Las Vegas is more than just gambling and nightclubs—it’s a city of world class entertainment and gastronomy. Someone asked me if I enjoyed the six days I spent in Las Vegas. The truth is, 3-4 days is the sweet spot . In Vegas, you can rest and relax in your hotel room and call it an early night if you need it. Then, when you’re up for a good time, you’re surrounded by bars, entertainment, and food when you stay on the Las Vegas Strip.
Las Vegas: What to Expect as a first-time traveler
This is a destination to escape from your responsibilities and have a dumb fun. The resorts on the Las Vegas strip are practically huge malls with hundreds of square feet for shops, restaurants, entertainment. You can pass the time at mini golf, magic shows, comedy shows, burlesque shows, night clubs, and of course the casino floor. Las Vegas is probably the last place in the United States where the indoor mall concept still sees crowds. These aren’t just any malls. You’ll find designer stores, jewelry stores, furniture and art galleries, great restaurants and even food courts, bars, speakeasy’s, theaters, arcades. The size of these resorts is truly impressive.
All this to say, this destination offers a lot to do. and this blog post covers the best things to do in Las Vegas beyond losing money on the Casino floor and going to nightclubs. World-class dining and entertainment make Las Vegas a good time.
Resort Hopping Made Easy with the Las Vegas Monorail
When in Vegas, you’ll definitely get your steps in if you take up resort hopping and exploring as an activity. You’ll find yourself walking up and down the strip to get to your destination, often lost.
Chispa Tip: Bring comfy shoes to Vegas.
Another option is to get on the Las Vegas Monorail, which runs on the East side of the Strip and stops at popular resorts like the MGM Grand and The Flamingo. It’s a quick and convenient way to cover ground, bypass the street traffic, and save money on Uber rides. The Monorail is safe and clean making it a great mode of transport that runs every eight minutes. We took advantage of the Monorail to party hop to different resorts and attractions along the Strip, stopping to get a drink here and there and check out this and that.
Visit the Las Vegas Monorail website for ticket price information.
Visit these resorts on the Las Vegas Strip
Each resort has its own unique theme and interior design, some more luxurious than others. The Bellagio is a beautiful resort on the Strip, very luxurious. The Bellagio indoor garden is famous for its majestic, seasonal flower arrangements featuring over-the-top sculptures. The Bellagio is also famous for its grand fountains at the front of the property.
The Venetian Hotel is another beautiful mall-like resort to visit on the Strip.This property transports you to Venice, Italy. You’ll find yourself walking along an indoor canal; gondolas and all. A baby blue sky is painted on the ceiling, adding to the fantasy of The Venetian.
Caesars Palace in Las Vegas is luxurious and inspired by ancient Rome. Columns and marble statues adorn the architecture and interior design. The interiors feature lavish materials like marble and gold accents.
These are just some notable mentions, however, I highly encourage you to wonder into as many resorts as you can to take a look around. Other notable mentions: The cosmopolitan, which has a lobby bar centered around a, multi-story crystal chandelier. The Flamingo is an iconic hotel on the Strip, often seen in movies. It’s been around for 60+ years, shaping the perception of the Las Vegas Strip.
Explore Fremont Street: A Classic Vegas Experience and Where it All Started
While the Strip is the famous, Hollywood side of Las Vegas, Fremont Street is the where Las Vegas hotel and casinos had their start. The Golden Gate Hotel & Casino was the first in Las Vegas, opening in 1906.
Fremont Street is a pedestrian-only area that comes alive after dark with live music stages and neon lights.The famous Vegas Vic neon cowboy illuminates Fremont Street over the Pioneer Gift Shop, along with many more neon signs. Vegas Nic is a historic, 72-year-old neon sign. Fremont street is also famous for the huge LED canopy that hangs over over your head.
At the Golden Nugget Hotel, my party, already a few drinks in, went on a scavenger hunt to find the Hand of Faith, a 61-pound golden nugget that is the largest in existence.
Chispa Tip: Freemont Street is best at night. Avoid this area in the daytime. You’ll get the best experience when the sun goes down, and the neon signs and party is on.
Cirque Du Soleil: A Must-Do in Las Vegas
One of the most iconic entertainment experiences in Las Vegas is Cirque Du Soleil. The company does several different shows in Las Vegas, ,housing each one at a dedicated resort. For example, Cirque Du Soleil presents “O” at the Bellagio, MJ Live at the Mandalay Bay, and KÀ at the MGM Grand.
I’ve seen the first two shows when in Vegas. “O” was a wonderful introduction to Cirque Du Soleil. The show stage retracts, opening up into a pool where breathtaking diving, acrobatic stunts, and synchronized swimming leave you in awe.
MJ Live at Mandalay Bay, is a tribute show to Michael Jackson that brings the King of Pop’s music and moves to life. Two stand-out moments for me were the drones creating light displays above the audience and the hologram of Michael Jackson dancing center stage, with live performers dancing alongside him. It felt like Michael was really there, performing live.
Cirque du Soleil performers are talented and give their all on stage. You will do doubt have a good time and won’t know where to look with so much acrobatics and theatrics going in the theater.
Show tickets are typically easy to come by for Cirque Du Soleil shows given that they perform several different productions along the strip. It’s rare for these shows to sell out, and I always buy my show tickets the day-of.
Chispa Tip: Likely because shows don’t sell out, theater ushers look to fill the front row seats with audience members. Twice, my party was invited to move to up to the first couple rows without paying the front-row prices. Don’t hesitate to ask your theater usher if there are better seats open at the front rows.
Thrill-Seeking in Las Vegas: The New York-New York Roller Coaster
The Big Apple Coaster at the New York-New York resort is an eye-catching Las Vegas Strip landmark that loop-de-loops through replicas of New York City landmarks. I felt the need to ride this Las Vegas roller coaster, and highly recommend it to adrenaline seeking travelers. I let out a big scream on the 203-foot drop and through the 180-degree twist!
Big Apple Coaster tickets cost $25 per person in December 2024.
New York New York also has an arcade in the same area as the roller coaster entrance, which is a fun addition to this stop. My partner and I spent a good hour playing air hockey, car racing video games, and other arcade games. A reminder that Las Vegas is a place to have fun and fill your time with entertaining, leisurely activities. Both the arcade and the Big Apple Coaster are an exciting way to break up the day and a worthwhile reason to visit the New York-New York resort. At noon on a weekday I was riding a roller coaster and playing arcade games, not working. That’s fine by me.
Catch a Concert: Vegas Residencies Worth Seeing
Vegas, Baby! There’s bound to be a great artist performing on a Las Vegas stage on any given night. Artists often do residencies in Las Vegas, which means they perform various shows over an extended period of time on a Las Vegas stage. I saw Usher in concert in Vegas, and it was among the last concerts of his Vegas residency. We bought tickets just a few hours before the show, noticing that they went down in price.The show was spectacular and completely entertaining.
If you’re traveling to Vegas, check to see what artists are having concerts when you’re there. Top artists perform in Las Vegas, and you might just get to see someone you’ve always wanted to see perform live on stage.
Indulge in Fine Dining at Hell’s Kitchen by Gordon Ramsay
You’ll find a lot of good food in Las Vegas. Outstanding service is what you’ll get at Hell’s Kitchen by Gordon Ramsay, located at Caesars Palace. From Beef Wellington to a delicious Branzino, the menu here is top-quality, and yet the stand-out part of this dining experience was the service and attention from our server and assistants. As someone who has worked in a restaurant, I appreciated the teamwork and coordination that created a delightful and unforgettable experience for our party of four.
This spot is incredibly popular, so make a reservation ahead of time. A proper dinner with appetizers, drinks, and a main dish will cost between $50 and $75+ per person.
Feast at the Best All-You-Can-Eat Buffets in Las Vegas
Las Vegas is well known for it’s all you can eat buffets. You should visit at least one.
Top picks include the Bacchanal Buffet at Caesars Palace and The Buffet at The Wynn. At these buffets, you can feast on various dishes from around the world for around $60+ per person. Lines are long to get a table, without a reservation. You should make a reservation whenever possible. Without a reservation, we waited in line for The Buffet at The Wynn for 30+ mins.
These all-you-can-eat buffers feature a variety of desserts, like fan, Ube and chocolate pastries, and more. The Bacchanal Buffet serves dishes from around the world, cuts of meats like smoked brisket and prime rib, and seafood options like crabs clams, ceviche.
All You Can Eat Buffets in Las Vegas by Judith Palma, Viva La Chispa.
Chispa Tip: Here’s a hack I learned at The Wynn Buffet. We sat down for brunch, and an hour in, they started to flip the brunch buffet to the dinner buffet. My party of four was able to eat the brunch and dinner selections for the price of brunch (dinner is more expensive).
The servings at these buffets are small. The name of the game is to eat a little bit of everything.
Final Thoughts
Las Vegas is more than just gambling and partying—it’s a city full of excitement, entertainment, and unique experiences. Whether you’re looking for a Cirque Du Soleil show, a thrilling roller coaster ride, or world-class dining, there’s something for everyone. These unforgettable experiences prove there’s so much to do in Las Vegas beyond gambling.
Have you been to any of these attractions? Or do you have a favorite Las Vegas experience off the beaten path? Let me know in the comments below!
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