Wondering what to do in Las Vegas outside of casinos and nightclubs? Sin City has so much more to offer than gambling, it is an adult playground with something for everyone, from couples to families to outdoor adventurers. 

1. Play at the adult fun park AREA15 

📍 West of the Strip

Not a mall, not a museum, not a club - but somehow a bit of all three. AREA15 - a play on the famous Area 51 - is a massive black box of light shows, trippy art installations, surreal bars, and oddities. Wander through Omega Mart (where the milk cartons whisper at you), zipline indoors, or step into a psychedelic dance cube. Go in with no expectations, leave overstimulated and intrigued. 

2. Ride the High Roller - Then Zipline Over the Promenade

📍 The LINQ Hotel + Experience

It looks like the London Eye, but it’s got bars in the pods and views of desert sprawl instead of Big Ben. Hop aboard the High Roller just before sunset, watch the city glow from above, then head straight to the Strip zipline and soar face-first through neon. Touristy? Yes. Still worth it? Also yes.

3. Visit Red Rock Canyon

📍 30 Minutes from the Strip

The moment you leave the Strip behind and hit the red cliffs, everything shifts. The air gets quieter, the colors turn bolder, and the chaos fades. Red Rock Canyon feels like another planet - all sandstone switchbacks and rust-colored ridges. Hike through Calico Tanks, scramble across boulders, or drive the loop with the windows down. Sunrise and sunset here are pure gold.

Book a tour with transportation and a guide to get the most out of the experience. 

4. "Visit the World in a Day"

📍 All Over the Strip

Vegas is a passport-free fever dream. One minute you're in Venice, floating past singing gondoliers. Blink, and you're sipping champagne under the Eiffel Tower. A few blocks later, you’re at the pyramids, watching the Sphinx glow under the desert sky.

• New York-New York: Roller coasters, pizza slices, a mini Statue of Liberty, and the chaotic energy of Manhattan without the rats.
• Paris Las Vegas: The Eiffel Tower, cobbled streets, and café tables - touristy, yes, but lit beautifully at night.
• The Venetian: Canals, operatic boat rides, and ceiling frescoes. A masterclass in theme park luxury.
• Luxor Hotel: That glowing pyramid? That’s your hotel. Complete with an ancient Egyptian façade and one of the weirdest elevator systems you’ll ever see.
• Excalibur: Medieval castles, knights, and more kitsch than your brain can process. Worth a walk-through for pure absurdity.

Do all of them in a single day - it’s ridiculous, excessive, and exactly what this city was built for.

5. Check Out The Amazing & Unique Restaurants

Vegas doesn't do boring food. Whether it's sky-high sushi or immersive dinner theater, you're never just eating - you're experiencing.

• Superfrico (The Cosmopolitan) – A psychedelic dinner party with pizza, performance art, and surprise musical interludes.
• Esther’s Kitchen (Arts District) – Handmade pasta, sourdough everything, and the kind of place locals will gatekeep if you ask.
• é by José Andrés (Inside Jaleo at The Cosmopolitan) – Hidden behind a secret door, this ultra-lux tasting menu is invite-only and seats just eight per night.
• Mayfair Supper Club (Bellagio) – Gatsby glamour meets dinner theater. Jazz, sequins, and steak frites by the fountains.
• Wakuda (The Palazzo) – Sleek, moody Japanese with precision-level execution and interior design straight out of a sci-fi noir.

6. Take a Helicopter Over the Strip - or Out to the Grand Canyon

📍 Departures Vary

If Vegas looks surreal from the street, try flying over it. Helicopter tours give you a front-row seat to the city’s sci-fi glow. Go at night and hover over the Strip as the lights blur beneath you, or take the longer flight all the way to the Grand Canyon - champagne toast included. It’s one of those once-in-a-lifetime things that’s actually worth doing once in your life.

7. Speed Drive Exotic Cars on a Real Racetrack

📍 Speed Vegas or Dream Racing

You could rent a Lambo and sit in Strip traffic, or you could take it to a closed track and go full throttle. These driving experiences put you behind the wheel of Ferraris, Porsches, McLarens - whatever your dream car is. No speed limits, norules. Just pure adrenaline and a racing suit photo you’ll never stop posting. I am not a car person and don't even particularly like driving (after being a New Yorker for 10 years I never quite fell in love with it again) - but even I had the most amazing time racing here. 

8. Visit the Sphere

📍 The Venetian Resort

An alien moon landed in the middle of the Strip and started pulsing with color. That's The Sphere. Inside, it's a high-tech cocoon of screens, sound, and sensory overload - and the crisp air conditioning is a true respite when the weather is particularly hot. Think immersive films that feel like lucid dreams. Even if you skip the show, go at night and watch it shift and shimmer from the outside, it's like nothing else on Earth.

9. Hike Through The Mars-scapes of Valley of Fire

📍 1 Hour from Las Vegas

Even wilder than Red Rock. Valley of Fire is what Mars wants to look like - jagged formations, fire-colored canyons, petroglyphs carved by ancient hands. Hike the Fire Wave, drive Mouse’s Tank Road, and lose the cell signal completely. This is where Vegas goes quiet. Be careful in the summertime though and try to go early or late in the day - I am healthy and a very experienced hiker, and this is the one place that I almost got heat stroke. Bring water, bring a camera, and don’t rush. For an extra fun time, venture there in a Pink Jeep Tour

If you're feeling extra ambitious, add on a journey out to do an Antelope Canyon tour - the nature in the Las Vegas area is truly breathtaking. 

10. Visit The Neon Museum

📍 Downtown Vegas

The Neon Museum is a colorful, kitschy, wonderful  graveyard of glittering ghosts. Retired signs, decaying bulbs, vintage marquees - this is the real history of Las Vegas, told in light and rust. Visit at golden hour or book the night tour when everything glows again. It’s haunting and beautiful, and somehow more alive now than when it was new.

11. Take in an Epic Brunch

• Sadelle’s (Bellagio) – Champagne, bagels with towers of toppings, and views of the Bellagio Gardens. Brunch goes full glam here.
• Bouchon (The Venetian) – A French bistro by Thomas Keller. Croissants that shatter, eggs benedict with perfect hollandaise, and strong espresso.
• LAVO Party Brunch (The Venetian) – Less of a brunch, more of a club with waffles. Champagne showers included.
• DW Bistro (Southwest Vegas) – Caribbean-meets-Southwest comfort food. Jerk chicken and jalapeño bacon biscuits in a bright, welcoming space.

12. See The Bellagio Fountains & Conservatory

📍 The Bellagio

This is the Vegas cliché that still hits. The fountains go off in perfect choreography - Sinatra, EDM, opera, whatever mood the city feels like. It’s best at night when the water leaps in time with light and sound. Inside, don’t miss the Bellagio Conservatory - a rotating, over-the-top floral installation that somehow makes you feel calm amid the chaos.

13. Pool Day: Go To a Day Party or Cabana in Style

📍 All Over the Strip

This is not a chill-by-the-hotel-pool city. This is DJs, bottle service, and inflatable flamingos the size of compact cars. Go full party at Wet Republic or Encore Beach Club, or rent a cabana at the Waldorf Astoria, Virgin, or Resorts World for something calmer, classier, and with fewer spilled drinks. Vegas pool culture is a whole scene, and you’re not really doing it right until you’ve dipped in with sparkles still stuck to your skin from last night.

14. Pose With The Seven Magic Mountains

📍 10 Miles South of the Strip

Towering neon rock stacks rise from the desert like some alien art installation - which is exactly what they are. Seven Magic Mountains is a public artwork by Ugo Rondinone, and it’s become one of Vegas’ most iconic photo ops. Go early for clean light and no crowds, or catch it at sunset when the colors start to glow.

15. Experience a Live Show or Vegas Residency

📍 Every Major Resort

Vegas has fully embraced its reputation as the global capital of extra. Whether it’s a Cirque du Soleil fever dream, a magic show, or a once-in-a-lifetime residency (Adele, Gaga, U2, Usher - the list rotates fast), there’s always someone performing at a level only Vegas could support. Buy tickets early, the big ones sell out.

16. Get Married!

📍 Little White Chapel

Vegas weddings are iconic for a reason. You can get married in a neon-lit chapel by an Elvis impersonator, say your vows inside a vintage Cadillac, or go all-out with a high-glamour ceremony at the Wynn or Four Seasons. Whether you're eloping on a whim, planning something intimate and chic, this city makes it easy to do it your way. To actually get married in Las Vegas, there is no waiting period but you do need a marriage license from the Clark County Marriage License Bureau, open most every day from 8am until midnight. 

When we were planning our wedding in Mexico, we found out that we needed to do a legal ceremony in the US to make it official - and decided that instead of just a quick trip to the courthouse, we would go to Las Vegas and have the most fun with it, and did our service at The Neon Museum. 10/10 experience, no regrets!

17. Wear Your Boldest Sparkles, Just Because

📍 Literally Anywhere

Sequins at brunch? Rhinestones to Walgreens? Glitter lashes at 10 a.m.? Yes. This is the only city where overdressed isn’t a thing. Vegas rewards the bold, and there is no wrong time to show up like it’s your own personal music video. If you're normally hesitant to dress up or draw attention, this is the place to let loose.