Day one | day two | daY three | day four
Las Vegas
O ne of the greatest things about Las Vegas: There’s truly something for everyone. Themed resorts of all kinds? Check. Award-winning restaurants? Check. Luxurious spas? Check. World-class entertainment? Big check there. Add to the mix endless pools, stellar opportunities for outdoor exploration, and, of course, gaming, and you’re talking about a veritable wonderland of fun.
Whatever motivates your travels — food, outdoor adventure, wellness, or music and theater — you’ll find more amazing choices in Las Vegas than you’ll know how to handle. So we’ve curated an insider’s itinerary that works all of the above into four epic days. We’ve mixed and matched each of these categories into every day, but of course, every traveler is different. Whether you follow our lineup to the letter, or you move the pieces around like chips on a roulette table, you’ll go home feeling like you’ve won big.
Kick your visit into gear with an hourlong SWEAT60 HiiT class at the fitness center inside The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. Like all such classes, the full-body interval workout includes bursts of high-intensity exercise and builds muscular endurance and core strength with bodyweight exercises, resistance bands, and plyometric training. Like very few, however, this class unfolds with a spectacular view of the Las Vegas Strip below.
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The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas
TPC Las Vegas
Day one
Day two
Day three
Day four
Plan your trip
Breakfast sandwich from Eggslut | credit: Erik Kabik
Sphere
Summer House
Lapis Spa and Wellness
Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area
Petrossian Bar at Bellagio Resort & Casino
AREA15 Radiance
Salt grotto at Canyon Ranch spa + fitness
River Mountains Loop
Play Playground
Reffen Street Food Market
Photo credits: Lukas Bukoven (left); Reffen - Copenhagen Street Food (right)
The BLOX Building (left); The Black Diamond (right)
Photo credit: Daniel Rasmussen
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Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area
Play Playground
Once you’ve allowed for a well-deserved break (after both the workout and the ensuing feast), head to Sphere, the largest spherical structure in the world. The experience starts in the atrium with talking robots and state-of-the-art electronics everywhere. In the theater, you’ll find daily showings of Postcard from Earth, a science fiction movie from director Darren Aronofsky. The movie plays out like an IMAX on steroids—the screen takes up more than half of the wall, the seats move, and air blows in your face. (Sphere books concerts, too, as you may have heard a little something about.)
Sunset in the desert is spectacular, and there’s no better way to experience it than on the back of a horse. An outfitter named Cowboy Trail Rides offers several different guided rides on the western side of the Las Vegas Valley; the two-hour sunset ride also happens to include a barbecue dinner. You’ll meet near Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area and take the horses through the canyon floor and across the mesa. If you’re lucky, you’ll also spot a wild burro or jackrabbit — in addition to that signature pink and orange sky.
There are several epic golf courses in the Las Vegas Valley, such as TPC Las Vegas, in the Summerlin neighborhood — about a 20-minute drive from the Strip. This public course was designed by Bobby Weed and Raymond Floyd, and was once home to the PGA Champions Tour Las Vegas Senior Classic. Over 7,016 yards, players get breathtaking views of ochre-red mountains, high desert, and the Las Vegas Strip — a great way to start a day.
Relaxing is an artform at Lapis Spa and Wellness inside Fontainebleau Las Vegas, the newest casino resort on the Las Vegas Strip. While this oasis has a solid menu of traditional treatments, a standout experience is the Celestial Waters, a co-ed, choose-your-own-adventure blend of vitality pools, “snow” and “star” showers, steam rooms, and more. The constant movement between hot and cold is designed to soothe your body—and your soul.
Cabaret goes upscale at Voltaire, a new club inside The Venetian Resort Las Vegas. This 1,000-seat theater has become known for its micro-residencies with music sensations such as Kylie Minogue, Christina Aguilera, and, more recently, Jason Derulo. On nights when the headliners aren’t performing, a show titled Belle de Nuit mashes up disco and circus into jaw-dropping performances.
To start the day in awe of the desert you’re visiting, hike in the portion of the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area on the western edge of the Las Vegas Valley. Out here, 17 miles from the Strip, popular trails such as Calico Tanks wind past Joshua trees through a landscape that makes you feel like you could just as easily be on another planet. But then you get the occasional — very cool — reminder that you’re very much in the desert southwest, whether you catch view of the Vegas Strip, or of petroglyphs that date back thousands of years.
No post-hike snack is more rewarding than a frozen treat from Luv-It Frozen Custard, a Las Vegas institution in the shadow of The STRAT Hotel, Casino & Tower since 1973. Vanilla and chocolate are always available, and two to three other special flavors (including M&M, and apple pie) change daily. If your treat cravings lean more upscale, swing by the Petrossian Bar at Bellagio Resort & Casino for afternoon tea with scones, sandwiches, pastries and — of course — caviar.
Another context in which creativity knows no bounds: Absinthe, a hilarious and irreverent show under a tent in front of Caesars Palace, with late showings most nights that you can easily catch after your AREA15 adventure. The theater-in-the-round experience is one part vaudeville, one part comedy. Over the course of the 90-minute performance a raunchy ringmaster introduces circus acts that might include acrobatics, tap dancing, contortion, and more. Word to the wise: If you don’t want to get called on stage to participate in the debauchery, sit toward the back.
Start the morning by conquering the 40-foot climbing wall at Canyon Ranch, the cavernous spa inside The Venetian Resort Las Vegas. Different foothold paths are designed to challenge climbers of every skill level, and the spa provides helmets and shoes, so you don’t have to worry about bringing your own. Afterward, recharge with a juice from Truth & Tonic, the on-site all-vegan café.
Keep the recreation theme going back in town at the Play Playground, an adults-only bar inside Luxor Hotel and Casino. The venue is set up like a giant obstacle course, and you can compete against other bargoers in brain games and physical challenges that evoke the old Nickelodeon show, “Double Dare” (but without the slime). To give you a better idea: One game requires you to run a gauntlet composed of giant swinging poker chips.
End your sojourn with dinner at a local institution: Esther’s Kitchen. The restaurant sits at the heart of the Arts District, arguably the hottest neighborhood in town. Here, Chef James Trees and his staff churn out handmade pastas, delicious pizzas, and craft cocktails driven by Italian spirits. Alternately, if you want to check out the newest celebrity-driven restaurant on the Strip, head to Wolfgang Puck’s Caramá inside Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino for a more elevated take on Italian food.
None of which is to say that Las Vegas has ceded its supremacy in the all-you-can-eat buffet space. In fact, the city itself has become a limitless feast, whether you're hungry for amazing gastronomy, wellness options, live entertainment or outdoor adventure. However you choose to divvy up your days here, you'll come out ahead.
Cowboy Trail Rides
After class, head to the Mezzanine level of the casino for breakfast at Eggslut, a restaurant from Chef Alvin Cailin that has achieved cult status with one-of-a-kind breakfast sandwiches. The star of the menu is the Fairfax: scrambled eggs, chives, caramelized onions, cheddar cheese and spicy mayo on a homemade brioche bun. Other sandwiches incorporate more elaborate ingredients such as Wagyu tri-tip steak and potato puree. Just be prepared to wait a bit while your heartrate comes down after class: Lines here can get long as the morning goes on.
Belle de Nuit at Voltaire
For lunch, check out the new Summer House inside Durango Hotel & Casino. Trees in the middle of the dining room extend and amplify the concept behind the California-inspired menu; salads and entrees here are built around the freshest ingredients available every week. Regulars (of whom there are already plenty) also swear by the bakery, which churns out giant and delectable cookies every morning.
Absinthe
To recenter yourself before a big evening out, check out the calendar of ticketed mind-body offerings at the AREA15 Radiance program, where wellness looks a bit different from what you’re used to — and that’s the point. A class titled “Rhythm Ritual: The Art of Sacred Movement and Sound,” for example, combines traditional yoga with dance, sound healing, and primal movement. You may also find anything from breathwork sessions to ecstatic dance — all of it wildly imaginative. And sometimes psychedelic.
Caramá
Now you’re properly warmed up for the drive to Boulder City, where you’ll want to rent a bike and pedal at least some of the 36-mile River Mountains Loop. This paved bike trail (loosely) follows the shores of Lake Mead and Lake Las Vegas before turning through the foothills near Henderson and winding its way back toward the Hoover Dam. This is one of the best ways to see the sights in the east and southeast corners of the Las Vegas Valley.
pulled from VLV website; okay to use?
The Strip
Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area
Binion's in Downtown Las Vegas
