There’s one takeaway you’ll get from this guide: Savannah, Georgia is filled with a rich history- and you need to see it for yourself!
Venture on tours, shop at a bustling city market, eat true Southern food, and bask in the hospitality that the city has to offer.
If you’re one to enjoy historic buildings and a blast from the past, Savannah is the city for you.
1. Old Savannah Trolley Tour
One of the best ways to get acquainted with Savannah is to take a historical tour.
The slogan of Old Savannah Tours is “Bringing Savannah’s History To Life”. They have incredibly captivating descriptions of Savannah’s history, as well as interactive re-enactors boarding your trolley to transport you into the past.
They’re pet friendly, offer pick up and drop off, and have been voted Best Tour every year since 2003!
2. Forrest Gump Bench at Chippewa Square
Chippewa Square was shot into the spotlight as Forrest Gump waited for the bus on the square.
The film crew used fiberglass benches to film the scene. One was donated to the city and now resides in the Savannah History Museum.
3. The Plant Riverside District
The Plant Riverside District, otherwise known as Savannah’s Entertainment District, has everything you could ever ask for.
There are options to eat and drink, dine on rooftops, and view the stunning river.
Home to District Live, featuring the best live music in Savannah, swing by for a concert and nightlife.
If you like to shop, you’re in luck! There are plenty of specialty shops, galleries, and retailers.
You can explore the Sorrel Weed Mansion through a History Tour, Ghost Tour, or Paranormal Investigation.
Ghost Tours: Every night, you can spend an hour walking through this actively haunted mansion. Your guide will explain the property’s haunted history and show you paranormal evidence previously captured.
History Tours: The home was built in the 1830’s for a wealthy French Hatian merchant and hosted people like Robert E. Lee. It was the first home in Georgia to be designated as a State landmark. Walk through the building’s history and learn more fun facts.
Paranormal Investigations: A seasoned paranormal investigator will guide you through the house and explain their ghost hunting equipment and teach you how to investigate yourself.
This emotional tour will walk you through a beautiful 1819 mansion, gardens, carriage house, and slave quarters.
You will see the relationship between “the most and least powerful people in the city of Savannah in the early 19th century.”
Rooms contain beautiful art, interactive exhibits, and a history full of stories about both the free and enslaved people who occupied the property two centuries ago.
In years past, seafood was sold and horses filled the streets of this market. Now, artisanal goods still attract people to this historic City Market.
There are plenty of high-quality, laid-back restaurants where you can dine and unwind.
City Market has been the central gathering place of Savannah for centuries, and it’s worth a visit to see what all the hype is about.
219 W Bryan St, Savannah, GA 31401
9. Stroll along River Street
River Street is where you can get a front-row seat to Savannah’s iconic waterfront.
Savannah’s waterfront combines “the rustic beauty of the past with the energy of today.” You can find brand new buildings next to old cotton warehouses, truly creating a whole image of what Savannah was, is, and will be.
Discover over 70 hotels, pubs, restaurants, galleries, and shops while strolling along River Street!
The Davenport House Museum has been a historic site for over 50 years. Its period of interpretation is 1820-1827. This spans the period in which the house first appeared on tax rolls.
The rooms have been furnished to 1820s style, while stories have been woven together based on the evidence of the life of the house’s builder, Isaiah Davenport.
The museum sees 40,000 visitors each year through its educational programs and guided tours.
If you want to be transported back into the 1800s, this immersive experience will give you a first-hand look!
324 E State St, Savannah, GA 31401
11. Eat at Husk Restaurant
This Southern restaurant is located in the heart of the Landmark Historic District and is the brain child of renownedchef Sean Brock.
It elevates Southern food into something unique while highlighting coastal Georgian ingredients. Heirloom products guide their dishes for ingredient-centric meals.
Their menu changes often depending on what is seasonally available.
Riverboat tours leave the dock and head upriver to the Port of Savannah. Then they turn around and go underneath the Eugene Talmadge Memorial Bridge and past the river front.
Continuing downriver, the tour will pass the Waving Girl, Florence Martus, float through the ship yard, and make it to Hutchinson Island and Old Fort Jackson.
After this wonderful scenery, your tour will return to its dock.
This 30-acre park is blessed with the city’s most famous fountain, installed in 1858.
The walk to the fountain can be as quiet as a library, with people reading on all the benches- or as bustling as a downtown market, with trumpets playing and local artisans selling their goods.
There are playgrounds, open fields, basketball and tennis courts, and more.
If you’re visiting over the weekend, be sure to stop at the Saturday Farmer’s Market on the main strip of the park for some deliciously fresh, locally-grown fruits and veggies.
2 W Gaston St, Savannah, GA 31401
14. Visit the 22 historic squares
If you want respite from all of the hustle and bustle, Savannah’s 22 historic squares are scattered among the city to bring some greenery to your day.
Surrounded by churches, inns, museums, and historic homes, get some shade under the massive oak trees and people watch as locals and tourists explore these green oases.
15. Visit the most beautiful street in Savannah
Jones Street is considered by visitors and locals alike to be the prettiest street in Savannah.
While most of Savannah’s vitrified brick roads are covered with asphalt, Jones Street has preserved its original red cobblestone.
The wide sidewalks also feature these stunning bricks, immersing you in years long ago.
The buildings on Jones Street haven’t changed much over the past century and a half, putting you right in Savannah’s beautiful past.
Come during spring to view stunning azaleas, and take a stroll during sunset to get a picturesque view.
A line forms down the block every morning until the doors open at 11 am sharp. The lunch crowd fills the large tables, shared by strangers who will soon be friends.
The tables are stuffed full of fried chicken, black-eyed peas, okra gumbo, biscuits, and more.
With a menu that changes every day, the regulars never get bored.
If you’re passing through town and want to eat where the locals eat- and meet some people along the way- Mrs. Wilkes is the place to go.
107 W Jones St, Savannah, GA 31401
17. See a show at the Savannah Theatre
The Savannah Theatre is one of the oldest theaters in the country.
It opened on December 4, 1818 and has been drawing enthusiastic crowds ever since. Now it operates as both a movie theater and live performance venue.
Rated “excellent” by almost 3,000 travelers on Tripadvisor, sit back, relax, and enjoy the show!
222 Bull St, Savannah, GA 31401
18. Get a drink at Mata Hari Speakeasy
The Mata Hari Speakeasy can only be entered with a key through a secret door. To get a key, you need to know someone, who knows someone, who knows someone…you get the idea.
The bar is 1920’s themed and serves absinthe. You can watch people belt out old classics, view a burlesque show, gawk at fire eaters, and more.
It’s worth doing some investigating to enter this hidden club!
306 W Lower, Factors Walk, Savannah, GA 31401
19. Ghost Tour in a trolley
The website for this tour greets its visitors with the bold statement: “Ready for a little Southern immortality?”
You will visit all of the most haunted places in Savannah and get the inside scoop on the spirits who reside there.
Learn about the residents buried at the Colonial Park Cemetery and hear the haunting of four children who still haven’t left the Isaiah Davenport House.
Maybe save this tour for last, though. It will change your view of Savannah for good.
Located in Savannah’s historic district, the museum appears to be nothing special from the outside.
But enter the museum and be amazed.
The first floor is dedicated to strange taxidermy. The second floor has photos and videos of the traveling circus.
And then a hallway leads you to the true-crime room. You can view serial killer’s doodles, Charlie Manson’s sweatpants, and paintings of John Wayne Gacy.
Even more odd, the museum also offers horror-themed pinball with over 15 machines.
If you love exploring the strange corners of life, you’ll be blown away by the Graveface Museum!
Mariska is a recovering attorney who gave up her professional job to discover new perspectives of life while traveling in a 2009 Ford Transit.
She has been living the van life for 3 years and has not looked back since.
You may remember Nicolette Scorsese from National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989), which was her most notable role. Is she still acting? What ever happened to her? Read on for answers to...
\
