Six or More Free (Or Nearly Free) Things to Do in Las Vegas, That You Need to Know! Part Two
Las Vegas beyond the casinos, continued
Last issue I sent you a full day in the northwest valley, a working orchard, an animal sanctuary, and a peacock park sitting on Ice Age fossils, all within ten minutes of each other. This one covers three more corners of the city, and it ends on the Strip itself, because it turns out even the most famous stretch of real estate in the world has a free version worth knowing about.
The first stop is the Mormon Fort and the Neon Museum, which I’d encourage you to plan as a single evening. The Old Las Vegas Mormon Fort at 500 E. Washington Ave. is the oldest standing structure in Nevada, built in 1855, costs about a dollar to visit, and carries a quiet history that feels remarkable being surrounded by a modern city. The Neon Museum is less than ten minutes away and costs more, around thirty dollars, but moving from an 1855 adobe remnant to a graveyard of the city’s most iconic signs at dusk is one of the genuinely memorable things Las Vegas offers. Book the Neon Museum in advance at neonmuseum.org, it sells out on weekends.
Then there’s the Fremont Street Experience, which I’ll be honest about before selling it too hard. It is free, it is spectacular, and it is not always appropriate for children or adults who prefer their evenings on the quieter side. What happens overhead is the thing. The Canopy, officially called Vegas’ Neon Sky, stretches 1,375 feet above the pedestrian mall and is the largest LED display in the world. Every night starting at six, every building beneath it goes dark and the ceiling comes alive in six-minute synchronized light and music shows on the hour. Three stages run free live concerts every single night of the year. Come after dark and don’t tell whoever you bring about the canopy in advance. Let them look up on their own.
And then the Strip, which earns its place on this list not for the gambling or the spectacle but for two specific experiences that happen to be completely free and genuinely world-class.
The first is inside the Bellagio. Stop in the lobby before you do anything else and look up. What’s covering the ceiling is a work called “Fiori di Como,”
a permanent installation of more than two thousand hand-blown glass flowers covering two thousand square feet, created by Dale Chihuly, arguably the most celebrated glass artist alive. It is one of the significant pieces of public art in the American West and most of the people walking beneath it are looking at their phones. From there, walk to the Conservatory and Botanical Gardens just inside the main entrance.
A team of over one hundred horticulturists changes it completely several times a year and the seasonal installations are genuinely stunning. None of it costs a dollar. Walk in, look up, move through the conservatory, and walk back out.
Cross the pedestrian bridge into Caesars Palace and head to the Forum Shops, which are worth experiencing for their architecture and atmosphere regardless of whether you intend to buy anything.
The sky ceiling introduced in 1992 was designed by Sky Art by Karen Kristin, a painted faux sky that cycles through dawn to dusk lighting and creates the convincing illusion of an open-air Italian piazza overhead. It was genuinely pioneering when it opened and it still works. As you wind through the shops, keep an eye out for the Fall of Atlantis show near the Cheesecake Factory. It runs Thursday through Monday, hourly from noon to 8pm, free, and takes about seven minutes. The animatronics have been there since 1992 and look precisely like animatronics that have been there since 1992, which is either charming or alarming depending on your constitution. Nine-foot talking statues, fire, water effects, a twenty-foot winged dragon. Kids tend to love it. Right beside it is a 50,000-gallon saltwater aquarium with sharks and stingrays that is a genuinely lovely, calming stop after all the pyrotechnics. Both are free. Both are easy to miss if you don’t know to look for them.
The full piece covering all experiences is on EZtravelZ now.
[Read : Six or More Free (Or Nearly Free) Things to Do in Las Vegas, That You Need to Know!]
A tip: The Fall of Atlantis runs Thursday through Monday only. If you’re planning a midweek visit to the Forum Shops, check the schedule before building your afternoon around it. The sky ceiling and aquarium are there every day regardless.
A place worth knowing: The Bellagio Conservatory has dark dates several times a year when the seasonal installation is being changed over. Check the hotel’s website before visiting if the conservatory is your main reason for going.
Two Strip experiences, one downtown corridor, one evening pairing that covers seventeen centuries of Las Vegas history in a single afternoon. All of it free or nearly free. More from the valley soon.
Until then, EZtravelZ