In downtown Omaha you'll find good bars and cafes along the cobbled streets of the Old Market district, plus interesting specialist shops such as the Antiquarian Bookstore, 1215 Harney St (tel 402/341-8077), packed with dusty volumes (and local bohemians). The nearby Heartland Park of America, at Eighth and Douglas streets ideal for a picnic holds a huge, water-blasting fountain. Train buffs will be impressed with the Durham Western Heritage Museum, converted from the Union Pacific Railroad station, at 801 S 10th St. (TuesSat 10am5pm; $5). Old train cars and huge model train sets are featured alongside a gallery of Omaha history. Behind its pink-marble Art Deco exterior, the Joslyn Art Museum, 2200 Dodge St (TuesSat 10am4pm, Sun noon4pm; $6, free Sat before noon), contains an eclectic selection of Indian art and twentieth-century American paintings.

The Great Plains Black Museum, in the city's north side at 2213 Lake St (TuesSat 10am2pm; free), presents the history of African American people on the prairies. One stimulating section focuses on the frontier army. It was Native American warriors who first called them '' buffalo soldiers,'' because of their tightly curled hair and their skin.