Hard Rock Cafe Bar

We've all taken field trips to museums as kids and, sure, seeing the size of a T-Rex was impressive, but you found out that museum tours can get kind of depressing. A million bones and a lot of personal belongings of people who have long since died don't exactly scream happy.

There has to be some way to spice these things up a bit. Maybe throw in a live concert or bar, since we're now grown ups, and how about a cool place to eat while surrounded by the memorabilia from your favorite rock band or singer? Now that sounds like a place we could spend a few hours without feeling like we just stepped out of a wake.

The Hard Rock Café has been paying homage to music since it opened its doors in 1971 and since that time it has expanded worldwide including the 42,000-square-foot Hard Rock Cafe on the Strip near the Showcase Mall.

Besides memorabilia like Liberace's blinged-out jacket and a gold-plated microphone that Frank Sinatra used, the Hard Rock Cafe on the Strip boasts a venue for concerts, a bar/lounge complete with DJ-spun music and a patio that overlooks the nearby Monte Carlo and New York-New York.

While you're on a trip down music memory lane and you don't see what you're looking for, stop by one of the interactive touch screens. On the 72-square-foot screens you can see that Beatles metal lunch box you wanted as a kid and a Guns 'N Roses drum set, among other things. Unlike those boring field trips, this is one museum you don't want to leave.