See the Canyon from a new high Don’t have a whole day to spare to visit the Grand Canyon and the magnificent Hoover Dam? No problem, take a 30-minute ride to the Papillon helicopter base and get on board one of their chopper flights that offer you a completely new perspective. Visitors to the Canyon are often confused about which rim of the Canyon to visit for the best views. This chopper ride takes that indecision out of the equation and offers gorgeous aerial views of the Grand Canyon, and the Hoover Dam en route. You also get an hour to make a stop (usually at the West Rim) and grab breathtaking images of the Grand Canyon. The choppers fly over Lake Mead just outside Vegas, a popular picnic spot. If you still crave for the craggy outdoors, drive a few miles out of Vegas to the Red Rock Canyon located in the Mojave Desert.
Go museum hopping Museums in Vegas? We’re not kidding. Vegas is home to two of the coolest new museums in America. If you grew up on a diet of mafia flicks, you will feel at home at the Mob Museum, housed in a building that was once a federal courthouse. Start your tour at the courtroom, where the high-profile Kefauver Committee hearings were held in the 1950s as part of a massive crackdown against organised crime. High-tech theatre presentations, rare artefacts and interactive exhibits combine to make this an immersive experience. Las Vegas’ neon signs were the pride of this city before the digital signage era. The neon signs might have disappeared from the skyline, but have found pride of place at the unique Neon Museum. The outdoor Boneyard is the centrepiece of this large space, and boasts of a collection of 150 signs. Join one of the well-informed local guides, as they take you all the way back to the 1930s, with fascinating Vegas tales of some of these iconic signs.
Now everybody can be a ‘High Roller’ Everything is bigger in Las Vegas, and the city’s newest attraction that opened just over a year ago underlines this now-famous adage. The cleverly named High Roller is an observation wheel – more than 100 feet higher than the London Eye, and one of the most recognised landmarks in the Las Vegas skyline. The High Roller is an incredible 550 feet tall and comprises 28 air-conditioned pods that can carry 40 passengers each. There’s no better time than dusk to grab a vantage point in one of these pods that offer gorgeous 360-degree panoramas that stretch beyond downtown Vegas. You can view the rocky, arid landscape that encircles the city and also watch Vegas light up as the sun goes down.
Eat all morning at Vegas’ never-ending buffets Each hotel here is a world in itself, often with a few thousand guest rooms and a couple of dozen restaurants. It’s not unusual to find visitors who spend entire days within the comfort of their hotels. The buffets at the hotels are another spectacle, with mind-boggling spreads that cost lower than your average Sunday brunch buffet in an Indian luxury hotel. None of the staff rush you out of these buffet restaurants, even if you linger on for a few hours. The Bacchanal Buffet at Caesar’s Palace is among the finest. You might be tempted to try Zach Galifianakis’ TheHangover stunt (like I did) where he asks the receptionist: “This isn’t the real Caesar’s Palace is it?” The Bacchanal Buffet is spread over 25,000 sq ft and serves over 500 items every day, including their legendary red velvet pancakes and mini wagyu sliders.
Go back to the original downtown Over the last couple of decades, ‘The Strip’ has become the busiest boulevard and the new centre of town. The original downtown might not have the glitz and bright lights of the strip, but a whole host of attractions have put the spotlight back on the real downtown. The Container Park is a retail and dining destination, with almost all tenants housed in large containers that were designed for transportation. The Container Park also serves as the gateway to a cool street art project that has transformed the neighbourhood. Large murals crafted by graffiti and other artists from the world over have enveloped walls in and around the Vegas Art district, adding a cool, arty vibe to downtown Vegas.
