What is Fremont Street, and is it worth visiting?

Five blocks of old Downtown Las Vegas closed to cars and roofed by a 1,375-foot LED canopy, with a free light show every hour after dark. Worth an evening on a first visit, as long as you expect a loud street party rather than a stroll.

What is there

• Viva Vision: a six-to-seven minute music-and-light show on the canopy, at the top of every hour from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m.
• Free live music on three stages every night, including the summer Downtown Rocks headliners.
• SlotZilla: a zipline under the canopy, from $49 seated or $69 face-down.
• Old Vegas neon at eye level: the Golden Nugget, Binion's, the Four Queens.

All of it is free; only the zipline, the drinks and the casinos cost money.

What to expect

• Costumed characters pose for tips. They are freelancers, not staff, so settle the price first.
• Weekend nights get shoulder to shoulder, and after about 10 p.m. it belongs to the drinking crowd.
• You can carry a drink under the canopy if a bar or casino in the district poured it into a plastic cup. Store-bought cans and anything glass are banned.

Best time: a weeknight around 8 p.m., with the full show, working neon and room to look up.

Fremont East

Just past the canopy, across Las Vegas Boulevard, is the real bar district: Commonwealth, the Laundry Room speakeasy and, a few blocks on, Atomic Liquors. Quieter, more local and better for a drink. It thins out late, so ride to the door after dark.

Practical

Two hours covers the Experience; add the Mob Museum or the Neon Museum (a mile north, timed entry) for a full evening. It is about five miles from the center Strip, 15 to 20 minutes by rideshare or by the Deuce bus. The Monorail does not go there.

Pages: Fremont Street Experience; the neighborhood map in neighborhoods of Las Vegas; more free shows in free shows in Las Vegas.