Explore Sin City through the locations of iconic movies like Ocean’s Eleven, The Hangover and Casino on this self-guided Las Vegas film locations walking tour – with map and directions included.
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With its bright lights, blackjack tables, glitz and glamour, it’s no wonder that the larger-than-life city of Las Vegas in Nevada is a favourite location for filmmakers. There have been over 130 movies filmed in Las Vegas, including classics like Viva Las Vegas, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Casino, Ocean’s Eleven and The Hangover.
Some of Las Vegas’ filming locations have been and gone, and others only ever existed on a Hollywood sound stage. But there are still plenty of spots around the Strip and downtown where you can see where scenes from movies old and new were filmed.
So join me and follow in the footsteps of Dean Martin, Elvis and George Clooney on this Las Vegas film locations walking tour. The whole walk is just over seven miles miles (with bus/taxi shortcuts) but beware that Las Vegas can get incredibly hot, so make sure you’ve got a bottle of water and a hat, and avoid the middle of the day in the summer.
A self-guided Las Vegas film locations walking tour
Start your Las Vegas film locations walking tour at the Tropicana casino, located towards the southern end of the Las Vegas Strip – the 4.2-mile-long stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard which is home the city’s most famous hotels and casinos.
To get there you can take the Las Vegas Monorail to the MGM Grand, which is a seven-minute walk away. Or catch the Deuce bus – if you’re travelling northwards it stops at the Tropicana but southwards the closest stop is across the road by the Excalibur.
The Tropicana
The Tropicana is one of Las Vegas’ original 1950s casinos, and although it’s had a few facelifts since then it’s still kept a touch of vintage style, including the 1957 red Chevrolet Bel Air parked out front. It’s had links to the Mob both on-screen and off during its history, with original owner Phil Kastel a close associate of gangster Frank Costello.
The Tropicana features as Michael Corleone’s casino in the first Godfather film (1972). Though by the time The Godfather Part II (1974) was filmed, its name was changed to the Tropiglia to avoid any legal issues (not that that alias would be hard to guess!).
The casino was also home to the French-inspired Folies Bergère show for almost 50 years, whose scantily clad showgirls appeared in Elvis’ Viva Las Vegas (1964). And Sean Connery’s James Bond stayed in the Tropicana in Diamonds are Forever (1971).
From the Tropicana, follow the Strip northwards, crossing over the road to reach the ARIA Resort and Casino (0.8 miles).
ARIA Resort & Casino
Opened in 2006, the ARIA is one of several casinos along the Strip which are run by MGM Resorts. On screen it featured as the location for a convention in Jason Bourne (2016), the fifth of the Bourne films starring Matt Damon. Damon chases Vincent Cassel through the ARIA’s convention centre then down the Strip in a high-speed car chase.
The ARIA’s super-luxurious Sky Suites, Liquid Pool Lounge and casino also appeared in Last Vegas (2013), which starred Robert De Niro, Morgan Freeman, Kevin Kline and Michael Douglas as four retirees splurging on an epic VIP-style Vegas bachelor party.
Next walk on past the Cosmopolitan to reach the Bellagio (0.5 miles).
The Bellagio
The lavish Bellagio was the world’s most expensive resort when it opened in 1998. And it’s one of the best-known Las Vegas film locations thanks to 2001’s Ocean’s Eleven (and its sequels), the remake of 1960s’ Frank Sinatra Brat Pack movie Ocean’s 11.
Ocean’s Eleven producer Jerry Weintraub and Bellagio owner Steve Wynn were friends, so the production team got a 24-hour, all-areas pass to film there for five weeks. Among the locations featured in the film are the casino floor, botanical gardens, art gallery, Picasso restaurant and the lobby with its colourful Dale Chihuly glass ceiling.
But the most famous scene was shot by the lake at the front of the casino, where the gang gather at the end of the film to watch the fountains choreographed to music. You can see the show every 30 minutes in the afternoons and every 15 minutes in the evening.
The fountains also appeared in Jason Bourne and Lucky You, a 2007 film about a Vegas poker player. The filmmakers wanted to use the Bellagio’s poker room, but it had been renovated since 2003 when the film was set. So instead they created a replica on a sound stage, with the production crew buying up old fixtures that were auctioned off.
Cross over West Flamingo Road to the Bellagio’s neighbour Caesars Palace (0.2 miles).
Caesars Palace
Caesars Palace opened in the 1960s and took design inspiration from Ancient Rome, with a giant statue of Julius Caesar in the entrance and décor of fountains, mosaics and marble. On screen it most notoriously featured in The Hangover (2009) and its follow-up Part III (2013) as the hotel where the guys stay during their drama-filled stag weekend.
Caesars Palace’s entrance, lobby, check-in desk and the Garden of the Gods pool are all used in the film. But although their luxurious room is based on the hotel’s Emperors Suite, in reality it was recreated in a Hollywood studio (probably because of the tiger).
The real Emperors Suite does feature in Rain Man (1998) though, as where the brothers spend the night after a big blackjack win, and it’s still nicknamed the Rain Man Suite. Caesars Palace can also be see in Iron Man (2008) and Intolerable Cruelty (2003). And Tony Soprano stays there in series six of the TV show The Sopranos (2006).
Leaving Caesars Palace, carry on walking up the Strip to The Venetian (0.6 miles).
The Venetian
The Venetian includes replicas of Venice landmarks like Piazza San Marco, St Mark’s Campanile, Doge’s Palace and Rialto Bridge along with its own gondoliers. It was built on the site of the old Sands casino, which was a filming locations for 1960’s Ocean’s 11.
The Venetian features in 2001 comedy Rat Race, starring John Cleese and Rowan Atkinson, where the casino’s eccentric owner devises a competition where teams have to race from Vegas to Silver City, New Mexico to win $2 million. A suite at the hotel is also used in Sandra Bullock film Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous (2005).
Carry on north along the Strip until you reach Circus Circus (1.3 miles). Along the way you pass Treasure Island, which was another of the Las Vegas movie locations for Miss Congeniality 2, as well as Knocked Up (2007) with Seth Rogan and Paul Rudd.
Circus Circus
Circus Circus is home to the world’s largest permanent circus and you can see classic circus acts like clowns, jugglers, trapeze artists and tightrope walkers in their free shows. They take place every hour from 1.30pm on weekdays or 11.30am at weekends.
Although Circus Circus is mentioned in Hunter S. Thompson’s novel Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, when it came to making the 2008 movie version of the book, the casino’s owners refused permission to film there. So the producers created their own version of Circus Circus’ rotating merry-go-round bar (the real one is sadly no longer there).
The real Circus Circus is seen on screen though in Diamonds are Forever (1971). Jay Sarno, who owned the casino at the time, was a big James Bond film fan so let the production team use it for filming, and bagged himself a supporting role in the film as a scientist.
Just opposite Circus Circus is the site of the old Riviera casino. It was knocked down in 2015, but before that it was used as a location for films including Casino (1995), Austin Powers: International Man Of Mystery (1997) and the original Ocean’s 11.
The journey to your next stop is a bit longer, so you might want to either catch the Deuce bus or take a taxi to Graceland Wedding Chapel (2.2 miles). Along the way you pass The Strat (formerly called the Stratosphere), which was used as a location for 2005 Ridley Scott action movie Domino, where the casino owner is robbed of $10 million.
Graceland Wedding Chapel
Graceland Wedding Chapel has been hosting weddings since 1939, with celebrity names like Jon Bon Jovi and Billy Ray Cyrus tying the knot there. Elvis Prestley also visited in the 1960s and gave the chapel permission to use the Graceland name. It was renamed after his death and was the first place you could get married by an Elvis impersonator.
On screen, the Graceland Wedding Chapel is where Matthew Perry and Salma Hayek get married in 1997 rom-com Fools Rush In, and it also features in the film version of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. If you fancy trying it out for yourself while you’re in Vegas, their wedding and vow renewal packages start from $179 (and Elvis is optional!).
From Graceland Wedding Chapel, continue walking up Las Vegas Boulevard and then turn right along Fremont Street – home to nightly sound and light shows at the Fremont Street Experience – and follow the street as far as Atomic Liquors (0.8 miles).
Atomic Liquors
Atomic Liquors is the oldest freestanding bar in Las Vegas. It opened in 1945 and gets its name from the days when drinkers would climb onto the roof to watch explosions at the nuclear test site 50 miles down the road (that and the atomic-strength cocktails).
Atomic Liquors is another location from the first Hangover film. It also featured in Casino, with Martin Scorcese and his crew using the garage next door as a production studio. Today the bar has been restored to its former glory, and you can almost imagine former regulars Barbra Streisand or Sammy Davis Jr are about to pull up a stool next to you.
Finally finish your Las Vegas film location walk by taking North 9th Street under the expressway and out to the Neon Museum (0.9 miles) – it’s not the smartest neighbourhood, so if you’re on your own or at night you might want to take a taxi.
Neon Museum
The Neon Boneyard and Museum is where signs from classic casinos like the Golden Nugget and Stardust come to spend their retirement. There are over 250 signs – and a few giant fibreglass models – which date back to the 1930s and tell the story of the city.
The original boneyard location (which was known as the Young Electric Sign Co back then) is where Danny DeVito’s character comes to a sticky end in the sci-fi comedy Mars Attacks! (1996). Since then the signs have been relocated to a new Neon Boneyard and Museum, which was used in the film Last Vegas (2013) as well as lots of music videos.
Even the museum’s visitor centre is recycled – it was the lobby of the old La Concha Motel, which had its own taste of film stardom in Casino (1995). The Neon Museum is a popular place, especially in the evenings, so booking in advance is recommended.
From the Neon Museum it’s around a 15-minute walk back to Fremont Street where you can catch the Deuce bus or a taxi down the Strip to return to the starting point.
Las Vegas film locations walking tour map
If you’d like to do this Las Vegas movie walk yourself, click on the map below to access directions through Google maps. The full route is 7.2 miles (11.6km) but there are a couple of sections where you can take a taxi or bus to cut it down to 4–5 miles. It would take around 2.5 hours to walk straight through, but allow four hours including stops.
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