The 7 Best Neighborhoods in Las Vegas

The Las Vegas Strip is the roughly 4-mile stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard lined with the mega-resorts that define the city — Bellagio, Caesars Palace, the Venetian, MGM Grand and more — each a themed spectacle of casinos, shops, shows and restaurants. Walking it (or riding the monorail) is the essential Vegas experience, dazzling by night. Distances are deceptively long and the crowds, heat and constant solicitation can wear you down, so pace yourself.

Boulder City is a laid-back historic town about 25 miles southeast of the Strip, built for Hoover Dam workers and famously the only Nevada town with no gambling. Come for the 1930s downtown, antique shops, the Hoover Dam Museum and easy access to the dam, Lake Mead and desert trails.

Fremont East is downtown's independent nightlife district, just past the Fremont Street Experience canopy from Las Vegas Blvd to about 8th Street. Think neighborhood cocktail bars, dive bars, live music and cheap-by-Vegas-standards drinks, with a younger, hipper crowd. It's the real downtown scene, not the casino tourist zone.

The Historic Westside, northwest of downtown, is the heart of Las Vegas Black history, once the 'Westside Strip' where Sammy Davis Jr., Nat King Cole and Louis Armstrong jammed after segregated Strip shows. Today it's a neighborhood in revitalization, home to the landmark Moulin Rouge site, soul-food institutions and the Jackson Avenue heritage corridor.

The Water Street District is downtown Henderson's walkable, revitalized core: repurposed old buildings now holding breweries, wine bars, coffee shops, galleries and restaurants, plus the America First Center ice rinks (Henderson Silver Knights practice home). It's a low-key, genuinely local alternative to the Strip, about 15 miles southeast of it.

Lake Las Vegas is a 320-acre man-made lake in Henderson ringed by resorts and a Mediterranean-style village, about 17 miles southeast of the Strip. Come for waterfront dining, boat rentals, weekend live music and sunset views with the Spring Mountains behind the water. It's scenic and calm, more resort escape than nightlife.

Summerlin is the valley's premier master-planned community on the western edge, backed up against Red Rock Canyon. For visitors it means Downtown Summerlin (open-air shopping, dining, the Las Vegas Ballpark), championship golf and five-minute access to world-class desert hiking. It's affluent, polished and green, a suburban contrast to the Strip.