Try something new in Las Vegas. First up: A behind-the-scenes tour at the T-Mobile Arena
You think you know Las Vegas? New tours take you behind the scenes at the city’s new arena or on an ultimate steakhouse adventure. Here are four tours that offer different ways to see in the city.
1. The Neon Museum
The Neon Museum isn’t new, but it does offer a new tour option. Now visitors may wander through the popular museum at their own pace.
In the past, visitors to the Boneyard, the name for the downtown museum’s primary repository of vintage signs, were required to take scheduled tours.
Now, to keep pace with demand, the museum has implemented self-guided daytime tours. Guests can linger as long as they like past dozens of pieces of history. Museum interpreters are posted at various spots to answer questions.
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Tickets vary in price depending on the experience. General admission, required for self-guided tours between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m., costs $19 for adults and $15 for youth ages 7 to 17. You can still take guided tours, of course. They begin at 6 p.m. and cost $28 for adults and $24 for youth.
Info: The Neon Museum, (702) 387-6366
2. Food tours
Former waiter Donald Contursi created Lip Smacking Foodie Tours to take people on food-centric journeys around Las Vegas. He continues to add to his list of tours, but each includes stops at several restaurants.
Prices vary considerably, from $125 for the Afternoon Culinary Experience, a 2.5-hour stroll to four eateries, to $799 for his newest offering: the Ultimate Steakhouse Tour.
From USDA prime to Japanese Waygu A5, this exclusive tour gives guests the chance to indulge at three high-end restaurants: Bazaar Meat, the Las Vegas outpost of Chef José Andrés at the SLS; Scotch 80 Prime, the new steakhouse at Palms; and Jean Georges Steakhouse, Jean Georges Vongerichten’s well-reviewed restaurant at Aria. While at Aria, there’s also a visit to Sage for a customized liquor tasting.
Accompanied by a guide, guests on the steakhouse tour are shuttled between restaurants in luxury vehicles. At each location, they are seated without waiting in line. The chefs then come to the tables to carve, plate and garnish their dishes. Each course is paired with a fine wine.
Info and reservations: Lip Smacking Foodie Tours, (888) 681-4388
3. T-Mobile Arena tour
Since it opened in April 2016, T-Mobile Arena has drawn crowds for everything from boxing matches to big-name concerts to pro hockey action, including the 2018 Stanley Cup. Now visitors can peer behind the curtain to learn what goes on backstage at the award-winning arena. Guides share fun facts and surprising statistics as guests move about the 20,000-seat arena.
The tours, which began July 30, are offered Monday and Thursday at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. Tickets cost $25.
4. Photography tours
Photo Tours Vegas puts participants not only behind the lens, but in front of the lens too. Given its affiliation with a wedding planning company, the company hosts plenty of bachelor and bachelorette parties as well as newlyweds.
That said, Photo Tours also offers scenic tours in limos and 15-passenger party buses to lesser-visited destinations such as the Las Vegas Arts District, Springs Preserve and Valley of Fire State Park.
Prices are based on the experience chosen.
Info: Photo Tours Vegas, (702) 941-1885
Twitter: @latimestravel
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