24 HOURS IN OMAHA, NEBRASKA

How to get to Omaha, Nebraska

By Train - whether you are East or West, you can book an Amtrak train ride to Omaha for as low as $27. I personally check Wanderu before booking to find the cheapest rates. The Amtrak Station is located on South 9th Street, just outside of downtown Omaha, just a 15 minute walk to the Old Market Neighborhood.

Driving - If you are driving along Interstates 80 and 29, the road will bring you directly into the city.

We arrived in Omaha fairly early in the morning, 6am to be exact, we got off the bus coming from Grand Island, Nebraska between 14th & Harney Street. Then started making our way towards The Old Market neighborhood in search of some coffee. We stumbled across Cubby’s, a grocery store that was open 24 hours with a great selection of snacks and deli meat. We grabbed a cup of coffee and some fresh fruit then decided to do some work in their seating area while we waited for stores to open. A quick hour later we started our day off by getting breakfast at the corner restaurant on Howard Street.

Wheatfields (1202 Howard St)

We made our way over to Wheatfields at 7am, afraid that we would be the only ones there and requesting a table the second they opened we were very surprised to see there was already a handful of early risers sipping on coffee and enjoying their breakfast. The service was very welcoming and the atmosphere gave me a European feel. The food overall was delicious and the portions were decently big. Their bakery has a great selection of pastries, everything looks amazing! They also have an express side to their resturant in case you’re in a hurry or if they happen to have a long wait.

After breakfast we took a stroll through The Old Market, oddly enough it was completely empty but luckily for me it was the best time to get some great photos. While wandering through the neighborhood we came across a variety of different sculptures such as an oversized bear, a 6ft rooster, a old timey clock tower, glossy colorful hearts, and even a red telephone booth. If you keep an eye open for more art you’ll see that it’s everywhere. It seems like most buildings have some sort of artwork along the side of the building whether it might be a mural, a colorful restaurant sign, or beautiful green vines crawling up the side of old brick buildings.

We then headed to Imaginarium Antiques, to see if we could find some one of a kind items or maybe some Beatles memorabilia. *Fun Fact about me, I have a large but not too crazy collection of Beatles memorabilia that consists of rare old books and vintage magazines.

Imaginarium (423 S 13th St)

This place has a lots of toys and knick-knacks that brought back wonderful childhood memories. I’m sure you can find nearly everything here, from old Mcdonald’s happy meal toys to collectable comics. There is just so much to look at, this place is packed to the ceiling with memorabilia of all sorts with maze-like aisles I could see myself spending hours here! So if you’re in the market for collectables, antiques or vintage pieces this is where you’ll have to roll up your shelves and get to searching!

There is two locations, one in The Old Market and another located on 16th & Leavenworth.

Old Market Address: 423 S 13th St, Omaha, NE 68102
16th & Leavenworth Address: 801 S 16th St, Omaha, NE 68108

Fairmont Antiques & Mercantile (1209 Jackson St)

After visiting Imaginarium Antiques we started to feel a bit nostalgic so we headed to Fairmont Antiques & Mercantile to grab some old fashion candy or maybe a milkshake. When you first walk through the front doors you’ll be greeted by what might seem like a huge candy store, but if you take a closer look you’ll see there’s a working retro diner toward the back where they serve food, drinks and deserts. We took some time to walk through the candy store and we found a handful of oddities such as crazy soda flavors, candied insects, and chocolate covered bacon slices. After wandering through the candy aisles we headed towards the back of the store where the museum/antique store portion began.

There is no admission cost to enter.

Right away you’ll see Elvis Presley standing next to his pink car in what seems like a PEZ store. Continuing down the maze of antique signs there was a Hollywood movie theater that does show vintage movies and is available to rent for parties. They also have an extensive collection of vintage movie memorabilia and just in case you happen to collect vintage movies they are for sale.

Straight ahead you’ll notice a sign on the floor to continue straight ahead for the arcade. At first it was a bit disappointed to see just 3 arcade games and 5 pinball machines but a bit further down there was a brightly lit neon room absolutely filled with pinball machines! I was surprised that it was empty, but after looking through the machines and checking out the records decorating the room we headed onwards toward the record store.

We finished off by looping back around to the candy shop and to get a few squares of mint chocolate fudge that’s served over the counter next to the rock candy. We decided to skip on the crazy flavored sodas that were conveniently located next to the cash register. At first glance we thought they might just have a funny tag on the bottle to gift as a gag gift but turns out they really do taste like what they advertise so consider yourself warned. But in the case you ever get a craving for a buffalo wing sauce, ranch dressing or even mustard flavored soda this is the place for you! There is a crazy amount of different beverages such as root beers, cookie dough sodas, and joke soda bottles that really just taste like lemon and orange sodas. Prices vary, you can get 4 mix and match bottles for the price of $10.99 or $2.89 each.

We snacked on our mint chocolate fudge as we wandered aimlessly until we came across the Old Market Passageway, an old alleyway turned mini shopping mall. There is art galleries, restaurants, and local shops located within the Passageway, the entrance is parallel across the street from fancy french restaurant, Le Bouillon on Howard Street. There is multiple floors to the Passageway, my favorite being the third floor because there is a balcony where you can oversee the alley from above.

Old Market Passageway, 1020-1098, Howard St

We exited and continued down Howard Street and entered a gift shop to grab a small souvenir. We walked in and I instantly had to reconsider how much room I had in my backpack to bring back home. I love to shop and always bring things back home, but this store had some pretty neat stuff I hadn’t seen in NYC. One of my favorite things was the printed wrapping paper, it was thick enough to put into a picture frame and make a poster out of it! It was fairly cheap too, only a few dollars. I was planning to get a few but then I remembered I still have a flight home and the chances of this paper getting home unwrinkled is slim.

City Limits (1114 Howard St)

This store has a lot of fun stuff that you don't need but just got to have! Plenty of gag gifts for your office, a significant other or for a white elephant gifting. Right in the front of the store there are books and knick-knacks, if you are in the market for new books I’d suggest looking through the books at City Limits. They have a good variety of humor reads that are absolutely hilarious, I was expecting everything to be overpriced but was quickly wrong, prices are affordable and reasonable.

After getting a quirky postcard we went a few stores north to Homer’s Music and Gifts record shop.

Homer’s Music and Gifts (1210 Howard St)

I’m all about supporting a local business so I love that they carry used music items. They have a great selection of vinyl music and cds in all kinds of genres. They have some fun air fresheners, car stickers and posters of all your favorite artists.

We still had a few hours to kill before our flight home so to finish off the afternoon we headed to Joslyn Art Museum to enjoy some art. Once we arrived it was a beautiful day to admire the flowers and sculptures around the museum so we walked around for a bit before heading inside.

Joslyn Art Museum (2200 Dodge St)

After enjoying the scenery we walked up the entrance stairs and got a map of the museum. Right away we walked through multiple rooms filled with beautiful art and artifacts. I always appreciate the information located next to the framed art to read about the artist and how certain art end up at the museum. If you have the time, I would recommend visiting and reading the meaning behind every painting, the museum itself is small but has some great pieces. This museum has free admission with the exception of certain exhibits.

Here’s a mini slideshow of some of my favorite artwork from the Joslyn Art Museum. After viewing the art and sculptures there is a cafe and gift shop downstairs that you can visit.

Where to eat + drink

Le Peep - they have 4 locations in Omaha but it’s a awesome place for brunch! Their waffles and biscuits and gravy are delicious!

Wheatfields (1202 Howard St) - as I mentioned earlier in this post, Wheatfields is a great breakfast place and I highly recommend checking it out for brunch!

Don Gaby’s ( 4806 S. 24th St) - one of my personal favorites, they specialize in gorditas and they make the best carne asada tortas in town! *Don’t forget to ask for salsa verde, it’s the best!

Lazlo's Brewery & Grill (2425 S 192nd Ave) - Lazlo’s in my opinion has best bbq bacon burger, they’re cooked in a wood fired grill making them very delicious!

El Dorado Restaurant (5134 S. 24th St.) - specializes in Mexican seafood

More locations to add to your own itinerary

Lauritzen Gardens - the gardens is a beautiful place to go for a walk and stroll through the flowers in the Springtime.

Henry Doorly Zoo - visit the desert dome for one of Omaha’s most instagrammable locations!

The Durham Museum - travel back in time to the 1900’s and learn all about Union Station, Omaha’s first train station. While you’re there make sure to stop at the old-fashioned soda fountain and candy shop.

South 24th Street - if you are looking for a more ethnic experience, I highly recommend taking the time to walk through the the multiple streets located below South 24th St. Here you’ll find numerous hispanic restaurants and grocery stores.

*Stopping by Dulceria Arcoiris (4914 S 24th St) is a must! I have to say it’s by far one of the best Mexican candy shops around, here you can buy big bags of candy in bulk or a few pieces at a time.

I hope you enjoyed a brief view of downtown Omaha, Nebraska. All of these downtown shops are fairly close to the airport and to the Amtrak train station so if you find yourself in Omaha hope you check out some of my recommendations!