Raise your glass, Las Vegas, you’re the top destination in the world for a night out on the town—another accolade for a city that loves to collect superlatives.
Las Vegas being named Time Out’s top city for nightlife—part of a global survey of what locals love best about their cities—is well deserved. The desert destination has added so many entertainment and nightlife alternatives into what was once a gambling-centric town that it should be applauded for its ability to adapt and change to current trends. These days that means catering to millennials and Gen Z visitors who seek out experiences to share on their social media accounts that aren’t limited to nights out at the bars or dancing in nightclubs.
In my years living in Las Vegas, I’ve seen a lot of change. Here, a night out means many things.
There are shows like ABSINTHE and Atomic Saloon that push both physical and comedic boundaries, an entire compound of immersive activities, museums and walk-through participatory exhibits like the John Wick Experience and Meow Wolf’s Omega Mart at AREA15, and places to challenge friends at mini-golf, axe throwing or darts. And that’s before we even get to an always-packed slate of concerts, theater, comedy and professional sports. So, Las Vegas has plenty of options after dark.
As synonymous with Vegas as they seem now, nightclubs in casino-resorts are actually relatively new here. In fact, they’ve barely hit drinking age. One of the first megaclubs, Pure Nightclub (now OMNIA) debuted at Caesars Palace in 2004 and was joined a year later by Tao at the Venetian. Together, they ushered in the massive celebrity-driven DJ culture that’s still spreading to other resorts today—and is highlighted by one of the city’s biggest annual events: the Electric Daisy Carnival.
Nightclubs aren’t the only game in town. They now compete for attention with downtown breweries, tons of tiki bars and dozens of speakeasies as the city’s most popular places to grab a drink. But concerts and residencies have become the true lifeblood of entertainment for us in Las Vegas.
Take, for example, a recent week in mid-July when we were lucky enough to witness the opening of two new residencies—Kelly Clarkson at Caesars Palace and Backstreet Boys at Sphere—at the same time that Lady Gaga’s Mayhem tour kicked off with three nights at T-Mobile Arena. Not a bad week.
Now granted, Las Vegas is not the bargain it used to be. Paid parking and rising drink prices that hover around $20 have both been mocked online, but visitors generally seem to accept them. On the affordability scale, a majority of respondents to Time Out’s survey thought grabbing a cup of coffee (66 percent) or getting a drink at a bar (57 percent) was affordable in Vegas, but they sour on the cost of theater, music and clubbing with 74 percent of people saying that going out to a nightclub is no longer affordable.
What’s got me most excited right now, though, is what’s happening in the Arts District. Also known as 18b, the 18-block bohemian neighborhood just north of the Strat is a walkable district that’s home to First Friday, a monthly arts festival and block party, along with a collection of bars and restaurants.
We’re seeing the biggest changes here along Commerce and Main Street where several new standout cocktail lounges like Nocturno, Petite Boheme and Doberman have all opened in recent months. You could spend the evening inside the vinyl listening room at Echo-Taste and Sound, sipping Japanese whiskey at Bar Ginza or grabbing a craft beer at one of the breweries in the area. It’s here among the vintage shops, art galleries and performance spaces you’ll find us locals meeting up with each other or accompanying out-of-town friends for a night of barhopping—and an unforgettable evening that’s literally the best in the world.