Las Vegas Experience
Las Vegas is spectacle, immersion, and emotion. We’ve experienced some of the city’s most spectacular attractions: from a helicopter flight over the Strip to an immersive art installation and dinner show atmosphere. Here are our personal highlights.
1. Helicopter flight over the Las Vegas Strip at night
Las Vegas from above suddenly seems surreal. The Strip at night is spectacular anyway. But from a helicopter? It's a whole new dimension.
You see the light axes, the hotel complexes, the iconic Las Vegas Sphere in all its glory, and realize just how gigantic this city really is. Papillon Tours offers flights including hotel transfers from $150 per person. Even though the flight only lasts 12 minutes, the view over the Strip is really worth it. However, you should allow for more time, because before takeoff, you have to go on the scales and the transfer also takes time.
Our tip: if possible, pay the small extra charge of 30 euros and sit next to the pilot at the front. The perspective is incomparable and the experience even more intense.
To Papillon Tours.
2. Sphere: Technology that overwhelms
The Sphere is not just an event venue, it is a technological statement. 360-degree LED screen, immersive audio system, visual depth that can be physically felt.
We experienced a show here and were honestly overwhelmed. The Wizard of Oz was completely reworked so that we could immerse ourselves directly in the film. And we were literally in the middle of the action: wind, storm, earthquake, leaves – we experienced everything up close. It even rained red apples from the sky. The image envelops you, the sound goes through your body. This is entertainment 2.0. Anyone who visits Las Vegas and doesn't experience The Sphere is missing out on a milestone in modern staging. Tickets are available from just under 100 euros to 230 euros.
3. Omega Mart: Art you can walk into
What starts out as a supermarket ends up in a parallel world. Omega Mart, created by the artist collective Meow Wolf, is a walk-in art installation featuring over 300 artists. Doors lead to other dimensions. Products are absurd, ironic, creative. You become part of the artwork. For us, it was probably the most unexpected and ingenious location in Las Vegas. Not a classic museum, but an immersive experience that surprises and inspires.
More about Omega Mart.
4. Superfrico: Dinner meets performance
Superfrico is not a restaurant. It is a house party with a kitchen brigade. Created by Spiegelworld, Superfrico sees itself as a “taste-all house party” where creative minds do their thing in the kitchen, at the bar, on the walls, and sometimes between the tables. Psychedelic design, surprising performances, improvised moments, and Italian-inspired cuisine merge into a multi-sensory experience. Here, you don't just sit at the table, you become part of a production.
Between pasta, pizza, and perfectly mixed drinks, artists appear, a DJ plays exclusively vinyl, rooms merge into one another, and bars, lounges, and dining rooms seem like chapters in a night of celebration. Culinary-wise, Superfrico focuses on creative Italian classics with a twist, ideal for sharing, ideal for staying. And that's exactly the point: you come for dinner and stay for the party. Las Vegas in its purest form: bold, loud, playful. And a little surreal.
To Superfrico.
5. The Venetian Grand Canal: Gondolas in the middle of the desert
You stroll through narrow streets, look up at an artificial sky and see gondolas gliding through a canal. Yes, it's kitschy. Yes, it's over the top. And that's exactly why it's Las Vegas. The Grand Canal Shoppes at The Venetian are an experience in themselves, especially when combined with dinner at one of the restaurants.
6. Play Playground: Finally being a kid again
Between fine dining, helicopter flights over the Strip, and immersive high-tech productions, Las Vegas also offers moments where you can forget everything else and just play. At the Play Playground in the Luxor, you become part of an oversized game show where you are the star. Interactive skill, team, and memory games await you across 15,000 square meters—no VR glasses, no arcade machines, just real movement, real challenges, and lots of competition.
We laughed, challenged each other, and suddenly realized: this is exactly what Las Vegas is: loud, colorful, over-the-top, and wonderfully unreasonable. If you like, you can get a “Very Important Player” ticket with fast lane entry and a signature drink, but even a regular day ticket is enough to immerse yourself in this energetic parallel world. It's the perfect contrast to fine dining and shows, and perhaps the most charming proof that in Las Vegas, you can officially be a kid again.
7. Mad Apple at New York-New York Hotel & Casino
New York nights in the middle of the Strip: If you think you've seen everything Cirque du Soleil has to offer, you should check out Mad Apple at New York-New York. This show is not a classic circus production; it's an energetic declaration of love for New York nightlife. Acrobatics meet comedy, pulsating beats meet Broadway moments, and somewhere between Manhattan vibes and Strip glamour, you completely forget that you're in the Nevada desert. The 80 minutes fly by in a frenzy. Industrial acts, urban aesthetics, live music, and performances that are closer than expected.
Particularly charming: here, the stage and bar blur together. You can actually experience world-class acrobatics with a drink in your hand: grown-up, loud, a little wild. 18+ only, and you can tell.
Our personal tip for a real date highlight in Las Vegas: book VIP. That means drinks before the show right on stage, access to the Onstage Lounge, meet & greet with artists, premium seating in the front row, cocktail service during the performance, and even champagne & popcorn. If Las Vegas can do entertainment, this is how. Mad Apple is not an evening program. It's a heart-pounding experience. And if that's too expensive for you, tickets start at 60 euros.
8. Flyover Las Vegas: Take off, please
Sometimes Las Vegas doesn't need spectacle, but perspective. That's exactly what Flyover Las Vegas offers, right next to the Hard Rock Café on the Strip. Starting at $27, you literally take off and glide, float, and dive over some of the most spectacular landscapes in the world. The technology is reminiscent of Disney's “Soarin'.” You sit strapped in front of a huge spherical screen, your feet dangling freely, with wind, fog, and appropriate scents enhancing the illusion. The flights are short but intense.
We chose Wonders of the American West, Grand Canyon, Mojave Desert, Lake Tahoe, and were surprised at how much you actually feel the sense of vastness and depth. Alternatively, you can fly over Iceland, the Canadian Rockies, or even Chicago. The whole thing is family-friendly (no age restriction, minimum height 40 inches, i.e., 1 meter) and open daily from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Flyover is not an adrenaline rush, but an entertaining, immersive break from the hustle and bustle of the Strip. Ideal between dinner, show, and nightlife. And sometimes that's exactly the perfect change of pace in Las Vegas.
9. Cooking class at the legendary “The Bedford by Martha Stewart”
A culinary experience with champagne and caviar: If you want to do more than just eat in Las Vegas, you should check out the Culinary Experience at The Bedford by Martha Stewart. In a small group, we were allowed to take a look behind the scenes with Chef de Cuisine Samantha Lovato – the focus: the famous Big Martha's Pierogies. Even though it's not a classic cooking class in the sense of “preparing everything yourself,” you are actively involved. We filled the pierogi ourselves, asked questions, and gained insights. They were then cooked by the team. It is precisely this combination of participation and professional perfection that makes the experience particularly relaxed and high-quality.
You wear the Bedford apron, stand right next to the chef de cuisine, gain background knowledge, and quickly realize that this is all about personal encounters. The highlight follows afterwards: champagne and caviar await the participants in the elegant Brown Room atmosphere. We sat together at the table, enjoyed our self-filled pierogi, and let the evening come to a close with sparkling nobility. Refined, personal, surprisingly intimate, and definitely one of the most stylish culinary experiences on the Strip, it's an unforgettable experience for around 170 euros.
10. Las Vegas Distillery: Craft spirits with character
Located in Henderson, southeast of the Las Vegas Strip, the Las Vegas Distillery shows how seriously they take enjoyment here. Following extensive renovations in 2022, the distillery now presents itself as a stylish overall experience that combines tradition and innovation. The tour of the modernized production facility is exciting and transparent, but the real highlight comes in the tasting room. Here, drinks are not simply served; cocktail culture is celebrated. Signature cocktails of the highest standard, precisely coordinated tasting flights, and a well-thought-out line of spirits that embodies quality without compromise. The newly designed tasting room pays tribute to the glamorous Las Vegas of the 1950s and 1960s. Warm lighting, vintage details, and an atmosphere that is both relaxed and stylish. Accompanied by small, carefully selected bites that round off the taste experience.
More information about Las Vegas Distillery.
Our conclusion: Why Las Vegas remains the number one city for experiences
Las Vegas thinks bigger. Louder. More visually striking. It's not just about consumption here, it's about staging. Every location is a stage, every experience a statement. For us, it was clear: anyone who sees Las Vegas only as a gambling metropolis is greatly underestimating this city. Las Vegas is a total work of art combining light, technology, cuisine, and performance.
- The best lunch spots in Las Vegas – Part 1: A culinary guide
- Top lunch spots in Las Vegas – Part 2: Culinary highlights
- Top evening tips in Las Vegas – Part 3: Unforgettable shows and dining experiences
© Las Vegas News Bureau
