16 Things To Do In Savannah Whether It's Your First Or Fifth Visit
The coronavirus pandemic is still impacting travel, and destinations around the world have different COVID-19 restrictions in place. Always check and adhere to local government policies as you're planning any trips.
1.Grab a to-go drink (or ice cream) and sit in a historic square for a spell for some leisurely people (and horse carriage) watching.
ICYMI, Savannah allows you to take an alcoholic drink to go in a 16-ounce plastic cup (like New Orleans) from basically any bar or restaurant and consume it within the historic district. And there are 22 squares across a one square mile area in the historic district with tons of benches, shade, and some historic monuments. Historic district buildings are situated around these picturesque squares, so these squares have VIEWS.
If you have the famous Leopold’s Ice Cream on your to-do list, you can skip the line (there’s always a line) by going in the left door and buying a pint, which ends up being not much bigger than a two-scoop cup you’d have to stand in line to buy. There IS an air-conditioned dining room where you can enjoy your ice cream. But if the weather isn’t sweltering, you could take it to the nearby Reynolds Square to leisurely enjoy in the shade.
It’s also worth trying out Jen's & Friends, which has a menu longer than a CVS receipt of to-go “martinis” that IMO really are just super strong drinks that are in about any flavor you can imagine. They are STRONG and sweet, unlike the martini that would come to mind (for me, at least). I tried a Scooby Snack (milk-based with bourbon and caramel) and my friend had the Rice Krispies Treat (what you’d expect). They were perf for sipping AND that IG photo.
2.And try some of the city's (very strong) signature drinks.
Chatham Artillery Punch (this one from the Shrimp Factory on River Street) really DOES pack quite a punch if you’re into sweet but strong stuff. Psst, it's supposedly the cocktail that saved the city from destruction during The Civil War.
Speaking of sweet, the Pink Lady from The Olde Pink House will also get the job done. As the wait staff warns, it truly is “Southern Sweet” (music to my ears) and could be pretty dangerous if you’re a fast drinker for something that goes down smooth. The establishment also sells custom-blended spirits in both its restaurant and basement bar.
Try out Moon River Brewery’s own beers on tap. This haunt (yeah, literally) also has amazing burgers. The other food there is also really great, too!
^ All this is just scraping the boozy surface. Many bars have their own signature drinks and shots! Asking a bartender about an establishment's go-to or most popular drink is always a good idea...even if it's just a new-to-you spot in your neighborhood.
3.Stop by the JW Marriot Power Plant Riverside District lobby to take in all kinds of natural wonders — for free!
If you prioritize anything on this list, do this. The 1912 Power Plant was decommissioned in 2005 and set for the wrecking ball when in 2012 The Kessler Collection acquired the building, opened the hotel (comprised of three buildings) in 2020, and set up what’s more or less a free museum that’ll make you feel fancier just by proximity. Gemstones bigger than your torso and a chrome-dipped dinosaur. Need I say more?
Well, I will anyway. The hotel is located on the River Street (an area you’ll definitely be in if you have a trip to Savannah). So it’s an easy ~30 minute viewing. I saw it for the first time on my recent trip (my fourth trip to the Hostess City) and it was a trip highlight.
Want a fuller look? Check out my reel tour of it on Instagram because pictures don't do it justice.
4.Visit a historic house museum to get a better sense of the city's history...and at the very least, just look at really pretty things.
One of the best things about Savannah is the beautiful architecture. Merely walking around will give you a very quick grasp of that. Though working in an under-45 minute tour of a home will be well worth your time.
If you’ve read or watched Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil or you’re THAT person who lives for a cool antique mall or flea market find, check out the Mercer-Williams House (completed 1868). Jim Williams restored it (and many other historic Savannah houses) and then lived in it and ran his antique business out of the carriage shop out back. By the time the movie and book were out (1994 and 1997, respectively), he’d passed from pneumonia and heart failure at the age of 59. But his family uses the second floor as a family home and operates a house museum out of the first floor. You can’t take pics inside but it is gorgeous and filled with an eclectic mix of antiques that speaks to Williams’ exquisite taste and sense of humor. You can make reservations ahead of time, but I rec stopping by the carriage house to purchase tickets in person on the morning of your tour. I rarely like to do things more than once, but I've been here twice and both the house are tour guides are phenomenal.
If you're a Girl Scout, definitely tour the Juliette Gordon Low birthplace. The organization's founder "Daisy" was born in the home in 1860 and even started the Girl Scouts in the home in 1912. You'll definitely recognize that when you see it, as it's well-marked with Girl Scout flags. It was saved from demo in 1953 when the national organization purchased it. Now you can tour it whether you're a Scout or just interested. I've been and the museum does a great job balancing the history of Daisy, her family, and the organization's own history.
If you’ve already been to some opulent historic mansions, consider going to the Davenport House Museum to get a sense of what it was like to be a merchant circa 1820–27 (i.e. not uber wealthy). It's an American Federal–style house that was built by its inhabitant Isaiah Davenport and completed in 1820. It’s still a very nice house but feels more relatable as you tour it. The tour covers what it was like to live as both a free and enslaved person in the household, basing this on artifacts found within the house. The Historic Savannah Foundation purchased it in the mid-'50s (its first purchase) with the aim to restore and preserve the house as an effort to revitalize the area. It kicked off a fervor for restoration in the area (something that Jim Williams was also very much a part of!).
A few other house museums to check out:
- Sorrel-Weed House (c. 1840 Greek Revival and Regency-style home; has both house and ghost tours, more on the latter later)
- King-Tisdell Cottage (c. 1896 Victorian-style cottage; is available to tour by appointment only and the *only* African American historic house to tour in the city)
- Andrew Low House (c. 1849 Italianate-style stucco home; built by Juliette Gordon-Low's father-in-law)
- William Scarbrough House/Ships of the Sea Maritime Museum (c. 1819 Greek Revival–style home; the gardens are the largest in the historic district and free to the public but admission to the museum is paid)
- Green-Meldrim House (c. 1850 Gothic Revival–style home; headquarters of General Sherman during the Union army's occupation in 1864; is now a parish for St. John's Church and National Historic Landmark, so you should call ahead about tours)
- Harper Fowlkes House (c. 1842 Greek Revival-style home; tours highlight unique architectural and design features, like its "Temple of the Wind" columns inspired by that structure in Athens, Greece)
5.Learn more about enslaved people in the city and how their lives and forced labor are what created the grandeur that tourists get to enjoy today.
If you're visiting a grand historic manse in a historic district (even if you're not in the South!), there's a very good chance that enslaved people were forced to build and/or work within the grounds. Lots of tours gloss over this, but more and more of them are making a point to talk about it. Though still not nearly enough. (If you've been on many historic house tours, you've probably heard something along the lines of, oh yes the patriarch of the house taught the enslaved children how to read and write, which might be true but that doesn't change the situation these people were forced into. I've heard this at least 3x on such tours)
Here are some places you can visit that don't skip the subject:
- Owens-Thomas House and Slave Quarters has been running as a historic house tour for quite some time, but in the recent past the tour has started to go more into the reality of enslaved people forced to live and work on the property.
- First African Baptist Church is the oldest Black congregation in North America. It was organized in 1773 and its current site is a National Historic Landmark.
- The Beach Institute African-American Cultural Center opened in 1867 after emancipation as the first school in the city built specifically for the education of African Americans. The Institute now works to interpret and preserve history and culture through exhibits you can visit and experience.
Also consider taking the Slaves in the City Tour by Underground Tours of Savannah. This tour company's mission is to "commemorate the African American journey from slavery to freedom in Savannah."
6.If you’re short on time for tours, make a reservation at The Olde Pink House where you can grab a meal, get a spiel about its history from your waiter, AND wander around the historic *haunted* house. So really, you're marking off three things on your Savannah to-do list.
DEFINITELY make that reservation as soon as you know your dates for your trip because time slots can fill up fast! If OpenTable doesn’t have any availability, you can simply call and grab one by talking to an actual human (I did).
Some background: In 1771, James Habersham Jr. built it on a plot of land allotted by the crown and after he passed, it became the Planter's Bank (Georgia's first bank). In 1864, Union troops stayed there and eventually it was a bookstore, then a tea room. And Jim Williams took it on as a restoration project with the aim of staying a bar and restaurant rather than a home. *Though* as you walk around it each room still feels a bit like a home, albeit a rather fancy one.
My food was delicious (a couple of Pink Lady cocktails, fried green tomatoes for an appetizer, a fried flounder special entree) and I sadly had no room for dessert. The waitstaff encourages you to wander around after you pay your bill, and many people do! There are formal rooms turned into dining rooms, a jewelry box–like ballroom on the second floor, and a basement bar with hall women's bathrooms that reportedly child ghosts lock guests in...yes, it's reportedly haunted (like so SO many places in the city). Its builder Mr. Habersham Jr. is spotted in the restaurant in his colonial grab drinking ale — but only October through March when it's not too hot. The main floor women's restroom even has a nod to his wife who reportedly also haunts the establishment with a sign that reads "Mrs. Habersham insists... All employees must wash their hands."
7.Explore food outside of the traditional (but still delicious) Southern cuisine.
When you’re in town, you DEFINITELY need to get some good southern cuisine (especially if you don’t live in the South). But you also shouldn’t limit yourself to the basics of fried chicken, biscuits, and shrimp and grits that the uninitiated may assume is all you’ll want to eat while visiting.
Check out Zunzi’s for some tropical drinks, shot specials, and delicious, incredibly filling sandwiches and other bar food. It’s super casual and you can easily hang out awhile as you slowly sip your drinks. I ate here a year ago and again during my October trip at a larger location. It was consistently great!
Little Duck Diner has a great range of food offerings in case you're in the thick of Tourist Central and everyone in your party wants something different. My friend and I strolled in for Saturday dinner and were seated almost immediately. I had a Bi Bim Bop bowl and my vegetarian pal had an avocado grilled cheese — both of which were generous portions.
If your love language is bar food, stop by a Treylor Park location. It has Southern twists on traditional bar food. Yes you’ve had pimento cheese sandwiches or bar nachos, but have you had a pimento cheese shrimp quesadilla or waffle fries nachos with a balsamic glaze? Well, I've had those nacho dish each time I've visited and nachos are my absolute favorite food. My friend had shrimp and grits tacos that she loved. (Shrimp and grits is a regional staple, and available in some kind of form on most any menu in town.) Plus another patron in line for the bathroom raved about the chicken pot pie. Worth noting: They also have an impressive drinks menu.
All in all, Savannah is a drinking and eating city so you're never going to be short on really good options. Actually, it might be a little tough figuring out exactly which place to go because of the wealth of options.
And if you need something to hold you over 'til your trip to Savannah, several food spots deliver on Goldbelly, Including:
- Savannah Candy Kitchen (self-explanatory)
- The Grey (and snag an IRL reservation on Resy)
8.Go on a drag queen bar crawl.
Savannah has been home to some famous queens, (RIP, Lady Chablis) and you can catch a drag show easy peasy at spots like Club One (Lady's home base) and Illusions The Show. But why not take it up a notch with a bar crawl guided by drag queens? After all when you can take the drinks to go and you're being led in sing-a-longs, it totally transforms the process of a crawl.
9.Learn about the local Gullah/Geechee community at the Pin Point Heritage Museum.
Nope, watching Gullah Gullah Island doesn't count as an explainer (though, what a fun show!). To catch you up, the museum is located in a former oyster cannery and educates visitors about the community that was founded in 1896 by formerly enslaved people after the Civil War. At the museum you'll learn about Gullah/Geechee culture *directly* from community members whom are descended from the original residents.
Until you can make it in person, you can check out "The South Carolina Gullah" episode of W. Kamau Bell's CNN show, United Shades of America. (You can also watch it on your CNN streaming app. And really, just go ahead and watch all the seasons of the show. It's incredible.)
10.Don’t forget to stop by Forsyth Park and say hi to its picturesque fountain.
Yes yes, you’ve been to the squares. So why do you need to go to the big park? Well, it is LOVELY and very close to all the stuff you’ll likely be hitting up in the historic district. It's 30 acres and named for Georgia's 33rd governor, John Forsyth. But the standout is the (shown) fountain. It was installed in 1858 and modeled after the fountains at the Place de la Concorde in Paris. There's tons of seating throughout the park, but quite a few benches encircling the fountain for a lovely view. Did you even GO to Savannah if you didn’t see that fountain up close and personal? No, no you didn’t.
The park hosts events (for example, the Philharmonic played a free Saturday night concert there during my recent October visit), and there seems to always be something going on there — even if in an unofficial capacity. Plus, there’s a VERY good cafe in the park called Collins Quarter at Forsyth you’ll be willing to put you name on a list and wait for — but I rec checking out availability on OpenTable instead of chancing it.
Psst, if you're doing a hop-on, hop-off trolley tour (more on those later) around the city, it's highly likely that it'll stop at the park.
11.Take in some art — and even enjoy some for free!
The Savannah College of Art and Design has buildings dotted throughout the city and there’s no shortage of art to check out in part thanks to SCAD’s presence.
The SCAD store, which is incredibly well curated full of fun things, is free to walk into and features walls of art to enjoy. So really, you can feed two birds with one scone.
If you’re dead set of seeing the Bird Girl from the cover and movie poster of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, she is NOT at Bonaventure Cemetery because tourists got a bit out of hand. Instead, you can check it out and at the Telfair Academy.
Pop into the new (as of 2016) Savannah African Art Museum, a non-profit institution with a 1000+ piece collection from West and Central Africa, representing more than 28 countries and 180 individual cultures and ethnic groups. Items span ceremonial and spiritual objects from the 19th and 20th centuries.
When in Forsyth Park, you can drop into the Mansion on Forsyth Park (a 4-star hotel I just stayed at and found via AmexTravel for a price on par with area Holiday Inns) and take in sculptures outside, and some of the hundreds of original pieces of art featured throughout the hotel. There’s even a display of A Century in Hats just off the hotel bar that non-guests are welcome to enjoy.
And while you’re in the area, walk north from Forsyth Park by the opulent Armstrong Kessler Mansion. It’s a huge white Italian Renaissance Revival–style home you can’t miss that the developer of the Mansion on Forsyth and the Power Plant Hotel, Richard Kessler, currently owns and the yard is full of sculptures. Walking around Savannah, you’ll notice that a lot of private residences in the historic district have walled off backyards or high fences with foliage trained to for privacy from tourists (which, fair). But this manse has a fence that easily reveals what’s inside for some public enjoyment.
12.Pay your respects at a cemetery...during daylight hours.
The beginning of many stories you’ll hear about Savannah involves construction that unearthed bones or the building over of old cemetery grounds. But there are still cemeteries you can visit in “America’s Most Haunted City.” (Note that all of these cemeteries are free to visit during the day but you *can* buy tickets for a guided tour. Please respect the cemeteries' hours!)
if you have a car at your disposal or have the time to Uber ~20 minutes to Bonaventure Cemetery, go! It’s beautiful and you can book some amazing tour guides. You’ll see the graves of singer/songwriter Johnny Mercer and poet Conrad Aiken (which is actually a bench with a river view), and some other legendary graves.
But if you’re a little less into dedicating time to a cemetery but are a bit curious (fair!), stroll into Colonial Park Cemetery to see the SEEMINGLY sparsely populated grounds. Union soldiers occupied the grounds and get the blame for vandalized family crypts, ripped up tombstones, and the general "empty" appearance. Enter the gate and walk toward the back wall to see tombstones departed from their homes interred along a brick wall. See my TikTok tour.
Visit Laurel Grove South Cemetery where in 1853, the city set aside land for the Black community. (A highway separated it from white North section.) Many graves were moved from an earlier cemetery by Whitefield Square. The city expanded the plot of land more a few years later. You can also take a guided tour through the other section.
13.Take a walking tour, even better if it’s a ghost tour.
Stroll through a historic square at night and you’ll run into at least a few ghost tours. There are LOTS to choose from, some more family-friendly and others that have more adult story telling. I had a ton of fun on a pub crawl ghost tour a year ago.
If you're super into architecture, try a historic home walking tour so you can get more than a passing glance at the gorgeous mansions from a trolley window.
If you're a history buff, take part in a Civil War history tour to learn more about the wealthy city's involvement.
14.Get even more macabre if you’ve done a standard ghost or cemetery tour and want more. Considering visiting the Graveface Museum, riding along in a hearse ghost tour, or taking part in a paranormal investigation session.
If you’re into the nitty-gritty of cults, serial killers and just anything most people would describe as “weird” or "what is wrong with you, Elizabeth?" stop by the Graveface Museum. I went on my recent trip and highly suggest if if you too, are strange and unusual. It includes a large collection of serial-killer prison art, haunted dolls, a room full of ~free~ horror-theme pinball machines you can play to your heart's desire (see my TikTok of the pinball machines), sideshow gaffs, and more weird and unusual stuff.
If normal walking or trolley ghost tours are feeling a little meh for you, try the Hearse Ghost Tours. It rides eight passengers and you can even book a private tour with a hearse to yourself and pals. The driver narrates as you circle around historic city blocks and listen about Savannah’s past and present. I took one on my most recent trip and learned ON THE TOUR that uh, my hotel is haunted. It was fun and just be prepared to get some LOOKS from people you zoom by because, well, you’re sitting in a converted hearse. Check out my TikTok for a taste.
If you wanna visit the site of a haunting, visit Sorrel-Weed House for an evening ghost tour or paranormal investigation. ICYMI, BuzzFeed Unsolved investigated this mansion a few years ago! So you can watch that video below as a bit of a pregame.
If you wanna help collect haunting evidence, try your hand at a 3-hour historic theater paranormal investigation. The tour includes high-quality ghost-hunting equipment so you can get your Zak Bagans on.
And if you've never watched it, check out the BuzzFeed Unsolved investigation of the Sorrel-Weed Mansion:
15.Hop on and off trolleys to get around.
Once you step foot in the historic district, it will be very obvious that there are several competing paid trolley tours in the city that’ll take you around the historic district with super informative and engaging narration. You can do the regular hop on and off with a sticker day pass and, well, do just that near popular sites around town. These are a great idea if it’s your first time there, it’s really hot, and/or if you have limited mobility. Savannah is a VERY walkable city, but that doesn’t apply to everyone. If you're into the spooky ooky, check out this trolley ghost tour.
If you just like the getting around factor and don’t need the narration, the city’s DOT has two FREE shuttle routes in the historic district and a shuttle ferry to the convention center across the river. They run about every 10 minutes. In my experience they run a little less frequently than the paid tour trolleys and are affected by events. (For me, the purple line didn’t run its normal route because of the philharmonic playing in the park and I didn’t realize it. It affected a brunch reservation that, luckily, the restaurant still honored.)
16.And do some dang shopping.
As an online shopping editor, I’ve become even more particular about what I buy for myself over the years. Plus, there's tons of great shopping where I live in New York City. So I rarely buy souvenirs (and even tell readers to really consider what souvenirs they're buying in my guide for packing carry-on only). Well, there's PLENTY of great things to buy in Savannah. And I eat my own words because I DID buy several things there, for the record.
Here are some great spots to try:
- E Shaver, Bookseller offers a wonderful collection of tomes (and there's even a shelf of used books!), plus lots of cute literary-centric items like an Agatha Christie puzzle or candles that smell like books.
- Carriage House at the Mercer-Williams House is chock full of all kinds of things you'd want to gift others — or maybe just yourself. It's a good way to kill some time while you wait for your tour, or well worth popping into for a bit of shopping even if you aren't touring the home.
- The Paris Market has an adorable cafe and small seating area on the main floor, with items to shop throughout the rest of the floor and the basement. You'll find gorgeous jewelry and accessories, hosting essentials, $40+ candles you'll want to deeply inhale, and some other random antiques...like a $1000+ leather wrestling dummy that I thought was a voodoo doll from afar. (See that on IG here.)
- SCAD store is an incredibly well-curated boutique associated with the college and like I mentioned re free art, is also a feast for the eyes. It's packed with smaller-scale finds, like punny greeting cards and adorable enamel pens — plus some gorgeous jewelry if you're willing to spend a little more cash.
- Jere’s Antiques is simply up a STEEP staircase from River Street and a maze of all sorts of ornate furniture. If you're into interior design, this is worth wandering through. But! The prices aren't your Wayfair or Facebook Marketplace variety. I saw few items under $500. Still worth a look!
- Jones & Bull has an amazing collection of modern, vintage, and antique treasures that'll catch your eye as soon as you stroll by it. (Or at least it did for me!) If you squeal over a pair of porcelain dogs or adore Jonathan Adler, this place is for you.
- The Olfactory Company sells a variety of soaps, teas, and some slightly spooky stuff like Venetian masks...all things you don't need but *could* always use.
- Graveface Records & Curiosities serves as the entrance to the Graveface Museum (that I already mentioned) and is THE place if you want to grab a few records or a spooky-leaning enamel pin. It's also where you purchase admission for the museum.
- the candy shops on River Street are so wonderfully fragrant that you'll wander in without even realizing it. Snag some pralines (especially if you've never had any!), fudge, candy apples, bulk candy...most anything you'd imagine to be in an old fashioned candy shop.
