From a tourism perspective, Las Vegas is ever the chameleon. New restaurants, shows, clubs and hotels are constantly reinventing Sin City with the aim of getting repeaters back to the tables. Big construction projects continue, and there are currently two competing Ferris wheels under construction on the Strip. But lately, developments have eschewed kitschy copies of foreign landmarks like an Egyptian pyramid in favor of celebrating Las Vegas’s own swinging style, as indicated by two new downtown museums. Yes, traffic still snarls the Strip, but a new terminal at McCarran International Airport has eased congestion for fliers.

FRIDAY

3 p.m.

1. Buy or Browse

Las Vegas shops make up a parade of high-end global brands designed to tempt high rollers. The Crystals at the CityCenter mall (3720 Las Vegas Boulevard South; crystalsatcitycenter.com) fits the mode with swimsuits from Eres, clothing from Stella McCartney and accessories from Porsche Design. But the center, with sharp and soaring angles, designed by the architect Daniel Libeskind to resemble a quartz crystal, has an artistic side too. Pick up a free CityCenter Fine Art walking tour brochure from the concierges at Aria and Vdara, the two neighboring resorts, for a self-guided tour of the public art collection in and around the building, including a sculpture by Henry Moore; “Big Edge,” a stack of boats wired in a web, by the artist Nancy Rubins; and several ice pillars that slowly melt each day, only to be refrozen each night, from the designers of the Bellagio fountains.

6 p.m.

2. Prix Fixe Perch

Since Wolfgang Puck arrived in 1992, celebrity chefs have flocked to the Strip. But most local observers agree that the food scene didn’t really improve until the French guys arrived — the chefs Joël Robuchon and Guy Savoy, principally, who showed up in 2005 and 2006, respectively. Their namesake restaurants remain bastions of formality, but L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon (3799 Las Vegas Boulevard South; mgmgrand.com), the 33-seat à la carte restaurant next door to Joël Robuchon in the MGM Grand, offers a more affordable meal and relaxed setting. Reserve a seat at the black granite bar to watch the executive chef, Steve Benjamin, and his team prepare dishes like quail stuffed with foie gras ($47) or steak tartare with frites ($41).

9:30 p.m.

3. Circus Circuit

Move over, showgirls. Cirque du Soleil dominates the Strip show scene with seven shows up and running right now; its eighth will be the highly anticipated “Michael Jackson One,” opening in June at Mandalay Bay. The new “Zarkana” (3730 Las Vegas Boulevard South; cirquedusoleil.com) at the Aria Resort & Casino loosely follows a magical ringmaster visiting a haunted theater with trapeze artists, jump ropers and strongmen thrown in. The adults-only “Absinthe” at Caesars Palace (3570 Las Vegas Boulevard South; caesarspalace.com/shows/absinthe.html) offers circus arts under an outdoor big-top tent along with tightrope walkers, a chair-balancing act, some nudity and lots of risqué humor.