Ranked List
Unusual Things to Do in Las Vegas: 10 that aren't gambling
The most unusual thing to do in Las Vegas is one you can't do. A 15,000-square-foot Cold War mansion sits under a suburban lot, and it's a private residence, so the vents in the front yard are the whole visit. Everything below you can walk into. Start at the Neon Museum, where the signs the Strip discarded stand in rows, then work down through nuclear history, cursed objects, and a bulldozer you are allowed to drive. Ten things to do in Vegas that have nothing to do with gambling.
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Three acres of the signs the Strip threw away, more than 150 of them standing in a lot. Tours are guided and need booking, and the evening slot lights some of them back up.
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The stretch of the Cold War when mushroom clouds were a local tourist draw, told properly. East of the Strip near the UNLV campus.
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A 1938 mansion packed with cursed objects and the Dybbuk box. Guided tours only, 16 and over, and you sign a waiver on the way in.
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You operate a full-size bulldozer or excavator in a sandbox built for adults. Several hundred dollars and a mandatory half-hour safety briefing, and worth both.
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Hundreds of playable machines from the 1940s onward, most still a quarter a go. Sitting across from the Welcome to Las Vegas sign.
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An indoor animatronic forest inside Sam’s Town, mechanical wolves included, with a laser and water show a few times a day. It costs nothing.
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The world's second-largest whole gold nugget, 875 troy ounces of it, in a hallway case past the tables at the Golden Nugget. Free to walk up to.
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A 40-foot metal praying mantis that breathes fire from its antennae after sundown, with a drum circle to start it off. Downtown at Container Park.
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The city's first tavern license, and the roof where drinkers watched atomic tests in the 1950s. Opens at 4 p.m. on Fremont Street.
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A century of striptease kept in costumes and personal artifacts, out in the Arts District. Ten to fifteen dollars depending on who you are.
Know before you go
The Neon Museum is guided tours only and wants booking ahead, with evening slots for lit signs. Zak Bagans needs a signed waiver, runs as a guided tour, and is 16 and over. Dig This costs several hundred dollars a session and includes a mandatory 30-minute safety briefing. Atomic Liquors opens at 4 p.m. daily and closes at 2 a.m. Sunday through Thursday, 4 a.m. Friday and Saturday. Mystic Falls Park, the Hand of Faith, and The Mantis are all free. The Burlesque Hall of Fame closes on major holidays, so check before crossing town.
Common questions
What is there to do in Las Vegas besides gambling?
Plenty, and most of it is off the casino floor. Our top three are the Neon Museum, the Atomic Museum, and the Zak Bagans Haunted Museum. If you would rather do something than look at it, Dig This puts you in an excavator and the Pinball Hall of Fame charges a quarter a game.
Which unusual things in Las Vegas are free?
Three on this list cost nothing: Mystic Falls Park inside Sam’s Town, the Hand of Faith gold nugget at the Golden Nugget, and The Mantis at Container Park. Off the list, the Bellagio chocolate fountain, the Big Edge sculpture at CityCenter, Big Rig Jig downtown, and the Flamingo Habitat are free to walk up to as well.
What is there to do off the Strip?
Six of these ten. The Atomic Museum is east near UNLV, the Burlesque Hall of Fame is in the Arts District, Mystic Falls Park is out at Sam’s Town, and Atomic Liquors, The Mantis, and the Hand of Faith are all downtown.
What is worth doing in downtown Las Vegas?
Atomic Liquors on Fremont Street for the first tavern license in the city, The Mantis at Container Park for the nightly fire show, and the Hand of Faith nugget inside the Golden Nugget. All three sit within a short walk of each other.