Neon Museum Las Vegas is a Hidden Treasure

Las Vegas is known for lighted signs on casinos, hotels and more. But when the older lightbulb or neon signs are replaced with more modern designs, the old signs aren’t sent to a landfill. They’re donated to the Neon Museum Las Vegas as a way of preserving the cities history.

My wife and I checked out the Neon Museum during a weekend getaway to Las Vegas. We took a guided tour of the Boneyard and enjoyed the show Brilliant! The Neon Museum was one of the highlights from our trip, and I would encourage everyone checking out Vegas to spend some time at this local treasure.

COVID-19 UPDATE: The Neon Museum is open. Temperature checks are done for all guests, and capacities are reduced to allow social distancing. Masks are required at all times.

Tickets and Getting to the Neon Museum Las Vegas

Purchase your tickets in advance of your visit. You can select the day and time you want to attend. There are three tickets options you can choose from:

• General admission: Access to the boneyard of lighted and neon signs for one hour.
• Guided tour: A 45-minute guided tour of the boneyard.
• Brilliant!: A 25-minute show of lights and music in the north gallery.
• Combo tickets: A guided tour AND access to Brilliant!

We stayed at the Paris Las Vegas during our stay. The Neon Museum is about six miles north of the hotel, so walking wasn’t really an option. We took an Uber to the museum, located at the north end of Las Vegas Boulevard (roughly 1 mile from historic Fremont Street).

If you drove your own vehicle, there is a parking lot with free parking.

The Neon Museum has lots of photo opps. However, you can’t take your camera with you. The only camera you’re allowed to use is the one on your cellphone. I used my wife’s iPhone, because her phone is newer than mine.

What to Expect on the Guided Tour

During our visit, we did the combo ticket. The guide on our tour shared a lot of information about the history and uniqueness of the signs. Had we wandered the Boneyard on our own, we would’ve missed out on all the history this has to offer.

The guide allowed adequate time for us to take photos as well. There are some pretty tight alley-ways, so I would use the panoramic feature on the phone to capture long signs. It worked out pretty wall, as you can see from some of the photos in this article.

Our guide shared the history with humor. He kept us engaged in the history of the signs and Las Vegas. He also mentioned that many of the signs are donated – after all, they are a non-profit organization. I give them a lot of credit for what they are able to do and the signs and history they are able to preserve.

Once the guided tour is complete, we were allowed to hang out in the large open area, but couldn’t wander freely throughout the boneyard. We grabbed a few photos there before checking out the gift shop and heading to watch Brilliant!

Don’t Miss Out on Brilliant!

When we booked our tickets for Brilliant!, I wasn’t sure what to expect. But I am SOOO glad we did it. After our guided tour, we had about 10-15 minutes before our Brilliant! presentation time. We met in the north meeting spot and they escorted us to the North Gallery.

Once there, we saw a lot of old signs from historic Las Vegas. Before the show started, the guide said that none of the signs were in working order. They are all old and unplugged. That didn’t give me a whole lot of confidence in the show, but I trusted their expertise.

We were hooked from the moment the show began. The music was fun and I couldn’t help tapping my toes to the beat. Songs from Johnny Cash, Frank Sinatra, Liberace and more filled the air. As the music and show continued, we found ourselves dancing as well. It was a 360-degree show of lights and music.

The old signs were brought to life with projections. We loved every minute of the show, and when it ended, they left the signs illuminated so we could grab some photos. I highly recommend getting a ticket to see Brilliant! during your visit to the Neon Museum.

The Details

Address: 770 Las Vegas Blvd N, Las Vegas, NV 89101

Cost: General admission is $20 (locals $16). Guided tours are $28 (locals $24). Brilliant! show tickets are $23 (locals $19). A combination guided tour and Brilliant! show tickets is $45. Tickets can be purchased online, and are available about one month in advance. You can purchase them upon arrival, but you’re subject to capacity limits.

Hours: 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. on most days.

Website: https://www.neonmuseum.org/

Phone: (702) 387-6366

Disclosure: I received two complimentary admission tickets to the Neon Museum Las Vegas for the purpose of review. All opinions are my own.

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