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  1. Home
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  3. Cool Neon Signs Around the World

Cool Neon Signs Around the World

By Lyndsey Matthews
March 25, 2013
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Credit: Courtesy of photodillon
Without its neon signs, Las Vegas would be virtually unrecognizable. From the electric blue martini glass (complete with neon green olive) above Fremont Street to the multicolored hot-air balloon of the Paris Las Vegas Hotel on the Strip, these phosphorescent signs add more than a dash of color to the city night.

Discovered by British scientists in 1898, the element neon gets its name from the Greek word for new, neos. In 1910, French engineer Georges Claude patented a lamp that uses an electrified tube of the element and introduced neon gas signs to companies in the United States.

Neon signs quickly became a popular form of outdoor advertising by the mid 20th century, adding colorful pops of light to cinema marquees like the Bagdad Theater & Pub in Portland, OR and transforming cities like Hong Kong after sunset.

In Vegas, neon signs are such a part of the city’s identity that there’s an entire museum dedicated to the preservation of its most iconic signs. Visitors to the Neon Museum can see signs collected from motels, businesses, and casinos that date back to the 1930s.

To show off some of the coolest neon signage around the world, we looked through Travel + Leisure’s archives and dug through submissions from our online community members. We’ve selected our favorite images to create a round-the-world tour of the most dazzling examples of neon, from Paris’s Moulin Rouge to a neon cowboy boot on Nashville’s Music Row.

See for yourself by checking out these photographs of neon around the world.
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The Neon Museum, Las Vegas

Credit: Misha Gravenor

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Nashville, TN

Credit: Courtesy of photodillon

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Chicago

Credit: Angie Naron

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San Francisco

Credit: SiliconValleyStock / Alamy

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Oakland, CA

Credit: Patrick Boury

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The Neon Museum, Las Vegas

Credit: The Neon Museum, Inc.

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Pike Place Market, Seattle, WA

Credit: Sandro Munoz

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Bagdad Theater & Pub, Portland, OR

Credit: Courtesy of Curtis Gregory Perry

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West Hollywood, CA

Credit: Mark Peacock

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Fargo, ND

Credit: Courtesy of Darwinquest

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Paris Las Vegas Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas

Credit: Courtesy of jonwalker

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Pleasant Hill, CA

Credit: Courtesy of pacientzero

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Brussels, Belgium

Credit: Marie Hennechart

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Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Credit: Courtesy of LindaM

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Las Vegas

Credit: Coral Von Zumwalt

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Hong Kong

Credit: Kevin J. Miyazaki

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Lenoir, NC

Credit: Courtesy of inka19

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Las Vegas

Credit: Coral Von Zumwalt

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Mitchell, NE

Credit: Courtesy of jeannel

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Pike Place Market, Seattle, WA

Credit: Courtesy of dmguzman

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Watkins Glen, NY

Credit: Lyndsey Matthews

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Nashville, TN

Credit: Courtesy of currierm2

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Las Vegas

Credit: Courtesy of photodillon

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Paris

Credit: Courtesy of EvanTravels

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Santa Rosa, NM

Credit: Courtesy of nomaddanib

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Las Vegas

Credit: Courtesy of ltyear

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St. Paul, MN

Credit: Courtesy of BradleyOlson1

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Metairie, LA

Credit: Judi Bottoni

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Nashville, TN

Credit: Courtesy of ChandraLani

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Las Vegas

Credit: Coral Von Zumwalt

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Holbrook, AZ

Credit: Courtesy of FlergHergersen

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Ann Arbor, MI

Credit: Marcus Nilsson

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Chicago

Credit: Courtesy of photodillon

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Las Vegas

Credit: Courtesy of photodillon

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1 of 34 The Neon Museum, Las Vegas
2 of 34 Nashville, TN
3 of 34 Chicago
4 of 34 San Francisco
5 of 34 Oakland, CA
6 of 34 The Neon Museum, Las Vegas