Your Complete Guide to Downtown Las Vegas

by Lark Ellen Gould
Last updated: 5:00 PM ET, Sat April 6, 2024

Did you know the City of Las Vegas is not the Las Vegas Strip? For that, you would have to go to the unincorporated City of Paradise.

The City of Las Vegas, which is centered in Downtown Las Vegas, has its own themes, schemes and reasons for being that have little to do with the Strip but a lot to do with weird, wonderful and wild ways to have fun while on a Las Vegas vacation.

For starters, life is less expensive downtown. For seconds, the history to be found there is older than the Strip—make that twice as older than what rose along the desert byway that became Las Vegas Boulevard sometime in the mid-20th century. The games are looser, the come-ons are crazier and the walkways are less crowded—but likely as colorful—as the crushed sidewalks of the Las Vegas Strip. Better yet, if you look hard enough you can find free parking and the mountains and nearby off-Strip attractions, whether urban or natural, are close by.

Thus, for some visitors, a stay in Downtown Las Vegas is a stay that is manageable when frenzy is not the order of the day. For those with a sense of humor or in search of quirkiness, hubbing in Downtown Las Vegas could be just the right combo of odd and odds.

Down for Anything

Filling this order, the City of Las Vegas declared “Down for Anything” the new tagline to describe a spot that is no longer your great grandfather’s favorite getaway.

“Downtown Las Vegas is a place of unlimited potential, and a place where you are not defined by age, education and income, but instead, by how you see the world,” said city mayor, Carolyn Goodman, adding “Downtown Las Vegas is authentic, historic, a little bit edgy, and we wouldn’t have it any other way."

New attractions are bringing in the crowds, if only for happenings that cannot be found elsewhere. This includes Slotzilla, the free-flowing zip line ride that runs under the four-block light show canopy that is the Fremont Street Experience. Some 1,400 thrill-seekers climb the 12-story slot machine-themed platform each day to zoom 800 to 1700 feet with four other brave souls at speeds of up to 45 mph above the meandering crowds.

Odd Museums of Old Vegas

Other attractions are a bit more subtle. They include some wacky museums: The Neon Museum, The Mob Museum and, a bit farther afield, The Haunted Museum – created by Zak Bagans of Ghost Adventures fame.

The Neon Museum, often called the Neon Boneyard, is where all glorious Vegas signage goes to die. But does anything ever really die in Las Vegas? Many of the flashing marquees of yesteryear are alive and well in this neon maze that is best visited at night and makes for a fantastic event backdrop. Or visitors can take the free drive through Vegas neon history along Las Vegas Boulevard via a new corridor of legendary signage from Oakey to Washington Avenues.

The Mob Museum also offers memorable surroundings for events as three floors of lively, immersive and interactive displays have transformed the old Las Vegas Post Office into a timeline of Mafia history, Las Vegas style. Much of that history is still evident in the older hotels and steads along the Las Vegas Strip and the museum clarifies what was what and who was whom with unexpected panache, color, zings and scenes.

As for Las Vegas haunts, there is nothing like the Devil’s Rocking Chair or Peggy the Doll amid hundreds of other possessed paraphernalia to get those goosebumps going. Some three dozen rooms of truly haunted items and other objects that have been party to notable encounters with the unseen are on view for yet another only-in-Vegas experience. The museum is considered part of Downtown Las Vegas but is located somewhat south of Downtown on Charleston Boulevard near the Las Vegas Arts District and a new brew-focused area called 18b.

Downtown Arts and Eating

The 18-block area that is the Las Vegas Arts District is an amalgam of trendy boutiques, second-hand stores, glorified pawn shops, art galleries, art lofts and working spaces, coffee houses, taquerias, bakeries, bars and craft breweries and tap rooms. There, find Brewery Row, which runs along four blocks south of Charleston and features a dozen breweries and tap rooms with fun local fare.

Downtown’s Fremont Street and surrounding streets also offer a bounty of foodie choices. Visitors can take their chance at the Heart Attack Grill if towering burgers, mounds of fries and just about anything else fried is desired. Guests are given hospital gowns as bibs and are served by “nurses” in tight uniforms who are required to spank diners who do not finish their dishes. Death on the spot by Double Bypass Burgers has been reported. Those diners who may be lacking a death wish can head to various casinos along Fremont Street promenade for classic $7.95 prime rib and $11 surf and turf.

But Downtown has its gourmet side as well. Carson Kitchen put real food on the map in this area as a love project by the late chef Kerry Simon. These efforts have been followed over the years by 7th & Carson, VegeNation, PublicUs, Peyote, Vegas Test Kitchen, and a multi-concept restaurant, Oak & Ivy. Container Park, the legacy of Zappos Shoes visionary, the late Tony Hsieh, is a haven for curious meanderings, with museful boutiques and one-of-a-kind libations inside of a fantastical park setting.

Of course, if perambulations amid renegade cannabis stores, Las Vegas kitsch memorabilia, Alien Fresh Jerky shops and assorted fish spas is not of interest, one can always wander through the tried and true Downtown Las Vegas casino hotel – including several that put the city on the map, the railway map that is. The city was a gambling stop on the way to Salt Lake City at the turn of the last century. One of the places to go, the Golden Gate Casino Hotel, circa 1906, still stands and allows its hotel guests to check into history. Although much has changed, one can still sense the ghosts of yesteryear in these walls. Retro travelers will also want to wander through the El Cortez – where very little has changed since it opened in 1941, The Golden Nugget, the Fremont, the California and Binion’s.

Circa Act: Where to Stay in Downtown Las Vegas

What’s new in Downtown Las Vegas will not disappoint, and that is Circa Resort & Casino. This 512-room newbuild opened in late 2020 and anchors the downtown area with a 35-story fender-shaped tower that can be seen for miles around. Circa, an adults-only playground is the home of Vegas Vickie, the giant neon counterpart signage to famous Vegas Vik, who still waves visitors into the Golden Nugget but without the “Howdy Paahdner” sound effects. Find Circa at the edge of the Fremont Street Experience, across Fremont Street from the Golden Gate Casino Hotel.

“We wanted to give people an incredible reveal,” said Circa CEO Derek Stevens, who also owns the redone D Las Vegas and Golden Gate Hotel & Casino. “The Stadium Swim entrance is 110 feet above ground level. So as you enter from the top you walk into a huge outdoor aqua theater stadium and arena. We really tried to design with ‘wow’ moments in mind.”

Top attractions here are the casino area, which presents the largest sportsbook anywhere, and the Stadium Swim stadium-sized arena of pools, huge viewing screens and game-style seating complemented by pool cabanas and chaise lounges. Then there is Barry’s Downtown Prime, which brings back vintage steakhouse glamour with hovering waiters, flames at the tables preparations, semi-private booths, wine cave sittings and other private dining set-ups, and plenty of surf & turf menu options. And equally impressive are the guestrooms.

“The whole thing really started because I felt that if I ever had the chance to own a casino, I would have certain things in place -- one of which was making sure that the bathrooms were exceptionally clean,” said Stevens, adding that having some unusual attractions inside the property as well as large rooms with great views and some unexpected amenities also go a long way.

Things work at Circa – no broken escalators here. Elevators are managed with the tap of a key card and appear quickly. Rooms are large (403 to 752 square feet with single or double king beds) with ample bathrooms sporting his and her sinks and a large shower with heavenly rain shower pressure. A desk, a TV with mostly news and sports channels, a cushiony oversized chair and smart lighting add to the room amenities list. Views overlook the vast desert to the northwest or the Stadium Pool area and Downtown to the southeast.

Few hotels are fee-free in Las Vegas, so the $35 fee added to the nightly rate is not unexpected. But guests do have complimentary access to the Stadium mega-pool area and also, because security is a priority at Circa and everyone’s identification is checked every time they enter, guests know their stay is safe and protected and the casino and public areas remain free of crowds and riff-raff. The garage, too, does not come free. A $ 25-a-night parking pass is issued on check-in and guests know their car is safe in the ‘Garage Mahal,” a clean and convenient temple to the automobile that Circa built with contemporary art installations and a great soundtrack.

“I think the one great thing about Vegas is every hotel has its own its own model. The city provides an incredible amount of diversification. People have asked me how I compete against, say, a $4 billion Cosmopolitan or a $7 billion City Center area. And my answer to that is, pretty well because we all have a little bit of a different business model,” said Stevens, who learned early on that Circa’s gold was in its humongous sportsbook and its bar none Stadium Swim. So the property spends much of its focus on bringing in the partiers and keeping the games going on the 10-story, 14-million-megapixel LED outdoor screens.

The rest of the action in Downtown Las Vegas happens very much at ground level with talented busker acts, sidewalk bars and bistro spots and an ongoing roving circus of Las Vegas at its wildest mixing with a constant flow of visitors who are “down for anything.”

Watch for free concerts in the evening hours under the Fremont Street Experience canopy, as part of the city’s Downtown Rocks program. Nightly live music ranging from local talent to international superstars gets going as the sun goes down and does not stop until well after the midnight hour.

More on Las Vegas and Downtown Las Vegas at VisitLasVegas.com.

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