10 Best Sights in Downtown, Las Vegas

An intriguing concentration of antiques shops and galleries is found on East Charleston Boulevard and Casino Center Drive, anchored by The Arts Factory. This former warehouse with a colorful mural on the front houses studios and galleries for art of all types, including painting, photography, and sculpture. There's also a bistro on-site and a drop-in yoga studio. The Arts Factory comes alive on First Friday every month with gallery openings, exhibits, receptions, and special events. Preview Thursday, the day before First Friday, offers the same artwork with fewer crowds. Guided tours are available on request (and with a reservation).

The hotel's collection of antiques, artifacts, and collectibles includes Louisa May Alcott's private railcar, stained glass from the Lillian Russell mansion, bronze doors and the facade from the Kuwait Royal Bank, and a variety of Victorian chandeliers. There's even a piece of the Berlin Wall—where else—in the men's room off the lobby. And if you prefer your wild outdoors very tame (and indoors), a bronze wild boar statue should stir your adventuresome spirit. Pick up a detailed brochure and map of the collection at the front desk or bell desk.

The DISCOVERY Children's Museum is one of the most technologically sophisticated children's museums in the entire country. The facility comprises nine theme exhibition halls, all of which are designed to inspire visitors—both children and adults—to learn through play. The star of the show: a 12-story exhibit dubbed "The Summit," with education stations on every level and a lookout that peeks through the building's roof. Parents of the smallest visitors will also love "Toddler Town," an area designed for those who are still crawling or just learning how to walk. "Fantasy Festival," another exhibit, comprises a life-size pirate ship (yes, really), and ample clothes for kiddos to dress up.

Once a (seedy) casino, the Gold Spike was resuscitated as part of the late Tony Hsieh's $350-million Downtown Project. In this case, that means gambling is out and free gaming is in. Gaming, as in shuffleboard, giant versions of Connect Four, and, on the back patio, life-size Jenga and beer pong with soccer balls and garbage pails. There's also a small restaurant, multiple bars (check out the bar truck named Recess), hookah, and more. The place is still a haven for Zappos employees, but the hot spot that bills itself as an "adult playground" is open to the public and has become a popular place for locals, visitors, and hipsters to hang, too, especially during weekday happy hour.

The emergence of the offbeat Las Vegas Arts District (which comprises 18 blocks bounded by South 7th, Main, Bonneville, and Charleston Streets on Downtown's southeastern corner) continues to generate excitement in the city's arts community and, increasingly, among visitors. With a number of funky, independent art galleries in its confines, the area is a growing, thriving cultural hub—think of it as the Anti-Strip. In addition to the galleries—some of which contain impressive collections of locally known and world-famous artists—you'll find interesting eateries, craft cocktails galore, and dive bars to serve the alternative artists, musicians, and writers who have gravitated to the neighborhood. Each month the district hosts a First Friday gallery walk from 5 to 11 pm, with gallery openings, street performers, and entertainment. It's an excellent time to come check out the steadily improving scene for yourself.

If your kids are into animals (or taxidermy), they'll love this museum, where every continent and geological age is represented. You're greeted by a 35-foot-tall roaring T. rex in the dinosaur gallery that features Shonisaurus, Nevada's state fossil. From there, you can enjoy rooms full of sharks (including live ones, swimming in a 3,000-gallon reef tank), birds, cavemen, and scenes from the African savanna. Kids especially enjoy the various hands-on exhibits; the Young Scientist Center offers youngsters the opportunity to investigate fossils and animal tracks up close. After that, tour the Wild Nevada Gallery, where kids can see, smell, and even touch Nevada wildlife. Two-for-one ticket coupons are available online.

Southern Nevada's oldest historic site was built by Mormons in 1855 to give refuge to travelers along the Salt Lake–Los Angeles trail, many of whom were bound for the California goldfields. Left to Native Americans after the gold rush, the adobe fort was later revitalized by a miner and his partners. In 1895 it was turned into a resort, and the city's first swimming pool was constructed by damming Las Vegas Creek. Today the restored fort contains more than half the original bricks. Antiques and artifacts help to re-create a turn-of-the-20th-century Mormon living room.

It wouldn't be Vegas enough to build the world's largest slot machine and just leave it there. Now thrill-seekers can take off from a platform atop the 11-story slot machine and soar over Fremont Street. There are two options to zip: one line that averages 70 feet above the ground and a second that averages 110 feet. If you'd rather just play the big slot machine, you can do that, too. It is Vegas, after all.

This 180-acre complex defies traditional categories, combining botanical gardens, hiking trails, live animal exhibits, an ultramodern interactive museum, and a playground. The overarching theme of the facility is the rich diversity and delicate balance of nature in southern Nevada's deserts. Kids love the simulations of the flash-flood ravine, the re-created Southern Paiute Indian village (complete with grass huts!), and the trackless train, aboard which an engineer explains the role trains played in settling the West. The NV Energy Foundation Sustainability Gallery teaches about eco-friendly living, and a 2016 addition, Boomtown 1905, re-creates a streetscape designed to evoke turn-of-the-20th-century Vegas. There are also a few miles of walking trails that swing you by archaeological sites and may—if you're lucky—bring you face-to-face with some of the local fauna, such as bats, peregrine falcons, and Gila monsters.

The Springs Café provides famished eco-explorers with sustainable choices, like ethically raised cheeseburgers and environmentally mindful salads. The Nevada State Museum, with its famous fossil Ichthyosaur and a number of exhibits on local mining, is on the site (and included with admission) as well.

The 50-foot-tall neon cowboy outside the Pioneer Club has been waving to Las Vegas visitors since 1947 (though, truth be told, he was actually replaced by a newer version in 1951). His neon sidekick, Vegas Vicki, went up across the street in 1980, was retired in 2017, then unretired—complete with her own lounge—in Downtown's new Circa Resort & Casino.