1) Best lobby, ever
Visiting the 13,000-square-foot conservatory inside Bellagio is a little like walking around inside the holiday windows at Macy’s – except that it transforms five times a year from one over-the-top botanical display to the next. While few things in Las Vegas are free, this one is – 24 hours a day, seven days a week. A massive team of horticulturists and engineers produces a spectacle of moving parts and thousands of flowers to celebrate the seasons: Spring Celebration, Summer Garden Party, Harvest, Holiday and Chinese New Year (generally our favorite, and the most exotic – imagine, for instance, a giant topiary rat). While the rooms at Bellagio have been outclassed by renovations in other hotel casinos and a stay here is no longer all that exciting, definitely stop in to smell the roses (or whatever’s on display at the time. First, though, pick up some kind of recklessly naughty pastry bombe from Jean Philippe Patisserie, located right behind the conservatory.
INFO: 3600 Las Vegas Boulevard South; (702) 693-7111; www.bellagio.com.
2) The big bang
The three-year-old Atomic Testing Museum is on a decidedly unsexy stretch of Flamingo Road a couple of blocks east of the Strip. It’s housed in the sort-of-boring, municipal-looking Desert Research Institute building, and is easy to miss. But for history buffs fascinated with the intrigue that the deserts around the Vegas valley hold, this place is a must-see. Get a serious look at the history of the Nevada nuclear-test site, along with an exhaustive collection of memorabilia from the era when atomic testing was a spectator sport in Las Vegas (a postcard of the Pioneer Club in the 1950s with a mushroom cloud behind it, a cereal-box Lone Ranger Atomic Bomb Ring from 1946, to name two). Listen to first-person narratives from people who worked there, delve into the implications of atmospheric and underground testing, and sit on benches in the bunker-like Silo Theater while viewing a film that approximates the experience of watching an atomic bomb explode. (Brace yourself.)
INFO: $12 adults; $9 seniors, military and children; free for kids 6 and under. 755 East Flamingo Road ; (702) 794-5161; atomictestingmuseum.org.
3) Downtown: True Grit, Cool Art
Las Vegas’s true roots are in downtown’s historic hotels like the El Cortez, Lady Luck, and Golden Nugget. Until fairly recently, the whole area was gritty and overshadowed by the opulence of the Strip (believe us, there’s plenty of grit left). But the old casinos are getting overhauled, new businesses are quickly moving into the gentrifying area, locals crowd places like Downtown Bar and The Griffin and power lunches are happening at Triple George Grill. A 61-acre plot adjacent to the area has even been earmarked for a performing-arts hub, medical center, hotels, casinos and restaurants. The east side of Fremont Street downtown is the area’s newly minted entertainment district. The 2007 facelift in the area included creating wider sidewalks, lighted gateways, and four 40-feet-tall neon signs; a retro nod to old Vegas. The best time to head downtown is on the first Friday of each month (especially in the warmest months) for First Friday. One part carnival – think street performers, local bands, exhibitions (and exhibitionists) – and one part serious art walk, it meanders around the galleries that have set up shop in former warehouses and auto-body shops (download a map at firstfriday-lasvegas.org). Festivities continue well into the morning, and you’ll find out about the many after-parties along the way. Tip: Don’t even think about visiting the area on Saturday before noon; the place is a trash-ridden ghost town until the clean-up crew finally wakes up to help the area recover from the previous night’s party.
INFO:www.vegasexperience.com; www.firstfriday-lasvegas.org
4) Head for the Springs
Considering how much flack Vegas takes for its power bill, you’d be surprised how many serious conservationists live in the valley. It’s leading the way on water conservation in the Southwest, that’s for sure. To see where the Earth People are at, head for this 180-acre protected nature area just a few minutes west of the Strip, whose winding trails and multiple education centers are a giant showcase for energy efficiency and sustainable living. Our favorite thing to do is simply take lunch and walk the trails. But the massive project includes a green Desert Living Center with earth-rammed walls and a water-collecting roof; a living bat cave; and a cool gallery containing a simulation of a flash flood (you actually stand there while water gushes out of the walls and underneath you every half-hour). You can wander the trails for free, through a dramatic desert landscape dotted with cacti, acacia, and mesquite trees, and re-created Pueblo Indian dwellings. But spend the extra money and take the kids into the Sustainability Gallery, which has a truck made completely out of recycled trash, and educational arcade games that let you see yourself on a “green screen” as you make all the right – or wrong – choices for the environment. Construction on the $45 million (and counting) Nevada State Museum should finish on schedule this spring. But’s there’s just one little problem: There’s no money left to actually put in the exhibits and pay the personnel to run it.
INFO: 333 S. Valley View Boulevard; (702) 822-7700; springpreserve.org.
5) The view from Mount Charleston
Just 30 minutes from Las Vegas on US 95, there’s an Alpine village (complete with a lederhosen-clad polka band singing in a mountain-top café). It’s another one of those who-woulda-thunk-it features of the area that surrounds Las Vegas proper. You’ll drive what seems like straight up the mountain (yes, there’s actually decent skiing here in the winter) to Mount Charleston Lodge, at a nearly 8,000-foot elevation in Humboldt Toiyabe National Forest’s Kyle Canyon. Take a seat outside the high A-frame building and order lunch which, we’ll stress, is not about the serviceable lodge-y food (burgers, sandwiches, etc.), but about the view. Come here on a day when it’s hot as the devil on the valley floor, and you can look all the way down from certain areas on the patio to see the heat waves below. Bring a sweater, because it doesn’t just look like the Swiss Alps up here: Temperatures are an average of at least 30 degrees lower than down in the valley.
INFO: 1200 Old Park Road; (800) 955-1314; mountcharlestonlodge.com.
6) Where neon goes to die
“Reclaim. Restore. Remember.” That’s the motto of this nonprofit out to save Vegas’s no-longer-needed signs (and boy, are they many). Glowing examples of the collection are on view high above Fremont Street, and at its private “Neon Boneyard” (which is possible but hard-as-hell to tour as it’s only open by appointment during really irregular hours). The museum, as such, is not so much a museum, but a collection of signs along Fremont Street, rescued and refurbished. Look for the old hacienda Horse and Rider (once at the center of the Strip) and Aladdin’s Lamp. The good news from the Neon Museum is this: La Concha, the clam-shaped hotel lobby that was in danger of being destroyed for years for lack of funding, has been saved. It’s currently being put back together, and will be the central building for the Neon Museum when it finally gets a centralized location.
INFO: Fremont Street East and Las Vegas Boulevard; (702) 387-6366; neonmuseum.org.
7) Where the rocks are red
While there are many places to go for a day of hiking around Las Vegas, the closest – and one of the most spectacular – is the Red Rock Canyon, 20 miles west of the Strip. It’s part of the Mojave desert, and is literally red from the iron oxide built up in the fossilized sand dunes. An easily driveable 13-mile loop, it starts at a visitor center and winds around areas like the Keystone Thrust fault, where gray limestone and red sandstone collide. You might even see some of the wildlife from the car (there are burros, rabbits, coyotes, bighorn sheep, the occasional golden eagle, even bobcats and mountain lions). But the best way to see it is just to pick up a map and take a trail or two – they’re rated in the visitor-center guide for ease. Look for cool features like Indian “handprints” and pictographs at Willow Springs. Try to go on an odd weekday, since even with its many trails, the area can feel crowded on weekends.
INFO: (702) 515-5350; redrockcanyonlv.org.
8) Shopping as sport
Say what you want, but in Las Vegas there are few spectacles greater than its shopping malls. For every taste and budget, the Strip has something to offer, from the truly glamorous to the somewhat glamorous, to the upscale-mall to the so-so. In the last ten years, anybody who was anybody got themselves some sort of promenade, avenue, lane or arcade of shops or, la di da, shoppes. (Tip: If you see a Gap or a daiquiri bar, you’re in the wrong mall. Or in some cases, the wrong part of the mall.) These days, however, all this glitz seems a little off-key – there’s a lot of gawking, and a lot of nervous people standing on empty shop floors. That’s not to say that Vegas’ days as a shopping mecca are over – everyone just wants discounts. Consequently, you’ll find the crowds at – you guessed it – the outlets. Of course, because this is Vegas, there is more than one outlet mall. Don’t be sucked into the glorified strip mall down by the airport; the one you want is Las Vegas Premium Outlets, on the fringes of the downtown area, right off of I-5. What you’ll find: $20 T-shirts and sneakers on clearance at Ed Hardy, 50 percent off at Michael Kors, Anne Fontaine and Coach. Did we mention $15 shirts at Perry Ellis? Or the excellent Burberry store?
INFO: 3500 Las Vegas Blvd South; (702) 893-4800; caesarspalace.com
9) Hidden Art at Wynn
Steve Wynn’s renowned art collection was, for a time, housed in a gallery inside Wynn. Priced at $3 per ticket to see the mind-boggling array of paintings by Warhol, Singer, Manet, Gauguin, van Gogh, and others, it was one of the few bargains on the Strip. Museum tickets on the Strip can top $20 these days. Most of the collection has since been moved into Mr. Wynn’s private offices and the Wynn corporate offices. But you can still see one of the most fabulous art examples, for free, via a couple of twists and turns inside Wynn. Walk into the Tower Suite VIP check-in area and there, sitting out in the open, is one of only four Rembrandt self-portraits in a private collection in the world. “Self Portrait with Shaded Eyes” was painted in 1634, when the artist was 28.
INFO: 3131 Las Vegas Blvd South; (877) 321-9966; www.wynnlasvegas.com
10) Road trip!! (I-15 South)
After a few days in the thick of things, we usually have a hankering for a road trip. Happily, there are plenty of fun things to do within an hour or so of the Strip. And it’s well worth your money to rent a car and get out for a day (see Strategies for rental-car help). One drive we strangely can’t get enough of is the stretch of I-15 between LA and Vegas, which is ALWAYS crowded going north to Vegas on the weekends, but rarely crowded going the other way. Here’s where to go if you want a short-ish detour through the Mojave National Preserve: From I-15, exit at Baker on Cima Road, where you’ll travel through a spectacular Joshua Tree forest. Head through Cima (stop for a cold drink) on your way to Kelso Depot, an otherworldly collection of pink sand dunes, volcanic cinder cones, lava flows and desert tortoises. It’s about 65 miles round-trip from the exit. Once back in Baker, we always stop for gyros (and the over-the-top faux Hellenic décor) at the Mad Greek, the endearing diner which has both fans and foes, and a strange little Mexican menu, just to make sure there’s something for everyone. Most of the food is great, but it’s always crowded and totally unceremonious. If you are put off by plasticware, chaos, the occasional buzzing fly and being stared at by 50 plaster Greek goddesses, it’s probably not for you. Also stop for a taste test and to replenish your jerky supply at Alien Fresh Jerky, which is not so much made of Aliens as it is close to Area 51, thus combining two classic themes: outer space and dried treats. We like the Hot No Sugar flavor, but they have samples of all the varieties.
INFO: The Mad Greek: 72112 Baker Boulevard; (760) 733-4353; lunch for two, $25. Alien Fresh Jerky: 72242 Baker Boulevard; (877)-254-3635