5 Fantastic Attractions And Unique Places In Las Vegas
Seven Magic Mountains
Seven Magic Mountains
You may have driven past a collection of fun, colorful boulders south of Las Vegas. This is Seven Magic Mountains, an art installation by Swiss Artist Ugo Rondinone. It’s purposefully placed between the vast mountains and the bright lights as a transition along the road to Las Vegas.
Some of the mountains up close
The boulders make for a very fun place to stop by and visit. Most people end up seeing them as a first taste of Vegas’ charming installations, and they’re just unique enough to make people curious. Who put these here? Why are they colored this way? What are they doing out in the desert?
It’s a stunning installation that looks very impressive up close. Overall, it’s a unique introduction to Las Vegas, and one of the more popular places too. Check it out if you’re driving up from the south!
To start, Fremont Street was where Las Vegas began many decades ago. It was a thrilling collection of hotels and casinos favored by everyone, including Hollywood stars. Now the bustling street is a glittering shopping mall, blending remnants of its historic charm with new attractions. It’s still one of the most unique places in Las Vegas, but there have been many changes to it over the years.
Beyond the most notable hotels and casinos, the Fremont Street Experience is also a hub of music and live activities. In addition to that, it contains over three venues for free live music, rides like an overhead zipline, and much, much more.
Fremont Street Experience
The most bedazzling addition to the old street is the curved, overhead canopy above. Not unlike the Las Vegas sphere, this canopy contains over 130,000 square feet of LEDs, showing off a magnificent light show every night.Â
It gets a little trippy in the evening, especially with the more surreal light displays. The circular shape makes it feel like you’re standing under a collection of stars. The diverse lights and sounds show off what it would’ve felt like wandering through Fremont Street decades ago.
Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center (a Frank Gehry Building)
Many great artists end up making the most unique places in Las Vegas. Famous architect Frank Gehry’s work on this clinic for brain health is a good example.
Lou Ruvo Center
Gehry initially declined offers to build in Las Vegas but accepted this project because it reflected a noble cause. The Lou Ruvo center shows off a series of melting buildings held up by metal panels and window grids. It looks more like abstract art than a building, which is exactly the vibe Gehry was looking for.
The building is dedicated to research on degenerative brain diseases. As such, the main theme of Gehry’s architecture is to keep memories alive, reflected in the building’s chaotic shape. It’s a noble cause and you can read more about it on the Keep Memory Alive campaign website. Â
Area 15
Inspired by the famous Area 51 conspiracy theories, Area 15 is a mind-bending experience near the Strip. It’s a space with entertainment venues and artistic installations you can visit for free.Â
These venues can range from simple bars to alternate reality dodgeball. Most of these venues are player vs player attractions, so it’s even better if you bring a friend. You can tell the place is inspired by sci-fi, and it does everything to try to immerse visitors into that experience.
Area 15
You can also choose to just walk around and enjoy the installation pieces if you wish. There are neon trees and surreal collections everywhere, and it’s a special experience only found in Las Vegas.
Another fun part of Area 15 is its more bizarre, dream-like venues like Museum Fiasco or Illuminarium. One of which I visited and found really special:
Omega Mart
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Meow Wolf’s Omega Mart stands out as an Area 15 experience with its mix of real life normalcy and bizarre setpieces hidden inside. It also features a full story and various art installations, and costs around $49 to enter the first time.
Omega Mart
At first glance, this might seem like a normal grocery store, but it couldn’t be further from the truth. You’ll notice small, strange things happening all the time. Parts of the milk aisle appear to glitch like a computer screen. Hands come out of the fruit pyramids. Several doors in fridges leading to a completely different universe behind the walls.
The experience also has a mystery story involved. You’ll have to get your ID card and unlock the secrets of this strange place. Even if the store already looks massive, it gets even bigger the further you go in. This is one of the easiest and most fun ways to spend your time in Las Vegas without drinking or partying!Â
Hotels
When it comes to hotels, you won’t be short of any good options in Las Vegas. I’ve talked about some of the more photogenic hotels in a previous article (there are a lot!) but here’s a recap of some of my favorites:
The Venetian Resort: A Venice-themed resort complete with the sprawling rivers and singing gondolas! It’s also home to many delicious cafes and restaurants, along with beautiful hotel rooms.
The Venetian Resort
Conrad Resort World Las Vegas: A sharp and stylish resort with beautiful, artistic rooms. They have all the amenities you can ask for and a gorgeous view of Las Vegas from the windows. It’s all in all a comfortable place to stay after a wild night exploring the city.Â
Conrad Resort World Las Vegas
Excalibur Hotel: A colorful hotel in the style of a medieval kingdom. Not only does it have a whimsical theme and fun outdoor pools and activities, it also has many affordable rooms for the regular visitor. I can definitely see kids enjoying these fairytale castle towers especially.Â
Excalibur Hotel
