Below is my list of recommendations for things to do when visiting fabulous Las Vegas. My wife, Lindsay, and I have traveled to Las Vegas together many times – eight as of this writing – so we have spent a lot of time there, we love it, and we can’t wait to go back again! This list of recommendations is in my order of preference, from least critical to must-do. Let’s roll the bones! Pull the lever! Deal the cards! Spin the wheel! Begin.

High Roller Observation Wheel

The High Roller is a huge Ferris wheel that is located just a block east of the strip, right near Harrah’s, The Flamingo, and the Venetian. It is famous for being the largest observation wheel in North America. We are not huge Ferris wheel fans, and we have not actually had a chance to ride it, but based on the location, I’m sure the views are amazing. I bet it would be really cool to see the Bellagio Fountains from this vantage point!

The Big Apple Coaster at New York-New York Hotel & Casino

The Big Apple Coaster is a thrilling, looping roller coaster that speeds around the New York-New York Hotel & Casino’s “skyline”. As a thrill ride lover, I’m ashamed to say I have never actually ridden the Big Apple Coaster, and I don’t even know why I haven’t ridden it! I love roller coasters, I’ve been to Las Vegas many times, and I’ve ridden just about every other ride there is to ride in Las Vegas. On one trip, we even drove out to Primm, Nevada, just to ride Desperado at Buffalo Bill’s Resort & Casino. This was in 2003 – many years before the ride ceased operating in August of 2019. Fun fact – at the time it was built in 1994, Desperado was the tallest and fastest roller coaster in the world! Anyway, back to the Big Apple Coaster, I have read that it is a pretty rough ride, but the layout looks fun to me, and it’s definitely on my list of things to do on my next trip to Las Vegas.

The Adventuredome at Circus Circus

I gotta represent for the theme park fans and mention the Adventuredome at Circus Circus! The Adventuredome is an indoor amusement park that features several rides, including two roller coasters: Canyon Blaster, the world’s largest indoor double-looped, double-corkscrew coaster, and El Loco, another indoor coaster featuring a 90-degree (or more) drop, along with thrilling inversions and turns. I have seen the Adventuredome from the outside looking in but have never bought a ticket or ridden the rides yet – I would like to take a ride on those roller coasters next time, though!

Luxor Hotel & Casino

Luxor is an Egyptian-themed glass pyramid with a hotel and casino inside. It is famous for having the largest open-air atrium in the world (by volume), and it’s also famous for the Sky Beam, which is the brightest man-made light in the world. The Sky Beam is a bright column of light that shines from the top of the pyramid straight up into the sky, and it can be seen from miles around at night. Luxor is a really cool place to see if you’ve never been, especially if you’re into seeing these types of architectural and engineering marvels with your own eyes.

Shark Reef Aquarium at Mandalay Bay

The main tank at the Shark Reef Aquarium is one of the largest aquarium tanks in North America. This aquarium focuses primarily on sharks and other marine predators, but there are many other exhibits as well – there are over 100 species of animals, including at least 13 species of sharks, sea turtles, and even Komodo dragons and a golden crocodile. There is also an underwater “shark tunnel” that you can walk through that is surrounded by the glass walls of the tank on the top and sides, and you can look at the various sharks and fish all around you.

Madame Tussauds at The Venetian

Madame Tussauds is a famous museum of life-sized celebrity figures made of wax. When the Las Vegas location opened in 1999, it was the first and only Madame Tussauds location in the United States. As of this writing, there are now Madame Tussauds locations in four other U.S. cities, so it’s no longer an experience unique to Las Vegas. It’s one of those places that if it sounds interesting to you, you will probably like it, and if it sounds boring to you, it probably will be boring for you. At the very least, the museum provides lots of opportunities for fun photos!

Gondola Rides at The Venetian

The Venetian is an Italian-themed Hotel and Casino, which has indoor and outdoor canals through which gondoliers pilot gondolas during the day and evening. You can pay a fee, choose the outdoor route or the indoor route, then take a ride on one of the gondolas, and the gondolier sings songs while guiding your vessel through the canal. It’s a romantic experience for couples, but it can also be a fun experience for the whole family.

Eiffel Tower at Paris Las Vegas

The Eiffel Tower at Paris Las Vegas is a 1/2-scale replica of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France. For a fee, you can take an elevator up 46 stories to the observation deck to get beautiful views of the Las Vegas strip and beyond. If you are lucky or you time it right, you can get a bird’s eye view of the Bellagio Fountain show during your time on the 46th floor!

The Forum Shops at Caesar’s Palace

Do you miss old-school indoor shopping malls? If so, The Forum Shops might be worth a visit! It’s an upscale indoor mall that’s right on the Las Vegas Strip and connected to Caesar’s Palace. It has the widest selection of shops available on the strip. The Forum Shops is also home to a Cheesecake Factory, which Lindsay and I always visited in our dating years, because we never had one near our hometown, and because CHEESECAKE! In the mall, just outside the Cheesecake Factory, there is also a free fountain and animatronic show called Fall of Atlantis. As of this writing, the show runs every hour from 12:00 pm to 8:00 pm five days a week – Monday thru Thursday (there are no shows on Tuesdays and Wednesdays).

Fremont Street Experience

The Fremont Street Experience is a covered pedestrian area on Fremont Street in downtown Las Vegas that runs next to several of the older historic Las Vegas casinos. The Viva Vision canopy over the street is a giant 4-block-long LED screen, and video light shows are displayed on the screen every hour. Just look up from wherever you are on Fremont Street and watch the free show! There is also a zip line called the SlotZilla Zip Line that runs beneath the canopy and over the pedestrian area, which you can ride in a seated position or the more intense head-first Superman position!

The STRAT Observation Tower

The Tower at The STRAT Hotel & Casino (formerly known as The Stratosphere) is the tallest freestanding observation tower in the United States. There are both indoor and outdoor observation decks that offer amazing views of all of Las Vegas and the surrounding areas. Lindsay and I always try to time our visit close to dusk so we can see everything under the last bit of daylight, then we stay up there to also see everything at night with all of the lights on the strip lit up. In addition to the observation areas, there are several outdoor thrill rides at the top of the tower. Riding any type of ride that high up in the air is thrilling enough, but these rides are designed to add even more thrills. Big Shot shoots you straight up at 45 miles per hour then drops back down again. It’s sort of like a mini Tower of Terror, but even the bottom starting point of the ride is 1,000 feet up, so would we call it mini? I have ridden Big Shot, and I loved it… shooting upward when you are already that high up is an insane feeling! X-Scream is a very short-tracked roller coaster that simply rolls you out over the edge of the tower and comes to a stop with the riders hanging over the edge, looking downward toward the streets below before pulling backward and then going forward once more. I haven’t ridden this one, yet, but I’d consider riding it on my next trip!

The Steakhouse at Circus Circus

You may be thinking “of all of the restaurants in Las Vegas, how is it that a restaurant in Circus Circus is the one that made this list?” Well, don’t judge a book by its cover. Yes, Circus Circus is pretty old and run down at this point, and it was always a budget-friendly resort to begin with. Trust me, though, The Steakhouse is one of the best restaurants at which you can have a meal. It’s an upscale restaurant that seems totally out of place for this resort, and it’s absolutely worth visiting Circus Circus to have a steak at The Steakhouse, even if it’s just to dine (and maybe ride some Adventuredome rides) and get the heck outta there!

Welcome to Las Vegas Sign

If you didn’t get your picture taken in front of the famous “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas Nevada” sign, then were you ever really in Las Vegas? I say no! The sign is in the middle of the Las Vegas Boulevard median just south of the strip and Mandalay Bay. There is even a designated parking area in the middle of the road near the sign for tourists to park so you can easily get out and get your pictures in front of the sign. The entrance to the parking area is from the south-bound lanes on Las Vegas Boulevard. There are always other people around to help with group pictures, and sometimes there is a line queued up, but it’s worth the wait! One time, we even saw an Elvis impersonator hanging out at the sign, and he would pose for pictures with people!

Shows!

Las Vegas has so many great shows to choose from, it can be overwhelming to decide which one to see. However, we have never regretted any show that we have picked, so I don’t think you can really go wrong. Just find something within your budget that looks entertaining and sit back and enjoy the show! One thing I haven’t done yet, that I’m really looking forward to, is seeing a show at the new state-of-the-art Sphere venue. I would love to see any live performance or movie there just to experience it! It’s definitely on my list for our next visit. Some of the various shows we’ve seen in Las Vegas over the years include “O” by Cirque du Soleil (amazing and still going strong), Blue Man Group (so fun and still going strong), David Copperfield (a very entertaining magic show [and Lindsay got brought up on stage with David!], but it ended its run earlier in 2026), Le Reve at Wynn Las Vegas (excellent, but it ended its long run in 2020), The Beatles LOVE by Cirque du Soleil (so good, but the show ended its long run in 2024), Viva Elvis by Cirque du Soleil (we enjoyed it, but the show ended in 2012 due to low ticket sales), Robin Williams (his hilarious standup comedy show that we feel very lucky to have seen before he tragically passed away), and Celine Dion (her voice is truly amazing).

Bellagio Conservatory & Botanical Gardens

The Conservatory at the Bellagio has always been one of our favorite sights to see on every trip to Las Vegas. The Conservatory is just beyond the main hotel lobby, and it’s like a large fancy greenhouse. It has huge floral and topiary displays, and the displays are changed out five times per year, so there is always something new to see. The arrangements are very elaborate and very impressive – for the theme park lovers out there, they are like the arrangements you see at the Epcot Flower and Garden Festival! No visit to Las Vegas is complete without a stop at the Bellagio and the Conservatory.

Gambling!

Everyone aged 21 or over who visits Las Vegas has to try their luck with at least some kind of gambling, right?! Whether it’s blackjack, poker, craps, roulette, baccarat, slot machines, or video poker, the gambling experience in Las Vegas is second to none. My personal favorite is blackjack, but I can also be found at a low-limit table in a poker room or at a Wheel of Fortune slot machine. I know gambling isn’t for everyone, and it can be a real bummer if and when you have a run of bad luck. The way I always manage it is – before the trip even begins, I budget a certain amount of money per day that I am ok with losing. Once that money is gone for the day, I’m done gambling for that day. If I have money leftover after a certain day, or if I actually have winnings (unlikely, but possible!), I can choose whether to allocate that money to my remaining days or pocket that money and save it. Either way, I never lose more money than my predefined maximum I was willing to lose. I enjoy playing the games, so I look at any potential losses as an entertainment expense, rather than throwing money away. I understand that it’s not fun for everyone, though, and that’s ok!

Hoover Dam

Ok, ok, the Hoover Dam is not in Las Vegas, but hear me out. It’s only about a 40-minute drive away, and it is a wonder to behold. If you are in Las Vegas for more than a couple days, and you’ve never seen the Hoover Dam, I highly recommend you make time for it. It’s a remarkable feat of engineering and well worth the short drive.

Grand Canyon West and the Skywalk

Ok, we’re leaving Las Vegas again for this one, and this is even more of a stretch than the Hoover Dam. However, the Hoover Dam is along the way to Grand Canyon West, so you can knock both out in one day! If you have plenty of time on your trip, and you have never seen the Grand Canyon, this is an excursion worth spending most of a day on. It’s about a 2 1/2 hour drive from Las Vegas to Grand Canyon West, so it will take almost a full day to drive there, see the sights, and drive back to Las Vegas. I can’t tell you how or whether Grand Canyon West compares to the more famous and more visited areas like Grand Canyon National Park or the South Rim, because I have never been to those areas, but I can tell you that the views at Grand Canyon West are amazing, and it is absolutely worth the day trip to get your first glimpse of the Grand Canyon. Grand Canyon West also has the Skywalk, which is a U-shaped observation deck that projects out over the canyon and has a glass floor. It’s a really cool experience if you can deal with the heights and walking on the see-through glass floor!

Fountains of Bellagio

There is not a more iconic landmark in Las Vegas than the Fountains of Bellagio. This is my top must-do attraction. The free fountain shows occur on a regular schedule throughout the day. As of this writing, the daytime fountain shows are every 30 minutes and the night time shows from 8:00 pm to midnight are every 15 minutes. Each show features a song played over loudspeakers, while lights and fountains in the middle of the large man-made lake spray water and “dance” in unison with the music in a choreographed manner which is unique for each song. Lindsay and I used to stand on the sidewalk along Las Vegas Boulevard at night and watch show after show after show. “Time To Say Goodbye” by Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman was always one of our favorite shows.

Lastly, I wanted to pay my respects to a beloved Las Vegas landmark that is sadly no longer around.

Volcano at The Mirage

The volcano at The Mirage was an outdoor attraction that stood between Las Vegas Boulevard and The Mirage for almost 35 years. On a regular nightly schedule, the volcano would “erupt” during a free show featuring music and fire and water effects. The volcano show ended in 2024 due to The Mirage being replaced by the new Hard Rock Hotel which is under construction and scheduled to open in late 2027. The volcano was demolished as part of the transition.

I hope this list helps you to plan your ideal Las Vegas vacation! What are your favorite Las Vegas activities? What did I miss that should have been included? Please let me know in the comments!