge of the building and into thin air. Or get even higher on the Big Shot, the vertical drop ride that goes up (and down) the tower’s needle, reaching a gut-churning height of 1,081 feet. Eek, eek and, furthermore, eeeeeeeeeek! Save on attractions in Las Vegas Save on admission to Las Vegas attractions with Go City. Check out @GoCity on Instagram and Facebook for the latest top tips and attraction info.
Stuart Bak
Stuart Bak
Couple kissing in front of the 'Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas' sign
Blog

Las Vegas in February

Nothing says romance like gazing into your partner’s eyes over a tense game of roulette. Yes, it’s Valentine’s month in Las Vegas and temperatures are rising in all the right places, whether you’re here for a sizzling weekend of romance or simply to come in from the cold in the rest of the Western Hemisphere, as Sin City declares winter well and truly over (well, nearly). Check out our guide to what’s hot in Las Vegas in February. Visiting Las Vegas in February Average Temperature: 53°F • Average Rainfall: 6 days/mth • Average Sunshine: 9 hours/day February is a fine time to visit Las Vegas, with daytime highs in the low 60s meaning you might even get away with shorts and tees outdoors, if only during the mild afternoons. The city’s relative warmth makes for busy flights and full hotels, but there are still good deals to be had, particularly in the latter half of the month once the excitement of Valentine’s Day and the Super Bowl has died down. Clear, sunny days with cool mornings and cooler evenings are still par for the course here as winter ebbs away, so make sure to pack layers: jumpers, jeans and light jackets remain essential gear if you’re planning to spend time exploring the Strip’s many brightly illuminated attractions after dark. Likewise if you plan to go hiking out in the desert canyons, where warm, sturdy footwear is also a must. Top tip: falling on the third Monday in February, Presidents’ Day is one of Vegas’s least crowded holiday weekends, meaning there are plenty of good deals to be bagged from the hotels, leaving you with plenty of pocket change for the one-armed bandits! Things to do in February “I’m just the devil with love to spare... viva Las Vegas!” So sang Elvis on his hip-wiggling ode to the city that never sleeps. And, whether you’re a little devil or an old romantic, there are plenty of activities in Vegas that will ignite the flames of passion. What better time to give them a spin than in February, the month when Valentine’s Day sends the whole planet gaga with grand romantic gestures. Sweep your better half of their feet (literally in some cases) with Sin City’s dizzying plethora of mile-high activities. A private pod on the High Roller Observation Wheel is a great place to start. Book yours with a glass of bubby to add some serious sparkle as you watch the sun set over the Neon City and desert beyond from a heart-fluttering 500 feet up. Not high enough for ya? Attractions at the top of the Strat hotel’s SkyPod tower include the aptly named Insanity ride, in which a giant metal claw dangles and spins you out into mid air 900 feet above the Strip. You can also bungee jump from way up here on the 108th floor. Or perhaps just take in the views from the observation tower as helicopter tours zip past at frighteningly close range. You could also hop aboard one of those helicopter rides yourself. After all, cruising the Strip’s neon-lit length by chopper at nightfall is arguably way more romantic than hurling yourself off the top of a skyscraper. As romantic as Vegas may be, you’ll be hard-pushed to find anyone who’d claim it’s a patch on Paris or Venice. Yet, not to be outdone, Vegas of course comes with its very own Paris-themed resort, complete with replica Eiffel Tower. Take your beau or belle on a thrill ride to the top in the glass elevator, before gorging on caviar, steak tartare and escargots in the tower’s panoramic restaurant 100 feet above the Strip. Ooh la la! Then head over to the Venetian for a neon-lit gondola ride along the resort's swoonsome replica of Venice’s Grand Canal. Layer up and take a walk to see some of Vegas’s most impressive free spectacles. There’s the dancing fountains out front of the Bellagio – a must-see on any Vegas bucket list – as well as the Mirage’s incredible exploding volcano. But it’s also worth getting ‘off Strip’ and into downtown Vegas for the Fremont Street light show. Here, millions of LED lights hang over the street’s pedestrianized section, creating an eye-popping display when the sun goes down. There’s also (free) live music and some fine bars and restaurants to explore down this way. And if all that fails to impress, there’s always the Erotic Heritage Museum, where thousands of curious artifacts chart the history of sex across the centuries. Think lingerie, celebrity sex tapes, erotic Peruvian smoking pipes and, um, an interactive 10-foot vulva. What’s on in February? Sporting Events Local heroes the Golden Knights’ hockey season is in full swing in February, attracting sports fans to Sin City in their droves. Catch them in action at the Strip’s huge T-Mobile Arena. February is also, of course, Super Bowl month, when venues across the city (including hotels and casinos) screen the big event, bringing a real party spirit back to the city for the first time since the Strip’s OTT New Year pyrotechnics. Expect it to be off-the-scale in 2024, when the Super Bowl takes place in Vegas itself! Taste and Sounds of Soul Festival This free event takes place downtown at the Fremont Street Experience and is one of the biggest Black History Month events in Nevada. The three-day party fuses live music from local bands and DJs with banging BBQ and Creole flavors from the Deep South. Chinese New Year Las Vegas celebrates Chinese New Year with the same restraint it does every major festival. So expect a city-wide extravaganza complete with parades, floats, enormous dragons and, naturally, some of the best Chinese food on the planet. There will also be themed displays in major hotels including the Bellagio, Venetian and MGM Grand as well as most of the major shopping malls. Save on attractions in Las Vegas Save on admission to Las Vegas attractions with Go City. Check out @GoCity on Instagram and Facebook for the latest top tips and attraction info.
Stuart Bak
Stuart Bak

Have a 5% discount, on us!

Sign up to our newsletter and receive exclusive discounts, trip inspiration and attraction updates straight to your inbox.

Thick check Icon