When you think of Las Vegas, you probably think of the Strip with its big-name hotels and hot-ticket shows.
But, really, everything that made Vegas, well, Vegas started downtown – and now’s the time to head back there.
Thanks to the growing popularity of the annual Life is Beautiful Music & Art festival and the desire to build community by Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh – who moved his company into Las Vegas’ former City Hall – downtown is experiencing a major resurgence.
Downtown Project is leading the way toward a new Golden Age for Downtown Vegas, and these ten places live up to its core values: Make Epic Happen, Embrace Adventure, Do What’s Right and Come Together.
Once you’ve experienced Downtown Las Vegas, odds are you’ll be back.
Downtown Lip Smacking Foodie Tour
Downtown Lip Smacking Tour — Photo courtesy of Lip Smacking Foodie Tours
One of the best ways to get to know an area is through its food, and the award-winning Lip Smacking Foodie Tours gives you VIP treatment at up to five of the top indie restaurants in Las Vegas’ newest culinary destination.
For two and a half hours, you eat your way through some of the best, chef-driven venues, tasting three or four signature dishes at each one. In between stops, you’ll walk off some of those calories on a guided tour packed with insider info about the sights and tastes that are changing the Las Vegas dining scene.
The Mob Museum
Get a different kind of history lesson at the Mob Museum — Photo courtesy of The Mob Museum
Think you know all there is to know about the Mafia? Fuhgettaboutit! This must-visit museum is filled with hundreds of artifacts and interactive exhibits that tell the true stories of some of the most shocking crimes and criminals in our nation’s history.
Dedicated to the history of organized crime and law enforcement, the Mob Museum immerses you in the lives of shady characters like Al Capone and Lucky Luciano, and brings you back in time to Prohibition and the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre (you can see the actual bullet-riddled wall there). By the time you leave, you’ll feel like part of the Family.
The Neon Museum
Boneyard at the Neon Museum — Photo courtesy of The Neon Museum
In Vegas, old neon signs don’t die; they simply move on to their next engagement in the Boneyard at the Neon Museum, where you can take a guided tour of them.
There’s so much history – and art – in this outdoor exhibition space which houses more than 200 classic neon signs. You’ll recognize some of Las Vegas’ most iconic symbols from Caesars Palace, Binion’s Horseshoe, the Golden Nugget and the Stardust. Although most of them are in pieces, if you opt for a night tour, you can really appreciate the 11 signs which have been fully restored and are shining in all their neon glory.
Downtown Container Park
Downtown Container Park — Photo courtesy of Downtown Project
This open-air shopping and entertainment center is literally built out of repurposed shipping containers, and has become downtown’s gathering place. You’ll know you’re there when you see the 55-foot tall praying mantis which was originally created for Burning Man and which now shoots fire from its antennae each night.
The best seats in the house, whether you want to watch the live shows or simply enjoy a feast of a brunch, are in Downtown Terrace Kitchen & Bar, where monkey bread is a must, burgers are topped with fried green tomatoes, bacon comes in a flight and mimosas, Bellinis and Bloody Marys are bottomless.
El Cortez
El Cortez is a Las Vegas landmark — Photo courtesy of El Cortez Hotel & Casino
The longest continuously running hotel and casino in Las Vegas, El Cortez has been the cornerstone of downtown for more than 75 years. In 2013, it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Treat yourself to a steak at Siegel’s 1941, named after Bugsy himself, who actually owned El Cortez for a short period of time along with his colleagues, Meyer Lansky, Gus Greenbaum, and Moe Sedway. Because the restaurant is such a hit and it’s open 24 hours a day, don’t be surprised – even at 3 a.m. – to see the place, uh, mobbed.
Downtown Grand Hotel & Casino
Citrus Grand Pool Deck at Downtown Grand — Photo courtesy of Downtown Grand Hotel & Casino
Downtown Las Vegas is such a mix of old school cool and hip new vibe, and no place represents that better than the Downtown Grand.
The rooms have a vibrant, contemporary feel and Freedom Beat – with a menu created by Hell’s Kitchen Season 12 Champion Chef Scott Commings – offers great food and music 24 hours a day. But if you’re looking for the real action, head to the roof, where there’s always a pool party going on.
Life is Beautiful mural art
Felipe Pantone mural — Photo courtesy of Life Is Beautiful
The Life is Beautiful festival has incorporated art into every one of its events since it started in 2013, with big-name artists traveling from around the world to transform downtown Las Vegas into an outdoor museum.
The murals are stunning and powerful, portraying both style and substance, and they add real depth to the Vegas scene. Life is Beautiful makes sure downtown is beautiful, too.
Donut Bar Las Vegas
Decadent, coconut-topped donuts — Photo courtesy of Donut Bar Las Vegas
If you want to know the real reason people go back and forth between Las Vegas and San Diego so often, it’s because those are the only two cities where Donut Bar is located. Their donuts are amazing!
With flavors like Butter Beer (complete with Harry Potter glasses), Big Poppa Tart (yes, there’s a Kellogg’s Pop Tart ™ inside!) and Monte Crisco (a donut stuffed with ham and cheese), they look as decadent as they taste, and are worth every single calorie. Check out the daily menu and either order online or get there early. When they sell out, they’re done for the day and that is considered bad luck in both San Diego and Las Vegas.
SlotZilla at Fremont Street Experience
SlotZilla Zoomline — Photo courtesy of Fremont Street Experience
If you’re going to go zip lining in Las Vegas, it might as well be out of the world’s largest slot machine, right?
The SlotZilla Zip Line starts off 77 feet up and takes you halfway across the Fremont Street Experience, a five-block pedestrian-only entertainment district. If you want to up the ante, you can take the "Zoomline" at 114 feet high, flying superhero-like across the entire Fremont Street Experience and landing at the historic Golden Gate casino. Only in Las Vegas!
Binion’s Gambling Hall
One million dollars at Binion's — Photo courtesy of Claudia Homberg
There are a million real dollars stacked in a pyramid at Binion’s and they’re just waiting for you to sidle up and imagine they’re yours. In fact, Binion’s encourages you to take a photo and they’ll even give you a souvenir frame for it.
This may be the closest you’ll ever come to all that cash, so smile, send the picture to your friends and milk the fantasy for all it's worth.
