Viva Las Vegas! What an incredibly different city Las Vegas is. It’s somewhere where you can indulge in just about anything you desire, consume alcohol in the streets, gamble until you’re broke and see some of the world’s biggest stars on stage at the various shows that take place in the gargantuan hotels.
If you want a break from it all, or have simply run out of money there are of course plenty of things to do here with one of our favourites being a walk down the Las Vegas strip to the instantly recognisable “Welcome To Fabulous Las Vegas” sign.
Visiting the iconic sign
This famous sign is of course a landmark in Las Vegas. You’ll see photos of it in all of the travel brochures, on postcards, on posters and generally speaking on anything Las Vegas related across America with plenty of shops, cafes and restaurants replicating the sign’s iconic design. Incredibly, the sign has existed since 1959 and is considered by many to be the southern-most point on the Las Vegas strip.
When we last headed out to Las Vegas we stayed at Aria (read our Aria hotel review here) and to take a break from the crazy nature of the city we decided to walk from the hotel down to the sign. We completely underestimated quite how far away it was however… 3 miles!
Where is the Welcome to Las Vegas sign?
The Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign can found at the following address – 5200 S Las Vegas Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89119, USA – which is located next to McCarran International Airport.
Walking there on foot in 30+ degree heat was pretty intense however so be sure to bring a bottle of water and apply the sunscreen!
Walking along the highway you eventually reach the Las Vegas sign which sits in the middle of the 2 carriageways. In 2008 they added a proper crossing which stops the traffic so it’s really easy and safe to cross the road and reach it.
At 7.6 m (25 feet) tall, the Welcome to Las Vegas sign is a lot bigger than you might think and certainly dwarfs those who stand underneath it for a photo. If you decide to head down here you’ll find that there is a queue to take your photo with the sign.
There will of course be people offering to take your photo using your camera for a small fee or you can do as we did and take your own. With the heat being so intense, standing in a half hour queue in full sunshine didn’t really appeal so we moved to the side of the front of the queue and had another couple take our photo in front of the sign as other couples in the main queue were changing over. After we did this many others quickly copied our idea!
If you’re heading to Las Vegas for the first time I think going to see the Welcome To Fabulous Las Vegas sign is a must. It’s great to escape the city and do something different, just be prepared for a long walk from the hotels or jump in a taxi. One thing is for sure, don’t leave the hotel without that sunscreen!
Are you planning your first trip to Las Vegas? Let us know your plans in the comments!
