Martin Compston says not going out in Las Vegas makes no sense when the Bellagio Fountains are free at dusk. The Line of Duty star, who lives between Scotland and Las Vegas, has used a new three-part travelogue to map out five spots he says visitors should not miss.
He points viewers to the fountains at 6.30pm or 7.00pm, when, as he put it, “Vegas is about to start tonight”. He also says he takes his son to stand outside and watch the show because “you don’t need to spend a cent and he loves it”, a useful tip for anyone balancing a short stay against the city’s pricier nights out.
Bellagio Fountains and Cirque du Soleil
Compston’s list mixes free sights with the kind of ticketed night out many visitors plan around. He called Cirque du Soleil iconic and said, “My ideal date night for the missus and me is a bit of dinner then a Cirque du Soleil show.” He singled out Mystère at the Treasure Island Hotel, adding that it has been playing there for more than 30 years, while he also highlighted O, which is performed in and out of water.
That split gives travelers a practical choice. A visitor can build one evening around the fountains alone, or turn the same night into a show-and-dinner outing without leaving the strip-area entertainment circuit he describes.
Neon Museum and 18b
He also takes the guide beyond the obvious headline stops. Compston visited the Neon Museum and its Neon Boneyard, where he said some of the old neon signs would have been known to Frank Sinatra. From there, he moves into the Arts District, also known as 18b, even while admitting, “I’m quite ashamed that I didn’t know about it until we started making this show” and “it used to be a bit of a bad area down there”.
That contradiction is the most revealing part of his list. He recommends the district anyway, then narrows the appeal further with Esther’s Kitchen, which he called his new favourite restaurant after taking Alex Brooker there when Brooker came to town recently. He said the chef had worked with Gordon Ramsay, and that there are art galleries nearby plus SoulBelly a couple of doors down, giving visitors a tight cluster of food and culture rather than a single isolated stop.
The Grand Canyon from Las Vegas
Compston’s final pick pushes the day out of Nevada entirely. He says the Grand Canyon is “it’s actually only a two-and-a-half-hour drive” from Las Vegas and adds that “it’s truly awe-inspiring”. For readers trying to decide whether to stay in the city or break the trip up, that turns the canyon into a realistic add-on rather than a separate expedition.
The three-part travelogue now gives his recommendations a clear shape: a free evening stop at Bellagio Fountains, a show night with Cirque du Soleil, a look at older neon at the Neon Museum, a food-and-gallery run through the Arts District, and a drive to the Grand Canyon if the schedule allows. What the full film still has to show is whether he saves any other Las Vegas stops for the rest of the series.
