Museums and Movie Sets: a Backstage Tour of Las Vegas

Nudging up against the top entertainment venues along the city’s glitzy Strip, the NoMad is a grown-up boutique spin on a Las Vegas hotel. “The Strip is a great place to start,” explains John Block. “There are curated museums and art installations up and down this stretch of South Las Vegas Boulevard. At Park West Gallery alone, you’ll find nearly 1,000 works of art, ranging from originals by icons like Salvador Dalí, Toulouse-Lautrec and Pablo Picasso to works by contemporary artists like Peter Max, Mark Kostabi or Las Vegas native Michael Godard.” To complement your gallery hop, the NoMad’s rooms and suites – some with colorful area rugs, freestanding bathtubs, crystal decanters and Carrara marble sinks – feel like the elegant digs of an art collector, while the tranquil pool terrace, complete with Moroccan vibes, is sure to inspire your creative juices. It’s in an excellent location for visiting quirky museums and historical landmarks, and if you’re able to splash out on the Suite Royale, you’ll have a private library lounge, with its aubergine-hued pool table, perfect for nightcaps or unwinding with a good book.

It goes without saying that Las Vegas really comes alive after dark. Alongside its famous scenes – those signature neon marquees, the illuminated (and choreographed) Fountains of Bellagio, the bright-light casinos – streams a steady flow of quirky human traffic: just-married brides, exhilarated gamblers, streetside buskers and even the odd A-lister. Acquaint yourself with the living, breathing spectacle on this locally led tour that scopes out atmospheric Fremont Street, where you can learn about the history of America’s hedonism capital.

Just north of Las Vegas is the Valley of Fire State Park, a flame-red desertscape that’s sacred to Nevada’s native Paiute people. On this tour, you’ll uncover its otherworldly rock formations – so alien that they’ve served as backdrops and even stood in for other planets on many a film set, such as Casino and Star Trek Generations (1994), respectively. Afterward, you’ll explore the Lost City Museum, where you’ll learn about Nevada’s historic Ancestral Puebloan people, who lived in the area around 300BCE, and see artefacts found in this ancient site.

One of several quirky museums in the area (also check out the Mob Museum for some vintage gangster tales), Tom Devlin’s Monster Museum is a riot of eerie costumes, masks and prosthetics. A 30-minute drive outside of Las Vegas, it’s an absolute must-see for anyone intrigued by the art of sci-fi, makeup and special effects. Take a tour with Tom himself – the museum founder and a special-effects makeup artist – to learn how movie monsters are brought to life.