The Best Things to Do in Savannah

14 best things to do in Savannah

Ranked best-first, with an insider tip and how to book each. Prices and hours change - check before you go.

1. 1

   Forsyth Park & the fountain

   IconsFree

   The 30-acre green heart of Savannah, framed by a double avenue of live oaks dripping Spanish moss and anchored by the white 1858 fountain that is the city's single most photographed sight. It's where Savannah walks its dogs, holds its farmers market and simply sits - the quintessential Lowcountry park.

   Insider tip: Come early for the fountain without crowds and the best light, or at golden hour. The Saturday farmers market (fall through spring) is a lovely local scene. The Forsyth cafe in the old fort building is a good coffee stop mid-stroll.

2. 2

   The 22 historic squares

   IconsFree

   James Oglethorpe laid out Savannah in 1733 around a grid of garden squares, and 22 of the original 24 survive - each a small park of oaks, monuments and benches ringed by mansions, museums and churches. Wandering square to square, with no particular goal, is the definitive Savannah experience and completely free.

   Insider tip: Chippewa Square (the Forrest Gump bench site - the bench itself is in a museum), Monterey Square and leafy Lafayette Square are the standouts. A guided history or architecture walk on your first morning ties them together; after that you'll happily wander alone. Bring a to-go coffee - open containers are legal downtown.

3. 3

   A trolley tour of the Historic District

   Tours

   The hop-on-hop-off trolleys are how most visitors first crack Savannah: a narrated loop of 15-odd stops covering the squares, mansions, River Street and the landmarks, with the freedom to jump off and back on all day. In a spread-out, hot-in-summer city, it's genuinely useful transport as well as an orientation.

   Insider tip: Buy the all-day ticket online and use it as your first-morning overview, then get off and explore on foot. The narration quality varies by driver, but the convenience of skipping the walk between far-apart sights (and the summer humidity) is the real value.

   confirmation_numberBook A trolley tour of the Historic District ticketsTours & experiences on Trip.comarrow_forward
4. 4

   Bonaventure Cemetery

   History

   The most beautiful cemetery in the American South: 100 riverside acres of live oaks, Spanish moss and Victorian funerary sculpture made famous by 'Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.' It's genuinely moving rather than morbid - an outdoor gallery of angels and epitaphs under a cathedral of oaks.

   Insider tip: It's a 15-minute drive east of downtown, so pair it with a guided tour that provides transport and the stories behind the graves - the history is what brings it alive, and you won't find the famous plots alone. Go in the morning for the best light through the moss. Respectful visiting only; it's an active cemetery.

   confirmation_numberBook Bonaventure Cemetery ticketsTours & experiences on Trip.comarrow_forward
5. 5

   An evening ghost tour

   Tours

   Savannah bills itself as America's most haunted city, and the ghost tour is close to a mandatory rite: lantern-lit walks (or the spooky hearse rides) through the squares and past the most notoriously haunted houses, trading in centuries of yellow-fever epidemics, duels and buried history. It's equal parts theatre and genuine local history.

   Insider tip: Book ahead in October when the city goes all-in on Halloween. Walking tours suit the atmosphere best; the hearse and pub-crawl versions are more party than fright. Families should check age suitability - some tours lean genuinely dark. The squares at night are worth the walk regardless.

   confirmation_numberBook An evening ghost tour ticketsTours & experiences on Trip.comarrow_forward
6. 6

   River Street & the waterfront

   NeighbourhoodsFree

   The old cotton-trading waterfront on the Savannah River, its 19th-century warehouses now candy shops, breweries, restaurants and hotels along cobblestones ballasted from old ships. It's touristy and it's fun - watch the giant container ships slide past improbably close, and grab a praline from the famous candy kitchens.

   Insider tip: The cobbles and iron stairs down from Bay Street are steep and uneven - there's an elevator in City Hall and a couple of the buildings. Get free samples at the candy kitchens, watch a container ship pass from a riverside table, and use the free ferry to hop across to the convention-centre side for the skyline view back.

7. 7

   Wormsloe Historic Site

   History

   The most Instagrammed spot in Georgia: a 1.5-mile avenue of 400 live oaks planted in the 1890s forming a cathedral tunnel of moss-draped branches, leading to colonial tabby ruins on a marsh estate. The drive-and-walk down the oak avenue is a genuine jaw-drop.

   Insider tip: It's about 20 minutes south of downtown and charges a small admission. Go early morning for empty-avenue photos and soft light. The site itself (ruins, museum, nature trails on the marsh) makes a pleasant hour or two beyond the famous avenue shot.

   confirmation_numberBook Wormsloe Historic Site ticketsTours & experiences on Trip.comarrow_forward
8. 8

   Cathedral Basilica of St John the Baptist

   HistoryFree

   The twin white spires of Savannah's French Gothic cathedral rise above Lafayette Square, and the interior is a surprise: soaring painted ceilings, Austrian stained glass and Italian marble altars, one of the most beautiful church interiors in the South. Free to enter and quietly spectacular.

   Insider tip: It's a working parish, so visit outside Mass times and dress respectfully. It sits on Lafayette Square beside the Flannery O'Connor childhood home and the Andrew Low House - an easy cluster for a morning. Look up: the ceiling murals are the highlight.

9. 9

   The Cotton Sail & rooftop bars

   Food & drinkFree

   Savannah's rooftop scene makes the most of the river and the warm evenings: bars atop the riverfront hotels look straight down the Savannah River and across the historic rooftops, and they're the city's favourite way to end a humid day. Peraltas, Rocks on the Roof and the Cotton Sail are perennial favourites.

   Insider tip: Go for sunset and get there early to claim a rail seat - they fill fast on warm evenings. They're a fine first-drink orientation to the river geography. Dress is casual; the view does the work.

10. 10

    Southern food: shrimp & grits and Mrs Wilkes

    Food & drink

    Savannah is a serious Southern-food town, from the communal fried-chicken feast at the legendary Mrs Wilkes Dining Room to fresh Lowcountry shrimp and grits, she-crab soup and shrimp boils along the coast. Eating here is a headline attraction, not a footnote.

    Insider tip: Mrs Wilkes does lunch only, no reservations, cash-friendly, and the line forms early - go before 11am or expect a wait (worth it once). A guided food tour of the Historic District is a great first-day sampler that also doubles as a squares walk. Don't leave without a praline.

    confirmation_numberBook Southern food: shrimp & grits and Mrs Wilkes ticketsTours & experiences on Trip.comarrow_forward
11. 11

    Tybee Island day trip

    Day trips

    Savannah's beach is 20 minutes east: Tybee Island, a laid-back barrier island of wide Atlantic sand, a historic lighthouse you can climb, dolphin-spotting boat trips and shrimp shacks. It's the easy sun-and-sea counterpoint to all that history and moss.

    Insider tip: Climb the black-and-white lighthouse for the coast view, and book a dolphin tour from the marina - sightings are near-guaranteed in season. Summer weekends get busy and parking is paid and tight, so go early. It's an easy half-day or a full lazy beach day.

    confirmation_numberBook Tybee Island day trip ticketsTours & experiences on Trip.comarrow_forward
12. 12

    The Cathedral of historic homes: Mercer-Williams & Owens-Thomas

    History

    Savannah's house museums open the mansions behind the facades: the Mercer-Williams House on Monterey Square (of 'Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil' infamy) and the Owens-Thomas House with its rare intact urban slave quarters, which the museum uses to tell the fuller, harder history of the antebellum city.

    Insider tip: The Owens-Thomas tour is the more substantive history, honest about slavery rather than romanticising the era. Mercer House draws the 'Midnight' fans. Both are timed-entry - book ahead in peak season. Pick one unless you're a serious house-museum person; two in a day is a lot.

    confirmation_numberBook The Cathedral of historic homes: Mercer-Williams & Owens-Thomas ticketsTours & experiences on Trip.comarrow_forward
13. 13

    SCAD galleries & the Starland District

    NeighbourhoodsFree

    The Savannah College of Art and Design has quietly turned the city into an arts hub, with the excellent SCAD Museum of Art downtown and the muraled, muralled Starland District to the south - a walkable pocket of galleries, indie coffee, vintage shops, breweries and the city's best street art.

    Insider tip: Starland is a short ride south of Forsyth and best explored on foot on a weekend when the shops and food halls are buzzing. The SCAD Museum is worth an hour for the building alone. It's where to see the Savannah that isn't about the antebellum past.

14. 14

    A Savannah riverboat cruise

    Outdoors

    The paddlewheel riverboats offer a different angle on the city and the working river: narrated sightseeing sailings, sunset cruises and dinner-and-live-music voyages down the Savannah past the port and the marshes. It's a relaxed, air-conditioned break from walking the squares in the heat.

    Insider tip: The sunset and dinner cruises are the ones worth booking; the short daytime sightseeing loop is pleasant but less special. Book ahead for weekend dinner sailings. It pairs naturally with a River Street evening.

    confirmation_numberBook A Savannah riverboat cruise ticketsTours & experiences on Trip.comarrow_forward

Where to stay in Savannah

The best areas to base yourself, and who each suits.

• The Historic District

  First-timers - staying among the squares puts everything on foot: River Street, Forsyth Park, the restaurants and the tours all start here.

• River Street & the Riverfront

  Waterfront views and nightlife - cobbled streets, converted cotton warehouses and hotels right on the Savannah River, lively at night.

• Starland District

  Younger, artsy and local - muraled streets, indie coffee, breweries and vintage shops just south of Forsyth, a short ride from the squares.

• The Victorian District

  Quieter and characterful - gingerbread Victorian homes and B&Bs just south of Forsyth Park, walkable to the centre but calmer.