Free Things to Do in Las Vegas That Are Actually Worth Your Time

Las Vegas runs on a simple trade: resorts spend heavily on spectacle to get you through the door, hoping you will eat, drink, shop or gamble once you are inside. The result, for visitors, is a lot of free entertainment. Not all of it is worth your time. This is a short list of free things we would send a friend to see, grouped by area so you can cluster them into walks instead of zigzagging.

The center Strip: Bellagio to the Venetian

This is the densest stretch of free sights in the city, and a good first afternoon.

• Fountains of Bellagio. A choreographed water show on an 8.5-acre lake, with more than 1,200 fountains and jets reaching 460 feet. According to Bellagio, performances run every 30 minutes on weekday afternoons starting at 3 PM, from noon on weekends and holidays, and every 15 minutes from 8 PM to midnight. The show can be cancelled for weather. The sidewalk along the Strip is the classic viewing spot.
• Bellagio Conservatory and Botanical Gardens. A large indoor garden whose displays change with the seasons. Walking through is free. Check Bellagio's site for the current theme, and note that Dale Chihuly's glass ceiling in the lobby is worth a look while you are there.
• The Venetian's Grand Canal Shoppes. Painted-sky ceilings and indoor canals; free to stroll even if you buy nothing.
• The Cosmopolitan. Contemporary art installations and video displays throughout the property, rotating over time.

The Fountains of Bellagio are the one free attraction we would tell almost every first-timer to catch at least once. After dark, with the 15-minute rhythm, it is easy to fit into any evening.

The south Strip

• The Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign. The most photographed landmark in town, south of Mandalay Bay. Go early, because the lines grow through the morning. People posing as official photographers work the area for tips; you are not obliged to use them.
• Luxor's atrium. Walk in and look up. The pyramid's interior is one of the largest open spaces in a building anywhere.
• The free tram between Excalibur, Luxor and Mandalay Bay. Not an attraction on its own, but it saves a hot walk.
• Pinball Hall of Fame. A large collection of playable machines. Entry is free; you pay in quarters to play.

The north Strip

• Wynn's gardens and Lake of Dreams. Seasonal floral displays and a show of light, projection and water. Show times vary by season, so ask at Wynn or check its site.
• Resorts World. Large-scale art and digital displays in a newer resort.
• The STRAT area. You can see the Tower from the street for nothing; going up is ticketed. The north Strip at night covers what else is nearby.

Downtown and Fremont Street

Downtown is compact and has its own free circuit. The headline is the Viva Vision canopy over the Fremont Street Experience: an LED screen 1,375 feet long and 90 feet above the pedestrian mall, with 16.4 million pixels. Featured light shows are free and run at the top of each hour from 6 PM to 2 AM, about six to eight minutes apiece, according to the Fremont Street Experience. Live music stages and street performers fill the rest of the evening. We cover the area properly in our Fremont Street and downtown guide.

Also downtown: the neon signs and vintage casino facades are free to look at, and the Arts District has galleries and a monthly First Friday event. Confirm dates before you plan around it.

Free transport that doubles as sightseeing

The free trams, the pedestrian bridges and a walk through a resort lobby or two all count as sightseeing here. For the details of what runs where, see getting around Las Vegas. A Deuce day pass is cheap, and watching the Strip go by from the upper deck of a bus at night is a decent budget tour in its own right.

Three walking routes

Center Strip, mostly indoors (3 to 4 hours)

Start at the Bellagio Conservatory, catch a fountain show outside, cut through the Cosmopolitan to look at the art, then continue up to the Venetian's canals. Good in any weather because most of it is air-conditioned.

South end (2 to 3 hours)

Ride the tram from Excalibur to Mandalay Bay, walk or ride to the sign early, then come back through Luxor. Worth doing in the morning before the heat.

Downtown (3 to 4 hours)

Arrive in late afternoon, wander the neon and casino facades, then position yourself under the canopy for an evening show. Stay for another if the first one wins you over.

What "free" does not cover

Food, drinks and transport are not free, and neither is parking at many resorts. Complimentary drinks in casinos are for people actively playing, and you are expected to tip. Many of the best-known attractions, such as observation decks, aquariums and zip lines, are ticketed. Free in Las Vegas means free to look, not free to spend a day.

When you are ready to spend on one big night, our ranked shows guide and budget guide help you pick where. Families, in particular, can mix free sights with one ticketed show; our family guide shows how.