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Mirage Volcano
When the Mirage's fiery trademark - a 100ft (30m) artificial volcano - erupts with a roar, it inevitably brings traffic on the Strip to a screeching halt. Look for wisps of smoke escaping from the top that signal the fiery Polynesian inferno is about to begin.
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Museum Of The American Cocktail
Delve into the liquid origins of American mixology, from the pre-Prohibition era to the modern day. Witty historical exhibits fill an elegant side lounge at Commander's Palace restaurant, which offers 25¢ martini weekday lunches to put your newly acquired knowledge to immediate use. Check online for cocktail seminar schedules and to see if the museum has found a new permanent home.
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Neon Museum
Plaques tell the story of each sign at this alfresco assemblage of vintage neon. Sparkling genie lamps, glowing martini glasses and 1940s motel marquees brighten up this otherwise bleak slice of downtown, especially inside the Neonpolis and on alleys of Fremont St further west. Tours of the giant 'boneyard' of rescued signs are by appointment only.
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Neonopolis
The crown jewel of a downtown redevelopment effort, the Neonopolis shopping and entertainment complex is most notable for its collection of vintage neon signs. At the alfresco Neon Museum, (www.neonmuseum.org) plaques explain their history.
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Pinball Hall Of Fame
Next to a discount cinema far east of the Strip, this wacky museum lets you play its vintage pinball, video-arcade and carnival fortune-teller games, all dating from the 1950s to the '90s. Don't forget to read the handwritten cards curating the priceless collection. Profits from every quarter you drop into the slots go to charity.
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Shark Reef
Despite billboards advertising a great white shark looking oh-so-menacing, you won't actually see any great whites at M-Bay. But this walk-through aquarium is home to over a thousand submarine beasties, including jellyfish, moray eels, stingrays and yes, some sharks. Other rare and endangered toothy reptiles on display include some of the world's last remaining golden crocodiles.
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Siegfried & Roy's Secret Garden & Dolphin Habitat
All of the feats of conservation bragged about on the free audio tour can't compensate for enclosures built much too small for animals who roam the world's wildest places, like snow leopards, black jaguars, white lions and tigers. The Atlantic bottlenose dolphin pools are painfully cramped, too.
Read more about Siegfried & Roy's Secret Garden & Dolphin Habitat
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Sirens Of Ti
The laughably spicy Sirens of TI show, a mock sea battle fired up by pyrotechnics, witnesses a clash of the sexes pitting buxom temptresses against renegade freebooters in the cove outside TI (Treasure Island).
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Stratosphere Tower
The world's highest thrill rides await, a whopping 110 stories above the Strip. Big Shot straps riders into completely exposed seats that zip up the tower's pinnacle, while Insanity spins riders out over the tower's edge. Views from X Scream are good, but the ride itself is a dud - save your dough for Romance at Top of the World lounge.
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Vegas Art Museum
Fans of contemporary art revel in this imposing white edifice filled with light and cutting-edge exhibitions from across the country and abroad. A Smithsonian affiliate, it focuses on the art of the Southwest. Original works are sold at the gift shop.
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Vegas Cyber Speedway & Speed
The Speedway's Indy car simulators are so real that they excite real Formula One drivers. The artificial racers are bolted to hydraulic platforms fronting 20ft (7m) wraparound screens that are scary in their realism. Speed, an electromagnetic roller-coaster, slingshots to a top speed of 70mph.
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Venetian Gondolas
Graceful bridges, flowing canals, vibrant piazzas and stone walkways almost capture the romantic Venetian spirit inside the Grand Canal Shoppes, especially when viewed from the seat of a floating gondola; same-day, in-person reservations required.
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Wynn Collection
Casino mogul Steve Wynn's heavyweight fine-art collection - with a dozen original masterpieces by Cézanne, Van Gogh, Matisse, Gauguin, Picasso and Warhol - now graces the walls of his eponymous resort.
