The Next Wheel Big Thing

The LINQ

An urban neighborhood sprouts on the Strip.

What the Las Vegas Strip has always lacked is an open-air, walker-friendly entertainment district. A place to grab a bite, barhop and bebop to music—all within a few steps. Now it’s getting one. The LINQ, located between The Quad Resort & Casino and Flamingo Las Vegas, is opening later this year.

"You’ll be transported from the Strip to a city neighborhood, much like you would find in New York City," says Jon Gray, The LINQ’s vice president and general manager. "No matter what the time of day, there will be something to do. We’re creating an experience that currently does not exist in Las Vegas."

EAT
Dining options at The LINQ range from brickoven pizzeria Flour & Barley and quirky Celtic pub Tilted Kilt (the sexy servers wear plaid kilts) to comfort-food favorite Off the Strip and Mexican eatery Chayo Cocina, which Gray says is home "to The LINQ’s best balcony." For more unique eats, there’s F.A.M.E., "a true experience for the five senses," he explains. This culinary bazaar, with its pop-art setting, brings the idea of the Asian Night Markets to Vegas. Save room for dessert. The Sprinkles Cupcakes flagship Las Vegas location will feature its confections with artisan ice cream and a cupcake ATM.

SHOP
KOTO, a lifestyle shop with outposts in Aspen and Miami’s South Beach, is a hipster haven for trendy trinkets—the likes of which your social-media-savvy friends are posting and blogging about. Put your best foot forward at Bella Scarpa, a footwear boutique that Gray says will "satiate the passions of shoe hounds." And true to its name, Ruby Blue is decked in sparkling red walls with royal-blue upholstered insets "evoking the feel of a burlesque dressing room." Lingerie and bustiers, and a variety of provocative novelty games and toys, mark its inventory.

DRINK
With its endless fleet of tap handles featuring craft, imported and specialty ales and lagers, the dual-level Yard House is for serious hop heads.

PLAY
Concerts by Snoop Dogg, Adele and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs impressed Rolling Stone enough to name New York’s Brooklyn Bowl as one of America’s top "Venues That Rock." The 32-lane bowling alley and sports bar at The LINQ will transform into a 2,000-plus person concert hall and club at night.

RIDE
Grab a pre-ride cocktail from the lounge at the Wheel House before boarding one of the 28 air-conditioned cabins for the half-hour round trip on the High Roller. While each cabin can hold up to 40 people, the pods are also available for individual or group experiences—and that includes weddings.