Las Vegas Strip Guide: A Walking Route

The Strip is too long to walk in one go, about four miles, and in the heat that's a real distance. Break it into two walks, with a rideshare or the Deuce in between. The route below goes from south to north. Cross the Strip only on the pedestrian bridges, and keep moving on them: stopping, even for a photo, is banned by county ordinance.

South and center Strip

1. The Welcome sign. Start early at the 1959 "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas" sign in the median south of Mandalay Bay. A rideshare can drop you in its small car park, and it's the first stop of our itinerary.
2. Luxor and Excalibur. A black glass pyramid with a light beam shooting from its tip, and a cartoon castle next door. Walk through Luxor's atrium, then cross towards New York-New York.
3. New York-New York. A skyline of scaled-down towers with a roller coaster wrapped around it. The mock streets inside are good for a cheap lunch.
4. Park MGM and the Park. A short promenade of trees and shade structures leading to T-Mobile Arena. Park MGM's casino floor is smoke-free.
5. Aria and the Shops at Crystals. The modern Vegas of glass and public art. Crystals is more gallery than mall, with big skylights and large public art.
6. The Cosmopolitan. The Chandelier bar is a three-floor lounge inside a curtain of crystal beads, which is reason enough to go in.
7. Bellagio. The fountains out front, the Conservatory by the lobby and the glass flowers by Dale Chihuly on the lobby ceiling. End the first walk here at dusk.

North from Caesars

1. Caesars Palace. The resort that set the Vegas template in 1966, with statues, columns and the Forum Shops under a painted sky.
2. The LINQ Promenade. A pedestrian street of bars and restaurants leading to the High Roller wheel. Ride it at sunset.
3. The Venetian and the Palazzo. Canals, gondolas and a copy of St Mark's Square indoors. From the Venetian, the Sphere is a covered walkway away.
4. Wynn and Encore. Calmer and more expensive, with gardens and a lake show that plays at night.
5. Resorts World and Fontainebleau. The newest big resorts, at the north end.

Past Sahara, the Strip is mostly empty lots and wedding chapels, and not a walk we'd make. Which section makes the best base is covered in our where to stay guide.