Having just returned from a long weekend in Savannah, I can confirm that it is still one of my absolute favourite cities in the United States. I also realized that it was time to update my guide to Savannah. Since I wrote the old guide 5 years ago, a number of restaurants have closed, and I had the opportunity to try a couple of new activities on this trip that I absolutely must recommend!
As usual, I’m sharing things I’ve done as well as things that sound fun and would be worth checking out on our next visit. I’ve also marked my must-see items with an asterisk*. Like, if you don’t do/see/eat these things, you’ve failed at Savannah.
How to Get Around in Savannah
Savannah’s grid layout makes it so easy to get around town and explore on foot! Savannah is known for its incredible walking tours and trolley tours.
A hop-on-hop-off ticket for Old Town Trolley Savannah Tours is actually not a bad way to get around town, so long as you’re flexible with the order of your destinations.
Uber and Lyft ride shares are also available (download the Lyft app using this link to get 50% off your first ride).
What to See in Savannah
Savannah is best known for its *Historic District (north section and south section) where you can stroll through 22 park squares and explore museums, monuments, restored 18th-century homes, boutiques, and more than 100 restaurants.
Outside of the Historic District, you may want to stroll through *Forsyth Park. This 30-acre park is known for its Spanish moss-draped oak trees, pedestrian/jogger-friendly sidewalks, and the iconic fountain. The park’s great fountain is one of Savannah’s most recognizable landmarks and is the perfect spot to snap a photo!
The fun and funky Starland District starts just south of Forsyth Park and is made up of Thomas Square and Metropolitan neighborhoods. It’s an artsy, gentrifying area filled with late-19th-century homes interspersed with antique shops, burger joints, yoga studios, and gastropubs. It’s where a number of my restaurant recommendations are located.
Where to Stay in Savannah
I’ve stayed in various hotels, the best of which was probably the Holiday Inn Express Historic District – Graceful lobby, full-service fireside lobby bar, a rooftop pool and gazebo, guest rooms equipped with flat screen TVs, and a deluxe continental breakfast daily.
But if that’s not your style, here are a few more places that look nice and have good recent reviews.
East Bay Inn – Built in 1852, located in the historic district and across the street from River Street, pet-friendly, free parking, a ghost named Charlie, and complimentary movie butter popcorn.
Mansion on Forsyth Park – Soaring above its namesake park in the heart of the historic district, this hotel offers boutique accommodations in a lovingly restored Victorian-Romanesque building, with bathrobes provided.
Marshall House – Fun balcony rooms, authentic historic features, complimentary wine, and more. I’m also pretty sure that this was one of the stops on the ghost tour I did 12 years ago, and I can’t imagine that hotels would become less haunted over time.
What to Do in Savannah
Get a hop-on-hop-off ticket for Old Town Trolley Savannah Tours. Savannah might be one of the only cities where a trolley tour is actually a great way, maybe the best way, to see the city – I’ve done it three times! You’ll hit pretty much every point of interest moving along at a decent pace on a single trolley route. Take a shot every time you hear a reference to “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.”
City Market is a neat place to wander the cobblestone streets to meet some of the city’s emerging artists, listen to live music, shop for trashy souvenirs, or count the number of bachelorette parties while dining at one of the restaurants.
ShopSCAD Savannah is a store filled with artwork, textiles, jewelry, and photography made by current Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) students, faculty, and alumni. Another shop I always visit is Savannah Bee Company for a variety of honey, honey-based products, and mead – all of which make great gifts. And on our most recent trip, I discovered E. Shaver Booksellers, an extremely popular bookstore with resident cats.
Bonaventure Cemetery is a popular tourist destination and is a traditional Victorian cemetery that rests on a whopping 100 acres, where you can quietly explore the winding pathways and view centuries-old tombstones. But I’m partial to the Colonial Park Cemetery, which was Savannah’s primary public cemetery until 1853. When Union troops occupied Savannah during the War of Northern Aggression, the graveyard became a temporary home to several hundred Union soldiers who allegedly damaged or defaced some of the stone markers (including altering some dates and ages) and sheltered inside vaults.
Georgia State Railroad Museum is housed in the former Central of Georgia Railway Roundhouse and Repair Shops Complex. The museum exhibits a collection of historic, restored rolling stock and interprets the history of railroading in the state of Georgia.
There are a great many historic homes that you can tour in Savannah, and I usually tour one or two every time I visit. On our most recent trip, we toured the Owens-Thomas House & Slave Quarters, which offers tours that do an excellent job of reframing the estate’s art, architecture, and history through the perspective of slavery. It is run by the Telfair Museums, meaning your ticket gets you access to the Owens-Thomas House as well as two excellent art museums.
Try a Haunted Pub Walking Tour to hear ghost stories, get a few drinks, meet some people, and maybe see a ghost.
Where to Eat and Drink in Savannah
For breakfast, brunch, and coffee:
- *The Coffee Fox is worth the line. Some signature drinks include an espresso with ice cream, stout beer with espresso, a Mexican mocha with habanero and cinnamon, and a delicious horchata latte.
- *The Collins Quarter is an Australian-style coffee café that pairs a unique specialty coffee experience with very innovative cuisine in a casual café environment. Picture exposed brick wall, brightly colored leather booths, vaulted ceilings, and magical cocktails, food, and coffee. Go for coffee, brunch, and dinner.
For lunch and dinner:
- Cotton & Rye rotates menu items and nightly specials for starters, main courses, and even desserts. Focusing on traditional favorites like fried chicken thighs, but also throwing in unique options such as eggplant cannelloni. According to Eater Carolinas, desserts are just as popular, and ordering the dessert before dinner is encouraged.
- Green Truck Neighborhood Pub makes an excellent burger and offers a huge selection of vegetarian fare, including veggie burgers. And it has a long beer list with rotating taps of local craft beer you won’t find on tap anywhere else.
- *The Grey was named Eater’s best restaurant of the year in 2017, and Chef Mashama Bailey won the James Beard Foundation Outstanding Chef in 2022. It’s located in an old art deco Greyhound bus station, serving amazing modern Southern cuisine.
- Urban Deli was a surprising discovery from our last trip. They serve excellent sandwiches, but it’s their huge selection of REALLY GOOD salads that really stands out. We got generous portions of salad as a side for our sandwiches, but you can also buy salad by weight. And they apparently also offer ramen for dinner.
- West Broad Bandshell is a Korean and soul food fusion spot. Think huge portions of explosive flavours.
For drinks:
- Anywhere in the Historic District. The legislation in Savannah permits patrons and partygoers to carry open drinks as long as those concoctions are held in a plastic, 16-ounce cup and remain within the parameters of the Historic District.
- E River Street is a street with a bit of a trashy party atmosphere. Admire the Savannah River while wandering old cobblestone streets that weave you through historic buildings filled with shops and restaurants that legally serve cocktails and beers to-go.
- Crystal Beer Parlor is a very chill spot with a full Southern pub food menu in addition to its extensive craft beer selection.
- In a city known for its permissive drinking culture, it can be surprisingly challenging to find high-quality cocktails, so it’s worth calling out Alley Cat Lounge for its standout cocktails.
For dessert:
- Leopold’s Ice Cream has been serving old-fashioned super-premium ice cream to hungry visitors for almost a century.
Itinerary for a Weekend in Savannah
From my experience, 2-3 days is a good amount of time for a visit to Savannah. That said, I’m not going to spell out a detailed itinerary for you because you may want to do slightly different things than I’ve done, but hit me up if you want help coming up with your own personalized itinerary. Here’s my Google Map that you can use to start planning your own adventure in Savannah, Georgia.
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