17 Hidden Las Vegas Spots It Would Be a Sin to Miss

An insider's guide to Sin City's less obvious attractions.

by Kavya Ram Mohan

17 Places

Behind the dazzling facade of its recreated “world wonders,” bright lights, and 24/7 entertainment, Las Vegas hides a less flashy side that has little to do with gambling or casinos. There’s a whole city worth exploring beyond the most obvious attractions on the Strip, where gems such as a flamingo habitat, neon boneyard, and atomic testing museum can be found. Here are 17 alternative Vegas spots we bet you’ll love.

Las Vegas, Nevada

The Neon Museum

This is the final resting place of some of the most recognizable neon icons of Vegas, from the original Aladdin’s lamp to Binion’s Horseshoe and the Golden Nugget.

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Las Vegas, Nevada

Flamingo Habitat

In the exotic gardens of the Flamingo Hotel, dozens of pink Chilean flamingos and other rare birds prance across the verdant landscape.

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Las Vegas, Nevada

Pinball Hall of Fame

Inside an unassuming building is a treasure trove of bright flashing lights, dinging bells, and furious button-pushing—an incredible collection of vintage pinball machines can be played at 25 cents a pop.

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Las Vegas, Nevada

Dig This

At this construction-based theme park guests can spend hours digging trenches up to 10 feet deep or building large earthen mounds.

Seven Magic Mountains

Brightly colored, 30-foot-tall totems, built as a public art exhibit by the Swiss artist Ugo Rondinone, stand like neon beacons lighting up the desert sky just outside Las Vegas.

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Las Vegas, Nevada

Atomic Museum

Housing over 12,000 artifacts, this sobering museum showcases the history of the Nevada Test Site, where a number of nuclear tests were carried out.

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Las Vegas, Nevada

Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area

These sandstone rocks that reach more than 3,000 feet into the sky are colored by iron oxide that has built up over centuries, and can be seen from the Strip.

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Las Vegas, Nevada

St. Valentine's Day Massacre Wall

The Mob Museum contains the bullet-riddled wall from the St. Valentine's Day Massacre, bloodstains enhanced for your viewing pleasure. The cunning trap laid for Bugs Moran and his men launched Al Capone straight into the spotlight.

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Las Vegas, Nevada

'Akhob'

Hidden at the back of a French luxury store is a total color immersion art installation. The piece consists of circular openings leading into two huge chambers filled with slowly changing, rotating light.

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Las Vegas, Nevada

Burlesque Hall of Fame

This is one of the only collections in the world dedicated to the seductive art of burlesque dancing, and one of the few museums that prefers visitors be over 18.

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Las Vegas, Nevada

Lonnie Hammargren's House

An indoor Barbershop Brothel, an underground mine, a mini Taj Mahal, a T-rex replica, and an animatronic tiger are just a few of the things you might find in this ever-growing wunderkammer, curated by former lieutenant governor Lonnie Hammargren.

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Las Vegas, Nevada

Kiel Ranch

An 1870s ranch with a history of mystery and murder, and later an oasis for pioneers, rodeo stars, and divorcees, Kiel Ranch was abandoned and left for dead, until the city reopened it for exploration.

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Las Vegas, Nevada

Hand of Faith Gold Nugget

The biggest gold nugget in existence, the Hand of Faith, was discovered in 1980 by an Australian taking a new metal detector out for a whirl. It is displayed in the Las Vegas casino creatively named... the Golden Nugget.

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Las Vegas, Nevada

Casa de Shenandoah

Wayne Newton's sprawling estate is now open for visitors to catch a glimpse of the horse stables, lakes and ponds, exotic animal enclosures, vintage car collection, and a custom passenger plane built right into the wall, just for effect.

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Las Vegas, Nevada

Atomic Liquors

This bar frequented by the likes of the Rat Pack and Barbra Streisand was the very first to get a Las Vegas Tavern License, and can be recognized by its famous neon sign.

Las Vegas, Nevada

Frankie's Tiki Room

The tacky tropical island atmosphere of Frankie’s is complete with thatch and bamboo decorations and lit with appropriately dim lights inside pufferfish lighting fixtures.

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Las Vegas, Nevada

The Big Edge

Nancy Rubins’ “Big Edge” sculpture combines over 200 aluminum canoes, kayaks, rowboats, and sailboats into one huge flowering cluster of art.

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