Viva Las Vegas Baby

Without question, Las Vegas is a magnificent land of excess. With its bright lights (perhaps the brightest on earth (as viewed from space,) its 24-hour bars, massive hotels, and more slot machines than you can possibly imagine (over 200,000), the city is brimming with life. However, there is a lot more to Sin City than the vices of the vibrant Strip, and in a few days, you can experience a different kind of Vegas – in addition to those experiences that have put it on the map.

Las Vegas Mob Museum

Dive into Vegas History

The Mob Museum

The National Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement, aka The Mob Museum, is a must-see site with interactive exhibits that take you through the development of organized crime and its fascinating impact on American history and society.

The building itself is legendary. Once a U.S. Post Office and federal courthouse, it was the setting of one of the committee hearings aimed at exposing organized crime.

Inside are artifacts belonging to big-name mobsters. Learn about the mob busters, too, like Elliot Ness, and get an in-depth look at Vegas’s history, its bad-boy past and how it cleaned up. There are a few surprises along the way in this award-winning museum.

Fremont Street (The Original Strip)

Head to nearby Fremont Street to see the original Strip — albeit completely rejuvenated and modernized.

Fremont Street was first built in 1905 and became Las Vegas’ first paved street in 1925. Long before gambling was legalized and the Las Vegas Strip became what it is today, Fremont Street was the centre of commerce and had a lively, albeit illegal, gambling scene.

See some of the original places mentioned in the Museum.

Explore Your Inner Flapper

Underneath the Horseshoe Las Vegas, in the maze of countless shops, lies arguably the best speakeasy experiences in Vegas: The Lock and its sister bar, The Cabinet of Curiosities.

Both are the brainchildren of Imagine Exhibitions, which has brought to life Titanic: The Exhibition, The Hunger Games: The Exhibition, Angry Birds: The Art & Science Behind a Global Phenomenon, and Jurassic World: The Exhibition.

The Cabinet of Curiosities, a bespoke bar, is a fascinating concept. It is a comfortable, cozy, but sophisticated spot, with dozens of cabinets filled with curios from around the world, with a QR code for each, providing its story.

The Lock, whose secret entrance is at the back of the Cabinet, has a locksmith and puzzles to gain admittance. It is a hidden gem. Sip on Prohibition-era craft cocktails, or have an expert mixologist concoct one to your liking in this intimate lounge.

A visit to both bars will leave you feeling a bit badass in that Prohibition kind of way.

Have a Blast at the Atomic Museum

The blockbuster movie Oppenheimer has renewed interest in the atomic era, and there is no better place to explore that than the National Atomic Testing Museum (Atomic Museum) — a Smithsonian affiliate that’s especially poignant and shocking. Come face to face with a real (unarmed) nuclear bomb, experience a simulated bomb blast, revisit atomic pop culture and be moved by the haunting artifacts and photos.

Fuel up at Ferraro’s

Near the Atomic Museum, in a strip mall away from the Strip, is Ferraro’s, an old-school, authentic, family-run Italian restaurant. Don’t let the strip mall scare you away. This restaurant is one of the best. It was recently awarded the highest rating for its wine list by Gambero Rosso, the global authority on Italian wine. With only 20 restaurants worldwide—and just four in the United States with the honour, Ferraro’s is a must. They have happy hour, wine-tasting nights, mouth-watering specialty menus with a wine list that will satisfy every aficionado. It is a delightfully family-run, high-end restaurant with top-notch hospitality and service.

Cirque du Soleil

A trip to Vegas is not complete without Cirque du Soleil. There are six spectacular shows to choose from. O features a massive water tank with incredible acrobatics, The Beatles’ Love and Mad Apple celebrates New York, but without a doubt, the one for Michael Jackson fans is One, which recently celebrated its tenth anniversary. It has all that we love about Cirque: acrobatics, dance and visuals while immersing the audience in the world of Michael Jackson’s music.

  • The talented cast consists of 63 performers representing 17 countries (including Canada, of course.)
  • The quality of the sound would impress Michael himself. Each of the theatre’s 1,804 seats has three speakers — left, right and centre — for 5,412 in total.
  • The lighting is a complicated maze of 39,940 feet of cable — that’s longer than the Las Vegas Strip.
  • There are approximately 1150 costume pieces, and keep an eye out for the “star” costumes — each contains 300 LED lights.
  • The “Dirty Diana” costume is made with over 7000 Swarovski crystals.
  • Close to 2,200 Swarovski crystals are used to illuminate the artists’ faces. The make-up design uses 70 containers of glitter (10 pounds of glitter) every six months.
  • The “Tabloid Junkies” capes are lined with tabloid headlines about Michael Jackson in several languages.
  • The fedora hats used in the show come from the same company that made Michael Jackson’s fedoras.

In short, One dazzles. The Mandalay Bay, where One is playing, is also conveniently close to Ferraro’s, a five-minute cab ride away.

Hoover Dam

A 35-minute drive from Vegas lies engineering brilliance that makes all the Vegas magic happen: the awe-inspiring 1930s Hoover Dam. It stands a whopping 726 feet in height. That is 171 feet taller than the Washington Monument and twice as tall as the Luxor Casino on the Strip. No surprise, the almost 90-year-old Dam is a National Historic Landmark and has been rated by the American Society of Civil Engineers as one of America’s Seven Modern Civil Engineering Wonders.

Without it, Vegas would never have become what it is today. The Dam is breathtaking both for its magnitude and beauty.

The Newer Strip

Soak up the newer Strip on foot, knowing where all that electricity originates. It gives a new perspective to the experience. Stroll down, with a gigantic drink in hand, of course. The enormous sphere you see by the Venetian hotel (and is just off the Strip) is Vegas’ new venue that hosts live music, sports and film events and holds 18,000 people. U2 is playing there until December.

The Strip stretches just over six kilometres. Don’t miss the Bellagio fountain display, the backdrop of many Hollywood and music videos. The fountains and the surrounding lake use recycled water from showers, tubs, and sinks throughout the city. In other words, don’t touch it.

If Martha Stewart grabs you, she has a French restaurant, The Bedford, in the Paris.

The Strip provides endless stimulation.

Sleep

However, sleep you must. With over 156,000 rooms in Vegas with Roman, Egyptian, Venetian or any fantasy themes you can think of, there is no shortage of places to hang your hat. However, skip the Strip, stay away from the chaos and experience a peaceful sanctuary, a mere 15 km away, at the JW Marriott Las Vegas Resort and Spa.

It lives up to the sophisticated and luxurious JW brand and offers an oasis of lush greenery, calming streams and waterfalls. The Spa Aquae is a pampering, blissful escape and the service and packages are outstanding. The resort has multiple dining choices but its signature restaurant, the Hawthorn Grill, is exceptional.

The bottom line is there is so much to Vegas to experience and it is a fantastic city, wherever you roam.

For more information on Las Vegas, visit visitlasvegas.com

Want to explore more of Nevada? Check out this article.

Photos: Courtesy Travel Nevada