Free art, free music, unique movies and dancing. Omaha gives adults a full day and evening on less money than you’d think. Here is the plan, with prices where they matter.
Start with free art
Admission at Joslyn Art Museum is free every day, and so is the parking. The museum reopened in 2024 with more than 30 galleries and sculpture gardens made for slow laps and good conversation. Planning note: The Joslyn is closed on Mondays.
Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts in the Old Market is also free and shows contemporary art that gives your group something to talk about over drinks. (Closed Mondays and Tuesdays.)
At Hot Shops Art Center, north of downtown, you can watch glassblowers work and wander open studios for nothing.
Walk somewhere worth walking
The RiverFront runs from 14th and Farnam Streets east to the Missouri River. Native plantings buzz with butterflies and bees. The skating ribbon (ice in winter, roller in summer) is free to use with $5 skate rental. Sculpture gardens and outdoor recreation, like bocce ball, sand volleyball and table tennis, provide more opportunities for free fun.
Near sunset, cross the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge, stand on the state line with one foot in Nebraska and one in Iowa, and you are officially “bobbing.” Corny, yes. Fun, absolutely. Someone in your group will take a photo, and it will become a highlight in your photo feed in 10 years.
In summer, check The RiverFront’s calendar; free concerts and movies happen most weeks.
Get your money’s worth after dark
Film Streams at the Dundee Theater, Omaha’s longest-running cinema, screens indie, foreign and repertory films for $13. Discounts run to $10 for students, seniors, military, first responders and anyone who arrives by bus or bike. The lobby bar sells beer, wine, kombucha and a delicious variety of snacks you can carry to your seat.
Sonny’s hosts live karaoke nights and live music at its Aksarben and Builders District locations in the summer months, along with free movie nights on Mondays through August.
Or dance. Omaha Jitterbugs runs Jitterbugs’ Night Out on Fridays, a swing dance with a beginner lesson built in ($10 per person). An hour later your whole crew is on the floor bopping, sometimes to live music.
Tip for tipplers: happy hour is Omaha’s best-kept pricing secret. Most Old Market and Blackstone bars run weekday specials that turn a splurge cocktail into a $7 decision.
Pick a neighborhood and settle in
Visitors compare The Old Market to New York City’s SoHo, but without the so-high prices. Wander cobblestone streets dotted with restaurant patios, pubs and shops.
Not far, Blackstone packs a variety of bars and restaurants into a few walkable blocks. Second Saturdays add live music and vendors.
Farther northwest, the Benson neighborhood opens its galleries late on First Fridays, but every day of the month Benson is a hub for cutting-edge music, a lively bar scene and opportunities for youthful shenanigans.
In summer, Jazz on the Green at Midtown Crossing gives you a free concert; bring blankets and grab a picnic dinner from one of the restaurants surrounding the park.
More ways to save
To taste more and spend less, sign up for our Dine & Drink Pass. And to save on Omaha attractions, sign up for the Omaha Savings Pack.
A sample budget day
Morning strolling the Old Market and grabbing a pastry and coffee: $10. Afternoon at The Joslyn: free. Golden-hour walk across the Bob Kerrey Bridge: free. Happy hour in Blackstone: two drinks and a hearty appetizer: around $25. A movie at Dundee Theater or swing dancing at Jitterbugs’ Night Out: $10-$13. The whole day runs under $50 a person. That’s less than dinner in other cities. You’ll make it home with gas money to spare.
Did the adult day out win you over? Next time, bring the kids.
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