To Spinfinity and Beyond (The Strip)

When someone mentions Downtown Vegas what do you think off?

This ?

This ?

Or even this?

Me?

This is what I think of when someone mentions Downtown Vegas and Fremont.....

How about we take another look around Downtown and the surrounding area to see what else is on offer.

First we'll look at some of the places I've been to so I'll be treading some old ground then we'll look at some places I've seen on our many long walks around the Downtown area but never actually been to so they're on our list of places to go.

We all know how great the Downtown casinos are and everyone has their favourites. Each one has it's own places to eat, drink, gamble and some also have a swimming pool. It's definitely different from the Strip and a place you should not ignore.

The following is going to be a list of places we went to and particularly enjoyed. I genuinely can't think of a part of Downtown I didn't like or had an issue with. I've written about most of these places already I really think you should visit these places as well as the Casinos;

• Fremont Viva Vision Canopy

• Slotzilla ZipLine

• Magnolias Veranda @ Four Queens (Great Breakfast)

• Chicago Brewing @ Four Queens

• White Castle (everyone has to at least try it)

• Do a Slot Tournament - (We did one at the Plaza)

• Nacho Daddy - (Do the Scorpion Shot Challenge)

• Banger Brewing - (Great for those who like Craft Beers)

• Heart Attack Grill - (Try not to get your ass slapped)

• Container Park - and everything in it

• Atomic Liquours*

• Neon Museum*

• The Mob Museum*

• Evel Pie

• Pizza Rock

• Donut Bar

• Gold and Silver Pawn Shop (Famous for the show Pawn Stars)

• First Friday in the Arts District*

• 18BIN (Bar and Grill)

• Frankies Tiki Room*

• Burlesque Hall Of Fame*

• Millennium Fandom Bar* (Brilliant Sci-Fi Bar with excellent theming)

* These are the one's I'd particularly recommend for their uniqueness and how much we enjoyed them.

You can do a lot of research, using search engines, reading blogs and forums and of course watching vlogs on YouTube but there are so many hidden gems that unless you happen to come across them you wouldn't know they existed. A lot of these places seemed to be around the Arts District. Whilst looking for a place we would find something else of interest but we wouldn't have the time to go to it properly.

Artifice - This is a bar located in the heart of the Arts District with unique signature drinks, various nightly events and three different rooms to experience. As a person who is up for trying anything different I was planning to go here to try a number of signature drinks in what seemed to be a unique bar that I was hoping would be as fun and exciting as the Millennium Fandom Bar.

Velveteen Rabbit - Another bar around the Arts District it advertises itself as a craft cocktail and beer bar. Ironically, it's been on so many 'Hidden Gems' lists I wonder how much of a hidden gem it really is but if you're going to call a cocktail —WITCH QUEEN OF NEW ORLEANS— then you've already got my attention. Check out the drinks menu and you'll see there's quite a lot to choose from.

Hop Nuts Brewing - More drinking! Yep. This one we noticed as we went to the Retro Vegas Shop, I saw what looked like a craft beer place and added to my list of places to visit next time. They say you can visit the Tap Room (Banger Brewing at Fremont offer tours too) and they have 20 beers on tap, 15 of them brewed in house, and 5 guest taps.

ReBAR - We had planned to go here last visit but ran out of time. Another place located in the Arts District, ReBAR is not just a bar but it's also an antique and art store where nearly anything is for sale. ReBAR offers draft beers, wines, and charitable cocktails. with the profits from the charitable cocktails going to a number of different foundations. The menu caters to meat eaters and vegans. Events there include open mic nights and trivia nights.

Jammyland - About time we went for something to eat. Another place we happened upon by accident so we didn't even have the time to pop in, Jammyland is a Caribbean-inspired rum cocktail lounge that plays mellow, relaxing reggae and other Caribbean music. Check out the menu here : Jammyland

Ninja karaoke - You ready to go completely left-field? After all that drinking and all the pent up tension from a difficult year, let's celebrate being in Vegas by blasting out a few tunes at Ninja Karaoke. At no point was I looking for a karaoke bar as it's not really a thing I embrace but - you guessed it, we walked past it and I just had to see what it was. Another place for Karaoke fans is the Cat's Meow located in Neonopolis on Fremont.

Zak Bagans’ The Haunted Museum - Why we haven't been here yet especially as we visit Vegas around Halloween I've no idea. Seen on the Travel Channel’s Ghost Adventures! The museum has original collectibles from haunted sites and you can hear the bone-chilling stories of the paranormal activity that surrounds them in this tour guided tour. Sounds a lot of fun and something definitely on the list for our next trip.

Erotic Heritage Museum - The Burlesque Hall of Fame was great, not a big place but the guided tour was very interesting and it then nice to read and look at the exhibits in your own time and it was extremely informative. The Erotic Heritage Museum looks a lot larger and there are numerous exhibits there with the purpose behind the museum to be educational and experiential. The tours are self led and they have an app to guide you. The site has a lot of information on there that may be of interest.

Nightmare Toys - Time for a bit of shopping but this is one for Horror fans. A shop I only recently found out about but a place I'll definitely be visiting. A lot if the stuff seems pretty unique and collectable but that obviously comes at a price. I'll need a big win and another suitcase though for all the stuff I'll be wanting to buy.

Circa Resort & Casino - Did you know there's a new casino Downtown? Of course you did. A lot of people have vlogged from there and the opinions on the place have appeared to be pretty positive. It's absolutely enormous and the whole swimming pool area looks amazing. All we can do is look enviously as we wait to be released but I think this place is going to be worth the wait and I can't wait to vlog from there.

As I was doing a bit of research into the places we'd seen but not visited I came across so many other places it was quite astounding but not surprising. One website of particular interest is called Unique & Secret Attractions in Las Vegas NV | Secret.Vegas. Some of the stuff we've done but a lot of it we haven't and so I think I'll take another look at that website and plan for the future.

I'm hoping this blog has been of interest and showed you the wonders of Downtown Vegas and the Arts District in particular. I find people who criticise the area really haven't bothered to look beyond the Fremont Street performers. I understand we don't all like the same things but when we actually open our eyes we can see a lot more. When we visit London I see so many people with their heads buried in their phones and never once look at their surroundings. When we walked around Downtown Vegas, the Arts District and our jaunt from North Premium Outlets all the way to Frankie's Tiki Room we saw so much of interest, the art on the building is worth the walk alone. The strange architecture of the Brain Institute is just mind blowing.

But for now we wait, hopefully not for much longer. I'll be back next week with a blog on Area15. Don't know what it is? Nor did I but it looks very interesting so I'll share with you what I find out next time.