Omaha sits on the western bank of the Missouri River and has been a transit and trade hub since the mid-19th century, when it served as the eastern terminus of the first transcontinental railroad. Today it's Nebraska's largest city, home to several Fortune 500 companies (including Berkshire Hathaway) and a quietly confident place that rewards visitors who spend more than a day.
The Old Market, a converted warehouse district in the northeast of downtown, is the liveliest part of the city on foot. The Henry Doorly Zoo is genuinely world-class and worth the trip on its own. Boys Town — the residential campus made famous by the 1938 film — is still an active community a few miles west of the centre, and is open to visitors.
Omaha has a strong Czech, Polish, and Scandinavian immigrant heritage, visible in the food and architecture of the South 13th Street corridor. The Joslyn Art Museum is worth an afternoon, especially for the Karl Bodmer watercolors of the pre-contact American West. The Durham Museum in the old Union Station covers the city's railroad history well. The city's summers are hot and humid; winters are cold with reliable snow.