Free Things to See in Vegas
Even if you don’t gamble, Las Vegas is a great place to vacation; it seems as if every casino on the strip has a great show you can go see! Of course, many of these shows are very expensive – and worth it! The Cirque de Soleil, for example, commands over a hundred dollars per ticket (although half off discounts and other great Las Vegas deals are available if you know where to look; for example, see the MGM player’s club booth for a discount coupon for Ka), and employ a huge number of highly trained, extremely talented performers.
But suppose you want to spend as little as possible while still having a great time. Many rooms off-strip can be had for very low prices, and even on-strip some of the rates are very reasonable; the Paris, for example, is a luxury hotel where the standard room (of course, they don’t CALL it a standard room) goes for $60/night when booked through their website. So how can you get some great entertainment without spending a fortune? While you can save quite a bit by planning ahead – for example, many show tickets are available at steep discounts at the Tix 4 Tonight booths scattered around the strip – here is a list of free attractions on the Las Vegas Strip.
Bellagio Fountains
Probably the best known attraction on the strip, the fountains in front of the Bellagio go off every hour until 8pm, then every fifteen minutes until midnight; the show starts at 3pm Monday through Friday and noon on weekends. Water sours as high as 460 feet, dancing in tune to music personally chosen by Steve Wynn. The best place to watch is from in front of the Bellagio, although you can also get a good view from the Eiffel Tower across the street.
Bellagio Conservatory
Another cool (and free) Last Vegas attraction is also found at the Bellagio: the conservatory. This is a horticultural show that changes by the season; the show is different every year. During the five yearly changes, the staff of 120 has seven days to transform 13,573 square feet of plants. The Bellagio actually has a 40,000 square foot off-site greenhouse to store the plants before the exhibit is prepared (along with a 24,000 square foot warehouse for props). During the show, more than 10,000 flowers are switched out every two weeks (old plants are mulched and used by the Bellagio).
Volcano at the Mirage
This could legitimately claim to be the hottest show in Vegas: a man-made volcano erupts even night. When I’ve been to this show, the heat from the eruptions has sometimes been so intense that it makes me want to step back! While this originally opened in 1989, it has undergone recent (Dec 2008) renovations and is extremely realistic. The volcano erupts every 15 minutes from 7pm to midnight; for the best view, arrive by 6:30 and park yourself directly in front of the hotel, near the concierge desk.
Tip: When taking photos of things that are lit up at night, such as the Bellagio fountains and the Mirage volcano, don’t use a flash! Your flash isn’t powerful enough to reach what you’re trying to photograph (which has plenty of professionally staged lighting already) and serves only to weaken your photos with ambient light, as well as annoying others trying to take photographs or just enjoy the show.
Lions at the MGM Grand
Every day, several lions are brought in from the 8 1/2 acre ranch MGM maintains outside of Vegas to delight visitors to the hotel; nearly three dozen lions work six hour “shifts” in the lion habitat. Not only can you get right up by the lions (with a clear partition separating you, of course) but you can even walk underneath them, through a clear walkway! Generally the lions don’t do much, but sometimes the handlers will go inside and play with the lions, which can be fun to watch. You can also get your picture taken touching a lion cub – this is either $20 or $30, I forget, for a photo with up to two people. The cubs are still pretty big; my wife got nervous due to the one we were touching eyeing my hat!
Tip: As with outside shots, avoid using a flash to take photos of the lions, as the light will simply reflect off of the walls and dirty up your picture. Instead, use a wide aperture.
Art Galleries (everywhere on the strip)
The first time my wife and I went to Vegas together, we spent several days just walking up and down the strip visiting art galleries. I believe every major hotel on the strip has at least one, in a variety of styles. While we couldn’t actually afford to buy anything, it was fun to look; they had everything from new three-dimensional art back to the old masters. Steve Wynn’s personal collection at the Bellagio has an entry fee, but as the others are mostly stores, you can browse for free.
There you have it: a roster of things to do in Vegas that should keep you busy and entertained for days! A huge amount of work has gone into the various free Las Vegas attractions, and it shows; this is my favorite city to wander around in. Even if you enjoy gambling, don’t feel you need to spend all your time in the casino, and if you don’t gamble, don’t feel that Vegas is a waste of time; there’s an awful lot to do!
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