Fremont Street Experience

The Fremont Street Experience is definitely something not to be missed. Check out the link for details on events happening on Fremont.

Besides seeing the infamous neon cowboy and girl, you also get a taste of the seedier part of Vegas - the part that is reminiscent of the Sin City of yesteryear. The casinos and nightclubs are much cheaper than on the Strip, as are the tourist shops. Of course, the light show that begins in the evening and runs every hour is the trademark. They change it around a lot, so you get a different experience on each visit. It is well worth the time to go see the whole of Fremont Street on your trip to Vegas! 

Not to be missed is a sax player by the name of Carl Ferris who was key to revitalizing Fremont (the original Strip & the real downtown Vegas) & who performs between the light shows. He’s excellent! He used to play in Don MacLean's band (yes, he of 'American Pie' fame). It's kind of nice to go down there mid to late afternoon & stroll around - you're out of the hot sun & it's not so crowded. However, you do want to be there for the light-shows that start at 6:00 & then are on the hour thereafter. I posted a recent clip on Youtube (below)  and here is one from another fan.


We twice visited a really fantastic Italian restaurant called "The Grotto" in the Golden Nugget on Fremont. The dessert cart is amazing so save room! They have seating that overlooks the pool area & the huge shark tank. The Golden Nugget is a very pretty hotel/casino on the outside & quite nice inside too.

There's a decent souvenir shop toward the east end of Fremont (must dig up the name for future reference). It's on a NE corner where one of the streets that intersects Fremont is closed off under the canopy - the store has lots of windows, is brightly lit inside & has escalators to the upper floor. There's a bandstand at this location too. We always pay a visit to the store to pick up cheap playing cards that have been used only once at the casinos. There is the usual assortment of souvenirs with the Vegas motif, along with some nice magnetic book marks that for whatever reason we really like, plus life-size cardboard cut-outs of Dean Martin, Marilyn Monroe & other luminaries.

Here is another video clip of Carl Ferris, professional musician.  He has taped back-up of his tracks and plays the sax portions live and chats with the audience.  You can buy a CD from him and chat while he autographs it.  Way cool dude!