Can you go inside the Sphere without a show ticket, or tour it?

Not inside. Sphere has no public lobby, no walk-up viewing and no guided tour; everyone who passes the doors holds a ticket for a specific event. The outside, the giant LED skin, is free to watch from the street.

The closest thing to a tour

A ticket to The Wizard of Oz at Sphere. It runs most days, includes 45 to 60 minutes in the Atrium (the interactive hall with the robots and exhibits) before the film, and is the cheaper of the two kinds of event there. It is what most first-time visitors buy.

Free from outside

The Exosphere runs its animations all evening. Watch from the sidewalk on Sands Avenue, the pedestrian bridge by The Venetian, a good stretch of the Strip or the freeway. On big nights it carries countdowns and special content.

If you do have a ticket

• Bags: roughly clutch-size only. Backpacks and totes are turned away and there is no reliable bag check, so leave luggage at the hotel.
• Timing: doors open about 45 minutes before the printed time, and the films seat nobody late. On a concert night security can take the better part of an hour.
• Inside: cool, no dress code.
• Kids: The Wizard of Oz is pitched at ages five or six and up; the tornado sequence rattles the seats.

What is playing, prices and which level to sit on are in Sphere tickets explained; the live schedule is at Sphere Las Vegas.