The Best Photo Ops and Selfie Spots in Las Vegas

Where everybody has their cameras out.

Leah Kelley
Leah Kelley

Quick -- snap a photo, or else it didn't happen. Every trip to Las Vegas requires a slew of selfies and group pics with your buddies to prove you were actually there. To help save time, check out the top spots in Vegas where everybody always seems to be fiddling with the cameras on their phones. No filters required.   

Bellagio Conservatory & Botanical Garden
Bellagio Conservatory & Botanical Garden

Bellagio
Hands down, one of the most popular places to snap a pic in Las Vegas is the Conservatory & Botanical Garden in the Bellagio lobby. The free attraction features seasonal floral displays in elaborate, colorful designs planned months in advance. Be prepared to compete for space with tourists, although steps are being made to keep crowds in check during the era of social distancing.  
 

The Chandelier
The Chandelier

The Cosmopolitan
The three-level cocktail lounge at the Cosmopolitan is managing to stay active while other bars remain closed in Las Vegas. Whether you stop by for a drink or a photo, the venue is an awesome sight, surrounded by bright lights and crystal curtains. 

 The Strat
The Strat

The Strat
At a height of 1,149 feet, The Strat (or Stratosphere if you're being formal) offers numerous opportunities for capturing a sky-high pic of the surrounding Las Vegas scenery. Get your photo game on while dining at Top of the World, grabbing a snack at 108 Eats, finishing off a drink at 107 SkyLounge, or roaming the 360-degree Skypod viewing area. For maximum excitement, check out the outdoor deck, where thrill rides hang off the top of the tower.   

Joe Buglewicz/Las Vegas News Bureau

Downtown
The five-block pedestrian mall known as the Fremont Street Experience is surrounded by the bright lights of Downtown's most well known casinos, creating a vibrant backdrop for any photo shoot. (Or video shoot. Just ask the Weeknd.) Make sure to get a pic underneath Vegas Vic, the famous neon smoking cowboy, and head to the top level of the Binions parking garage, where it's easy to snap a selfie with the marquee in the background. (Look for the spiral staircase.)

Sam’s Town

Sam’s Town
It's a few miles east of the Strip, but locals love Mystic Falls, an indoor park at the Sam’s Town casino with a wild west mountain theme. Walk among the trees and you'll hear the sounds of birds chirping, wolves howling, and a rolling waterfall with a few animatronic touches. The laser light shows are temporarily suspended during the coronavirus pandemic, but Mystic Falls remains a great photo spot underneath a dramatic 10-story skylight. 

Mob Museum
Mob Museum

Mob Museum

Downtown 
No trip to the Mob Museum is complete without having your own mug shot taken. It’s just one way to have fun at one of the coolest, weirdest museums in Vegas. Another is grabbing a cocktail in the downstairs speakeasy

Rob Kachelriess

Caesars Palace
Fans of Vanderpump Rules and Real Housewives of Beverly Hills are always eager to whip out a camera when passing by Lisa Vanderpump’s Las Vegas cocktail lounge, which includes a front patio, stone tree carvings, and elaborate decor with stylish light fixtures and video walls. If you're not the type of person who keeps up with the latest gossip on Stassi, Jax, and the Toms, Caesars Palace has other selfie spots to choose from, including statues of Julius Caesar in the lobby, Michelangelo’s David in the Appian Shops, and boxer Joe Louis is front of Mesa Grill. 

Real Bodies

Bally’s 
After closing at the onset of the pandemic, Real Bodies is back open at Bally’s seven days a week. The exhibition is an authentic look at what human beings are like below skin level with a fair share of muscles, bones, and cartilage on display. In a timely touch, a new photo area is dedicated to the science behind the coronavirus with 3D-printed images.

Planet 13

Off the Strip
As the largest cannabis dispensary in the world, Planet 13 makes shopping for weed a spectacle, from the spherical water feature out front to the interactive digital floor near the check-in counter. The “superstore” is planning to add Cannabition in the near future -- an interactive art museum and installation dedicated to cannabis. For now, a hazy red Volkswagen is your go-to selfie station.

MGM Grand

MGM Grand
Most of the time, Leo the Lion is the first thing people see when entering the MGM Grand. The statue of the golden lion is a nod to the resort’s original Wizard of Oz theme. He’s regularly dressed up in different outfits, based on the season or big events in town -- although he never seems too happy about it. Snap away.   

Barbara Kraft/Wynn Las Vegas

Wynn Las Vegas
The secluded artificial Lake of Dreams is best viewed from one of two restaurants -- SW Steakhouse or Lakeside -- or the Parasol Down bar. Surrounded by pine trees and a 40-foot waterfall, it’s a great spot for snapping a pic on a romantic night out. Other, smaller outdoor water features with similar photo op potential can be found at Mizumi and Costa di Mare.   

The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas

Cosmopolitan Suites

The Cosmopolitan
Originally planned as a condo, the Cosmopolitan is the only hotel in Las Vegas with open-air balconies on the Strip. Ask for one facing north, and you'll get an awesome view that includes the Bellagio fountains, Eiffel Tower, and High Roller wheel. Got a few extra bucks to spend? The Wraparound Terrace Suite has balconies that as the name suggests, wrap around the corner of the building.   

 Catch Las Vegas
Catch Las Vegas

Aria
Just try to grab a seat at Catch without taking a photo first. The restaurant has one of the most dramatic entrances in Vegas -- an 80-foot-long tunnel with walls of flowers and lights. If nothing else, it will keep your attention while the hostess tries to find your reservation.

Joe Buglewicz/Las Vegas News Bureau

Downtown Street Art

Downtown
Downtown is loaded with tons of street art, including installations and murals left over from the annual Life is Beautiful festival, which sadly, is cancelled this year. Helping to pick up the slack is Downtown Alley, a new effort to beautify the back alleys where businesses leave their trash for pickup, beginning with the block southwest of Las Vegas Boulevard and Fremont Street. If you prefer to stay at home, you can always go on a virtual Downtown Vegas art crawl from behind your computer screen.

Antonio Janesk/Unsplash

Bellagio
You know the drill. Ready, aim, and click away on your camera phone as thousands of gallons of water shoot straight up into the air in performances synchronized to music. The shows are not only enjoyed from the sidewalks of the Strip, but from patio decks at Bellagio restaurants like Spago, Prime, Picasso, Yellowtail, and Lago. 

KMH Photography

Northwest
Tucked in the northwest corner of the Las Vegas Valley, Floyd Lamb Park is home to 680 acres of trees, grass, historic buildings, and the waterside scenery of Tule Springs. Bring food for a picnic and snap a few pics. Anywhere you point your camera is a good shot. Watch out for peacocks and geese.

Rob Kachelriess

Venetian
If you need to make an instant splash with a social media post, pull out your camera at the Waterfall Atrium. Its “LOVE” sculpture, spelled out in 12-foot-tall steel letters, is one of the most popular photo spots at the Venetian resort. The atrium also includes a waterfall cascading down from the second level, a rectangular fountain, and some kind of rotating seasonal display. Right now, it's a historic Italian gondola. 

Sam Morris/Las Vegas News Bureau

Valley of Fire State Park
The beauty of nature surrounds Las Vegas in many ways. Red Rock Canyon, Lake Mead, Mt. Charleston, and even Death Valley are all worth a road trip, but Valley of Fire might be the most impressive of all. Nevada's oldest and largest state park is full of bright red and pink sandstorm formations. Look around long enough and you might spot some bighorn sheep or pieces from an abandoned movie set used to film the The Professionals in 1966. 

Sam Morris/Las Vegas News Bureau

Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas Sign

The Strip
The most iconic landmark in Las Vegas is also one of its most popular photo spots. Marking the far south end of the Strip, the crowds are a little smaller these days, so wait in line patiently and stand six feet apart whenever possible.  

MGM Resorts International
MGM Resorts International

The Strip
When the place is packed for a Golden Knights game, concert, or UFC fight, the T-Mobile Arena is a hot spot for taking pics and posting 'em to social media. While live events remain on hold, you can still get an up-close look at the venue from Toshiba Plaza and The Park outdoor promenade, where the 40-foot-tall Bliss Dance statue gets lots of attention. 

Eiffel Tower las vegas
Emiliano Bar/Unsplash

Paris Las Vegas
There are two ways to maximize your photo time at the half-size Eiffel Tower replica on the Strip. Either use it as your background for a quick selfie (especially during the free nightly shows) or ride to the observation deck at the top to snap the sweeping views 460 feet above Las Vegas. 

La Cave
La Cave

Wynn Las Vegas
With a strong wine list to round out the tapas menu, La Cave is an easy place to relax with a drink in hand. Ask for a table on the outdoor patio, where a “living wall” comes in handy as a backdrop for group photos. 

Abbey Road Crossing Las Vegas

Downtown
Talk a walk through rock and roll history. The multi-colored recreation of the iconic Abbey Road crossing (made famous on the Beatles album of the same name) stretches across Fremont Street near El Cortez casino. It’s occasionally used for music events and even saw Ringo Starr pay a visit while dipping his hands in concrete on the sidewalk.

Luxor Sphinx
Rob Kachelriess

Luxor 
It saves you a trip to Egypt. And the nose isn’t missing. 

Seven Magic Mountains
Rob Kachelriess

Jean
The multi-colored collection of rocks in the desert is one of the first weird roadside attractions you’ll see when driving from Vegas to LA. The 30-foot-tall installation by Swiss artist Ugo Rondinone is an impressive sight -- and free to explore during daylight hours.

Lucky the Clown
Rob Kachelriess

Circus Circus
Armed with a neon lollipop, Lucky the Clown has been greeting guests at Circus Circus for more than 40 years. The towering marquee is a great backdrop for a colorful nighttime selfie. So is the illuminated red and yellow porte cochere at the valet entrance.

Shark Reef Aquarium
Damon/Las Vegas News Bureau

Mandalay Bay
Between sharks, exotic fish, sting rays, sea turtles, and a komodo dragon, there's lots to photograph at the Shark Reef Aquarium. The best shots are in a large tunnel surrounded by water or in a viewing area modeled after a shipwreck. 

Darrin Bush/Las Vegas News Bureau

Grand Canyon
The Grand Canyon isn’t in Las Vegas, but it’s close enough. Venture to the west rim, where the glass-bottomed Skywalk dangles over the edge -- nearly a mile above the canyon floor. Phones and cameras aren’t allowed, so you’ll have to rely on a professional shot from a photographer.  

Showgirl Gateway
Rob Kachelriess

Showgirl Gateway

Downtown
Located on the corner where Main Street splits from Las Vegas Boulevard, the Showgirl Gateway marks the moment where the Strip merges with Downtown -- give or take. With a roulette wheel painted on the ground, oversized casino chips you can sit on, and a pair of showgirls more than 20 feet high, it's the perfect selfie spot. Position your head just right and you might even block out the Denny’s sign behind it. 

Hyperx Esports Arena
Hyperx Esports Arena

Luxor
Video games are quickly becoming the new national pastime, which is why the Luxor replaced its old nightclub with the HyperX Esports Arena. Competitors are encouraged to get pumped up for tournaments while making their entrance in the Hype Tunnel -- surrounded by customizable LED lights and broadcast on a giant screen. The tunnel is also a fun selfie spot for spectators.  

Cafe Lola
Cafe Lola

Henderson and Summerlin
Everything at Cafe Lola is designed to be Instagram-worthy, from the colorful lineup of pastries and decorative coffee drinks to the bright chandeliers and faux flowers that line the walls. The whole place is so pretty, you can even rent it out for weddings. No camera? Cafe Lola has you covered with a photo booth. 

Elvis Presley Statue
Rob Kachelriess

Westgate
Pay your respects to a legend -- and grab a cool pic at the same time. The Elvis Presley statue in the lobby of the Westgate honors the King's long run of residences at the property -- back in the ’70s when it was known as the Hilton and before that, the International.  

The LINQ
The LINQ

The LINQ
The world’s tallest observation wheel gives passengers a panoramic view of the Las Vegas Valley from 550 feet in the air. Even if you don't hop on for a ride, pose for a photo with the High Roller in the background at The LINQ promenade. 

Peppermill Las Vegas
Peppermill Las Vegas

The Strip
Need a Jack and Coke with your omelet? Then the Peppermill is your place. The 24-hour diner and lounge is one of the few spots on the Strip that’s managed to stick around more than four decades without changing too much. The fire pits, neon lights, and deep red and purple furniture provide a worthy backdrop for any photo.

Mark Damon/Las Vegas News Bureau

Downtown
The Boneyard at the Neon Museum is back open -- with tickets now sold in limited numbers to encourage social distancing. So take your time, enjoy the extra wiggle room, and snap endless photos of the classic neon signs and marquees that helped build Las Vegas and make it great.

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Rob Kachelriess has been writing about Las Vegas in Thrillist for more than six years. His work has also appeared in Travel + Leisure, Trivago Magazine, Sophisticated Living, Modern Luxury, Leafly, Las Vegas Magazine, and other publications. His Polaroid camera is out of film. Follow him on Twitter @rkachelriess.