19 Best Things To Do On The Las Vegas Strip

Start at the welcome sign and work north to The STRAT. Apart from Cirque du Soleil, whose shows sit at four resorts, the stops run roughly south to north along Las Vegas Boulevard, and stop 19 is a helicopter flight over all of it. The welcome sign, the Bellagio fountains, the Eiffel Tower's light show and the Flamingo's wildlife habitat cost nothing. With young kids, plan around the aquarium and the Flamingo's wildlife habitat.

1. Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas Sign

The Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign stands in the median of Las Vegas Boulevard South, past the southern end of the resorts. Betty Willis designed it in 1959, and the round letters spelling WELCOME stand for silver dollars, a salute to the Silver State.

Solar panels have powered its lights day and night since 2014, so a night photo works as well as a morning one. Walk around to the back before you leave. It reads “Drive Carefully, Come Back Soon”.

2. Shark Reef Aquarium at Mandalay Bay

On a hot afternoon, head indoors to Shark Reef Aquarium. It keeps more than 2,000 animals, and its centerpiece is Neptune's Fury, a sunken shipwreck you stand inside while sharks and sea turtles swim past.

Kids can reach into the touch pool and feed stingrays and horseshoe crabs from age 5. The shark feed and the sea turtle feed take older kids, from age 13. Same-day tickets for the feeds are sold in person only.

3. The Big Apple Coaster at New York-New York

The Big Apple Coaster wraps around New York-New York's mock Manhattan skyline, with a 180-degree heartline twist and dive along the way. It tops 67 mph. Riders must measure 54 inches without shoes, and anyone shorter can wait in the Big Apple Arcade next door.

Coaster tickets start from $25.

4. M&M'S Las Vegas

Next to MGM Grand, M&M'S Las Vegas sells candy and merch. It covers 28,000 square feet on four levels, and the personal printer lets you put a message or a Las Vegas image, the welcome sign included, on your own candies.

5. Coca-Cola Store Las Vegas

Skip the T-shirts and go straight to The Fountain, the tasting bar inside the Coca-Cola Store. Its Around the World Tray lines up 14 sparkling and still Coca-Cola drinks from abroad.

The bar also pours mocktails and floats, and you can have a Share a Coke can printed with a name.

6. Eataly at Park MGM

Eataly is an Italian food hall inside Park MGM, with pizza and pasta counters, gelato and the sit-down Toscana Ristorante. It opens at 7 a.m. every day. Pasta classes and wine tastings run on the store's events calendar.

7. Fountains of Bellagio

The free Fountains of Bellagio play across the lake out front, set to music and light, and you watch from the railing on the boulevard. Bellagio counts more than a thousand fountains, with water shooting as high as 460 feet.

Bellagio publishes this schedule:

• Monday to Friday: every 30 minutes from 3 p.m., then every 15 minutes from 8 p.m. to midnight.
• Weekends and holidays: every 30 minutes from noon, then every 15 minutes from 8 p.m. to midnight.

Aim for after 8 p.m., when the gaps are shorter and the lights are on. Bad weather can cancel the outdoor display.

8. Bellagio Conservatory & Botanical Gardens

The Bellagio Conservatory is just off the hotel lobby. Facing the front desk, you'll find it directly to your right. The 14,000-square-foot garden is rebuilt for every season, from Lunar New Year to the holiday display.

It closes between installations, so check the show and dark dates before planning around it.

9. Cirque du Soleil

Cirque du Soleil has several resident shows on the Strip, each at a different resort. With kids under 3, Mystère is the one listed for all ages; otherwise pick by taste:

• "O" at Bellagio: an aquatic production, with the acrobatics staged around water. Listed as family friendly for ages 5 and up.
• KÀ at MGM Grand: an adventure story told with aerial acrobatics. Listed for ages 3 and up.
• Michael Jackson ONE at Mandalay Bay: Cirque describes it as acrobatics, dance and visuals set to Michael's music.
• Mystère at Treasure Island: acrobatics and dance set to taiko drums, billed as Cirque's original production. It's the one listed for all ages.

10. Eiffel Tower Viewing Deck at Paris Las Vegas

The Eiffel Tower at Paris Las Vegas faces Bellagio, so its deck looks out over the fountain lake. The tower is a half-scale replica with its viewing deck 46 stories up.

After sunset, the tower runs a free light show every 30 minutes until midnight.

11. The Forum Shops at Caesars Palace

Designer window-shopping sits inside Caesars Palace, at the Forum Shops. The mall has more than 145 stores.

12. Flamingo Wildlife Habitat

The Flamingo Wildlife Habitat keeps a flock of Chilean flamingos at the Flamingo, alongside brown pelicans, koi, sturgeon and turtles. Its four-acre garden of streams and waterfalls is free to walk through.

Bring kids with questions to the Keeper Talk at 10 a.m. daily. Smoking isn't allowed in the habitat.

13. High Roller Observation Wheel

The High Roller is the observation wheel at the end of The LINQ Promenade. A single turn takes 30 minutes and lifts you 550 feet above the center of the Strip.

Daytime tickets cover noon to 5 p.m., and Anytime tickets run until close. Happy Half Hour tickets are 21 and over only. For the lights, book an evening ride.

14. Fly LINQ Zipline

You launch from a 12-story tower and zip 1,121 feet down The LINQ Promenade, ending at the foot of the High Roller. Fly LINQ calls itself the Strip's only zipline.

Riders must weigh 60 to 300 pounds. Kids 12 and under fly alongside a ticketed rider aged 13 or older.

15. Gondola Rides at The Venetian

A singing gondolier poles you down an indoor Grand Canal, past cafes and under bridges, on Level 2 of the Grand Canal Shoppes. Gondola rides at The Venetian also have an outdoor route along the Strip. It runs on a seasonal, weather-permitting basis.

Book online in advance for the lowest price.

16. Sphere

Sphere is the giant globe just behind The Venetian, at 255 Sands Ave, and standard-admission guests walk in by the Venetian Bridge stairway. Events inside may include seat haptics, wind, mist and scent.

Leave the backpack at the hotel: Sphere is a “no bag” venue, with only small clutches and fanny packs allowed. All ticket sales are final.

17. Fashion Show Las Vegas

At Fashion Show Las Vegas, well-behaved dogs are welcome in the common areas and at dog-friendly stores. The mall holds more than 250 retailers.

18. The STRAT Tower

At the north end, The STRAT is a 1,149-foot tower with an indoor observation deck on level 108 and an outdoor one on level 109. It bills itself as the tallest freestanding observation tower in the United States.

Two rides launch from the top:

• Big Shot fires you 160 feet straight up at 45 mph from a platform near the top of the tower. It can be added to a Tower Experience ticket for $5.
• SkyJump is a controlled, open-air jump from 829 feet, slowed by a decelerator line all the way down.

19. Maverick Helicopters Night Flight

For the whole Strip in one view, Maverick Helicopters flies a night tour over the boulevard. Maverick allows free cancellation up to 72 hours before the flight.

Getting between stops

Walking from the sign to The STRAT in one go isn't realistic in summer heat. The Las Vegas Monorail covers the middle stretch. Its trains come every 4 to 8 minutes, and the Flamingo / Caesars Palace and Harrah's / The LINQ stations serve stops 11 through 14.