Las Vegas Convention Center – Experiences

With its many luxurious hotels and casinos, Las Vegas is one of the world’s premier cities when it comes to entertainment. Given its position as a global center for vacationing and nightlife, Las Vegas sees some of highest amounts of tourist traffic in its downtown area and on the iconic Strip.

The Las Vegas Convention Center’s proximity to the Strip and downtown Vegas means there won’t be a shortage of fun things to do and tasty foods to try during your visit. While at the Las Vegas Convention Center, you can experience the thrill of skydiving without ever setting foot in a plane at Vegas Indoor Skydiving or try a platter of exotic cuts at The Bazaar by celebrity chef José Andrés. As a city that’s sustained by service, there’s a ton to see and do in Las Vegas when you’re at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

 

Morning

Noon

Night

 

Morning

Whether you’ve got an event to attend at the Las Vegas Convention Center early in the morning or you want to get right into exploring the city, grabbing some breakfast before heading out for the day is a good call.

M&M Soul Food Café has a slew of southern breakfast options to help start your day, such as liver and onions or pork sausage with a side of grits and a biscuit. It’s not every restaurant where you can order catfish and have a side of French toast. Even though breakfast technically ends at 11 a.m., M&M’s chicken wings and waffles can be ordered all day long.

If you’ve enjoyed M&M’s breakfast, be sure to keep them in mind for later on in the day. They’re only a few blocks up the street from the Las Vegas Convention Center, so you won’t have to worry about finding someplace to eat if you need to return to the center quickly.

After breakfast, make your way over to the National Atomic Testing Museum. There you’ll find exhibits that show the history and development of the first atomic bomb at a location that’s less than 100 miles from Nevada’s original test site.

Stocked throughout the museum’s 8,000 square feet of space are a myriad of artifacts, including photos, videos, and declassified scientific reports. Amidst the documents you’ll find other experimental oddities on display, including the Davy Crockett Weapon System, a recoilless projectile system for small nuclear weapons that was never fully developed for combat.

Las Vegas Convention Center

Exhibits on the Atomic Age depict how everyday life was during the Cold War with the looming threat of mutually assured destruction. In addition to learning how early nuclear arms came about during the famous Manhattan Project, the museum also has interactive theater experiences where you can take part in a simulated atomic blast at both ground zero and at a distance.

On your way out, check out the gift shop. It’s stocked with keepsakes like a stuffed Albert Einstein doll and a mushroom cloud snow globe. You can also purchase a commemorative brick to become part of the museum’s walkway and support its future as a hub of history.

Once you’ve walked off your breakfast at the museum it’s time to learn to fly at Vegas Indoor Skydiving. At this attraction you can experience the sensation of falling thousands of feet with no parachute or airplane required.

Vegas Indoor Skydiving’s facility has a wind tunnel driven by a 1,000-horsepower motor that lets you defy gravity for minutes at a time. With wind speeds that reach up to 120 miles per hour, you can let your inner adrenaline junkie out as you remain suspended safely above the ground.

 

Noon

Las Vegas Convention Center

Once you’ve touched back down to Earth, it’s time to get lunch, and Tacos el Gordo is only a block away from Vegas Indoor Skydiving. A local chain with over 40 years of history, Tacos el Gordo is one of the finest counter-service restaurants in Las Vegas, with an emphasis on fresh ingredients and authentic dishes.

The signature dish at Tacos el Gordo is right in their name; their tacos are all served on sturdy, freshly made corn tortillas that allow for heaps of delicious meats and toppings. Beef alone is served in a variety of different styles ranging from head and guts to more standard cuts like brisket.

Though tacos are their specialty, Tacos el Gordo also serves other Mexican favorites like customizable quesadillas, tostadas on a double tortilla, and suadero, a dish consisting of beef brisket atop a corn tortilla. In addition to household name soft drink choices, Tacos el Gordo also stocks Mexican fountain drinks and sodas that come in flavors like pineapple and guava fruit.

If you’re not a fan of Mexican food you don’t have to worry, the Filipino population in Las Vegas means that you’ll have plenty of authentic Filipino joints to choose from. The closest Filipino restaurant to the Las Vegas Convention Center is Goldilocks, an intimately sized restaurant serving favorites from the Philippines including fried pork and shrimp dumplings and tamarind soup with tropical vegetables.

Goldilocks’s also has an in-store bakery selling fresh made breads and desserts. While their bakery specializes in sweets like egg pie, banana bread, and leche flan, savory loaves stuffed with chicken or pork are also for sale in addition to pocket sized empanadas.

There are a number of shooting ranges who use their proximity to the Vegas Strip to try to lure in patrons from the mobs of tourists, but the Strip Gun Club is located just off the beaten path and is all the better for it. The Strip Gun Club prides itself on being first-timer friendly and has instructors that ensure a comfortable learning experience for all visitors of their ranges with no permit required.

You can choose your preferred package based on the type of firearm you’d like to try out, from machineguns and sniper rifles to Old West-themed packages with revolves and lever-action rifles. In addition to premade packages, you can also build your own from the club’s selection if you want extra time with your favorites.

With escape rooms becoming one of the most popular trends in recreation, you’re in luck that the highest-rated escape room venue in the city is also the one that’s closest to the Las Vegas Convention Center.

Escapology has a total of nine different scenarios to choose from that span hundreds of years and thousands of miles. Scenarios range from a mansion murder mystery taking place in the Scottish Highlands to a race against the clock as your submarine sinks to the depths of the Atlantic. Stopping by on any day from Monday through Thursday means you’ll get a discount too.

 

Night

When it’s time for dinner, meat lovers will be in for a real treat at The Bazaar by José Andrés. The Bazaar has a menu that caters to your inner carnivore with eclectic cuts that supply both unique flair and flavor, including their 40-ounce Kobe beef ribeye and merino lamb rack.

Just about every prime cut of beef is offered at The Bazaar, from bone-in strip loin, skirt steak, and flat-iron Angus. Seafood lovers can try their grilled Maine lobster or sample oysters and urchins with pickled ginger and lemon from their raw bar.

If meats don’t strike your fancy, you can opt for Thai cuisine with an extensive vegetarian menu at Komol Restaurant. In addition to featuring a menu that devotes its bulk to vegetarian options, diners can also request that vegan ingredients be used in food preparation for certain dishes too. We recommend starting with their cashew tofu curry and moving on to papaya pad Thai or seafood chow mein, which features a medley of shrimp, squid, and mussels.

In way of desserts, Komol offers authentic Thai treats like lychee berry- and green tea-flavored ice cream and mango sorbet. Their fried banana can also be ordered with or without a side of ice cream or sweet syrup drizzled on top.

Las Vegas Convention CenterYour night out in Vegas would be incomplete without a memorable view, so be sure to take a ride in the High Roller. The High Roller is the tallest observation wheel in the world, and at 550 feet tall it takes a whopping 30 minutes to complete a single revolution.

The cabins on the High Roller allow for customized packages where riders can select their own music and lights. You can even request a private bartender for the full nightclub experience. Appetizers and champagne can also be ordered and rides can be extended to an hour so you can have the best view of Las Vegas for even longer. At the end of your ride, stop at the Total Snapshot kiosk if you want to pick up a commemorative photo of your High Roller experience.

Before calling it a night, you may want to enjoy a cocktail or small bite to eat, so stop by the Peppermill Fireside Lounge on your way back to your hotel. In addition to serving premium wines and having a long list of beers on tap, Peppermill’s cocktail menu has over four dozen concoctions to choose from, including classics like the Old Fashioned and modern innovations like their Strawberry Splurge.

If you’ve brought some help along, you can tackle the 64-ounce signature cocktail of the lounge known as the Scorpion, which features its own ménage of fruity flavors. After you’ve sampled the selection at the Peppermill Fireside Lounge you’ll only be two blocks from the Las Vegas Convention Center, so getting back to your hotel should be a breeze, just as long as you haven’t partied too hard.