The Magic City, the halfway point, the Small Town Big City, a city united in name but divided in politics, and where the fuck did East Omaha go?
Things to See and Do
Omaha Henry Doorly Zoo
The #1 Vacation destination in the United States, one of the best zoos, the largest indoor desert and largest indoor jungle. You cannot see the entire thing in a single day. I've tried like five times now. You can't do it.
Taste of Omaha (summer only)
Enjoy local and regional food and entertainment at the Omaha Waterfront
Old Market
Head near downtown to see the Old Market, a preserved section of Omaha's old meat packing district. Has dining, esoteric and family shops, cheesy clubbing and brick streets. Go in between buildings to the Old Market Alleyway to try some "secret" shops selling incense and other artistic items.
Lauritzen Gardens
The garden on the hill. Check out this peaceful scenic section of South Omaha. This is also the park where you can see two retired train engines on display - one steam, one diesel.
Durham Museum
A converted train station near downtown, on the 10th street bridge. Western heritage and other artifacts from Omaha's boom time as a railroad megacenter
Malcolm X Birthsite
A memorial-in-progress dedicated to remembering and honoring Malcolm X. Open to the public, but you currently have to call ahead. Work in progress.
Gerald R Ford Birthsite
A garden and mini-museum centered around our previous president Ford. Watch the stairs!
College World Series (summer only)
HOLY SHIT THERE ARE SO MANY PEOPLE FUCK I CAN'T GET DOWN THE STREET HALP
Food
I gave up on this section. Just drive around and try places lol
Public Transportation
Sadly, Omaha has almost twice the population of Des Moines but less than half the transportation options. Seriously? Anyway, you can catch the bus which will generally take you anywhere in South, North, Midtown, Benson, Carter Lake, Council Bluffs, Ralston, and some of West Omaha. Limited service to Bellevue and some of the younger suburbs. I still call it the MAT bus even though they're technically called metro now.
Biking
Omaha is in the process of building out it's biking system, starting with some scenic trails and now adding sharrows and bike lanes to existing streets. The latest expansion will be converting 24th street from L to Leavenworth to a 2-lane street with bike lanes on both sides. I'm looking forward to that, as that's a main bike route for me that I still ride on the sidewalk for because I don't want to get creamed by people doing 50 into the back of my bike.