Las Vegas in 3 days

The Neon Museum (770 Las Vegas Boulevard North; the outdoor museum of decommissioned Las Vegas casino neon signs, covering the complete history of Las Vegas sign art from 1930 to the present); the Boneyard (the outdoor collection of 250+ unrestored neon signs from demolished or renovated Las Vegas casinos: the Moulin Rouge (Las Vegas's first racially integrated casino, 1955 — the sign is one of the most historically significant objects in Nevada history (the Moulin Rouge Agreement (a 1960 civil rights meeting held at the Moulin Rouge that ended segregation in Las Vegas casinos) was a landmark moment in American civil rights history before the Civil Rights Act)); the Stardust (1958–2006 — the most elaborately lit casino on the Strip for 30 years; the Stardust's neon sign stretched 78m long — the longest neon sign in the world at its peak); the Sands (1952–1996 — where the Rat Pack (Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr, Peter Lawford, Joey Bishop) held their famous 'Summit' performances in 1960 that defined the Las Vegas showroom era)). Adults $20.

The Mob Museum (The National Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement; 300 Stewart Avenue, downtown Las Vegas — in the former federal courthouse where FBI hearings on organized crime were held in 1950–1951); the museum covers the full history of American organized crime (the Prohibition era (1920–1933): the Chicago Outfit (Al Capone's organization); the Lucky Luciano National Crime Syndicate (1931); the Five Families of New York (the Genovese, Gambino, Bonanno, Lucchese, and Colombo families — the New York mafia that controlled American organized crime from 1931 to the RICO prosecutions of the 1980s–1990s); the Las Vegas connection (the Las Vegas casino industry from 1946 to 1983 was substantially controlled by organized crime: the Flamingo (built by Bugsy Siegel in 1946 — the founding act of modern Las Vegas) was backed by Meyer Lansky's National Crime Syndicate; the Teamsters Union pension fund (controlled by Jimmy Hoffa) financed the construction of the MGM Grand, Caesar's Palace, and the Stardust through loans arranged by organized crime)). Adults $30.

Las Vegas Arts District (the 18b Arts District — 18 square blocks around Main Street and Charleston Boulevard, 3km west of the Strip; the most authentic neighborhood in Las Vegas (away from the casino monoculture of the Strip and Fremont)); the district: (1) the Container Park (the shopping and entertainment complex built entirely from repurposed shipping containers and Greystone structures; the centrepiece: a 35-foot praying mantis sculpture with flamethrower antennae that shoots 20-foot fire plumes every hour on the hour at night); (2) the independent art galleries (approximately 30 galleries in the 18b district, open for the First Friday art walk (the first Friday of every month: 18:00–23:00, free admission to all galleries, live music in the streets, local food trucks)); (3) the Coffee Culture (the independent coffee shops of the Arts District — the antithesis of the Starbucks ubiquity of the Strip: PublicUs (the best coffee in Las Vegas), the Velveteen Rabbit (specialty craft cocktails and sustainable food)). Free.

Las Vegas shows (the Las Vegas entertainment industry generates USD 2.5+ billion/year): (1) Cirque du Soleil (the Canadian avant-garde circus company has 4 permanent Las Vegas shows: O (at the Bellagio — the aquatic show performed in and around a 5.7 million-litre pool; the most critically acclaimed show in Las Vegas history; $99–175); Mystère (Treasure Island — the original Cirque Las Vegas show, 1993; $75–125); Ka (MGM Grand — the narrative martial arts show; $69–145); Mad Apple (New York-New York — the newest show (2022), an adult-oriented comedy-music-acrobatics hybrid; $65–130)); (2) Headliner residencies (Las Vegas casino residencies: from Elvis Presley (1969–1976, International Hotel) to the modern era (Adele at Caesars Palace 2022–2024; Lady Gaga at MGM Grand 2024–2026; check current listings))). $65–175.

Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area (25km west of Las Vegas; accessible by car (hired car or Uber $30 each way) or by the daily guided bus tour from the Strip ($50–80 includes transport and a ranger guide)); the geology (the Calico Hills — the red and cream sandstone formations of the Aztec Sandstone (Jurassic period, 180 million years ago; the Aztec Sandstone was deposited as massive sand dunes in a Sahara-like desert; iron oxide staining of the grains produced the red colouration; the cream bands are where the iron has been leached out by groundwater))); the scenic drive (the 13-mile one-way loop road through the conservation area; viewpoints at: (1) Calico Hills (the most dramatic red sandstone formations; the colour contrast between the red Aztec Sandstone (left) and the grey Keystone Thrust (right — where the 65-million-year-old Lewis Overthrust (one of the largest thrust faults in the world) pushed older limestone over younger sandstone)); (2) Willow Spring (a desert spring supporting a riparian (waterside) ecosystem in the otherwise arid Mojave)). Hiking trails (the Calico Tanks trail (2.5 miles return, moderate; ends at a natural water tank (tinaja) with the Las Vegas skyline visible in the distance). $15/car.

Hoover Dam (50km southeast of Las Vegas on US-93; accessible by car (hired car or organised bus tour (USD 40–80 from Las Vegas Strip hotels)) or by the Big Bus Las Vegas day tour ($50)); the dam (the Boulder Canyon Project — the largest construction project of the New Deal era: 21,000 workers (1931–1936); 3.25 million cubic metres of concrete (enough to pave a two-lane highway from San Francisco to New York and back); 96 workers died during construction (the official count); the final cost: $49 million (1936 dollars — approximately $1.1 billion in 2026 dollars)): the statistics: the dam is 221m tall (the tallest dam in the western hemisphere at its completion), 379m wide at the top, and holds Lake Mead (the largest reservoir in the United States by volume: 36.7 km³ when full — the reservoir is fed by the Colorado River and provides water and electricity to 40 million people in Nevada, California, Arizona, and northern Mexico). The penstock towers (the cylindrical intake towers in Lake Mead — each 164m tall (the top is at the reservoir's high water mark of 375m above sea level; the bottom is at the turbine level) — are the most dramatic visual element of the dam. Adults $30 for the Power Plant Tour.

Las Vegas buffet (the Las Vegas casino buffet is an American cultural institution (the concept was pioneered at the El Rancho Vegas casino in 1946 to keep customers in the casino instead of leaving for restaurants; the first all-you-can-eat buffet (the Midnight Chuckwagon Buffet) cost $1 for all courses; the modern Strip buffet (the Wicked Spoon at the Cosmopolitan, closed 2021; the current leaders: the Bacchanal Buffet at Caesars Palace ($65 weekend dinner) — 500 dishes including crab legs, prime rib, 15 desserts; the Buffet at the Wynn ($80) — smaller and higher quality)); the buffet format: (the modern Las Vegas buffet is the only context in the United States where you can eat 5-star seafood (Dungeness crab, shrimp cocktail, oysters) alongside all-American comfort food (mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, pot roast) and international cuisine (the international station: sushi, dim sum, tacos) in one meal for $50–80)). $50–80 per person.

The Las Vegas Strip at midnight (the peak hour for tourists on the Strip: the sidewalks of Las Vegas Boulevard between Bellagio and the MGM Grand are so densely crowded from 22:00–02:00 that walking is slower than a normal pace): the pedestrian experience: the Bellagio Fountains (every 15 min after 8pm), the M&M's World store (a 4-story temple to M&M candy), the Hershey's Store, and the display windows of the MGM Grand; the card slappers (the workers who stand on the Strip sidewalk handing out cards advertising escort services — a legal (because the cards are treated as printed matter under the First Amendment (US Supreme Court ruled in Sarver v. Chartier (2016) that the card slappers' activity is protected commercial speech)) but illegal service; the cards are a Las Vegas cultural phenomenon); the Las Vegas High Roller (the observation wheel at the LINQ promenade: the world's tallest observation wheel at 167m; a 30-minute rotation, open until 02:00; $25 standard, $45 with open bar). $25 High Roller. The walk is free.