While Las Vegas may have a condensed chronology compared to other major metropolises, we certainly know how to make up for lost time—whether you’re here for the mob, the mayhem, or the memorabilia our museum scene is both a hotbed of history and a breath of fresh air.
Championed by USA Today as “The Best Museum in Nevada,” The Mob Museum features gangsters, goodfellas, and plenty of interactive exhibits. Celebrate the efforts of the boys in blue at the crime lab display or bribe your bunch into visiting The Underground—a speakeasy featuring prohibition-era cocktails, live music, and late-night hours. Enter an innocent, leave a wise guy on mafia matters. themobmuseum.org
More than mohawks and metal is The Punk Rock Museum, making its downtown debut complete with a hardcore hello and headbanging hype; however, these rebels have a cause—preserving the posterity of punk. Lifelong rockers and looky loos alike will rejoice in the Jam Room to rehearse riffs on instruments donated by renowned rockers and legally loiter to meet the legends themselves for a tour of the exhibition. Keep in mind this contrarian compound doubles as a bar, wedding chapel, and tattoo parlor—in that order if you dare. thepunkrockmuseum.com
Stay lit seven days a week from 4 p.m. to midnight at The Neon Museum and discover the craftmanship behind the vintage Vegas signage that earned us the title of the brightest city on earth. From the illuminated letters of the Stardust hotel to the Hard Rock Cafe’s glittering guitar, the main boneyard is the place for postcard worthy pictures, especially around sunset when over 250 restored signs come to life. neonmuseum.org
