Savannah was laid out in the 1730s around a grid of shaded public squares, and that original plan still shapes how the city feels today: unhurried, leafy, and dense with 18th- and 19th-century architecture draped in Spanish moss. General James Oglethorpe’s squares remain the heart of downtown, but the city’s personality extends to its cobblestone riverfront, its reputation for the supernatural, and a food and drink scene that takes its Southern hospitality seriously. It’s a compact city that unfolds slowly, with enough layered history to fill a long weekend and enough charm to make many visitors start planning a return trip before they’ve even left.
Related: Savannah Travel Guide: Oak-Lined Squares & Ghost Tours (2026)
Best Things to Do in Savannah
Stroll the historic squares
Forsyth Park’s cast-iron fountain is the postcard image, but the real charm is in wandering between the smaller squares — Chippewa, Monterey, Madison — each ringed by townhouses, churches, and monuments, with live oaks arching overhead. Few American cities offer this much green space woven directly into the street grid, and each square carries its own distinct history if you take the time to read the markers.
Visit Bonaventure Cemetery
Set on a bluff above the Wilmington River, Bonaventure is filled with elaborate 19th-century statuary and moss-draped oaks, made famous well beyond Savannah by the book and film “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.” It’s as much a sculpture garden as a burial ground.
Walk River Street
Cobblestones worn smooth by two centuries of foot traffic lead past converted cotton warehouses now holding shops, candy stores, and riverfront restaurants. A paddlewheel boat cruise or a simple bench along the water gives you a good look at the working port traffic that still passes through, including the enormous container ships that pass surprisingly close to the riverfront.
Take a ghost or haunted history tour
Savannah’s dense history of yellow fever epidemics, dueling grounds, and repurposed burial sites has earned it a reputation as one of the most haunted cities in the country, and evening walking tours lean into that history with genuine research behind the stories, not just theatrics.
Day-trip to Tybee Island
About 20 minutes from downtown, Tybee offers a proper beach day with a working lighthouse you can climb for coastal views. It’s a good counterpoint to a few days of dense historic-district walking.
Top-Rated Savannah, Georgia Tours & Experiences
Practical Tips for Your Visit
Best Time to Visit
Spring, particularly March and April, brings blooming azaleas and comfortable temperatures, while fall offers similarly pleasant weather with fewer crowds. Summer is hot, humid, and prone to sudden storms.
How to Get There
Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport (SAV) sits a short drive from downtown. The historic district itself is very walkable, with the squares laid out in an easy-to-navigate grid, though a car or rideshare is useful for Bonaventure Cemetery and Tybee Island.
Good to Know
Cobblestones on River Street and some side streets can be uneven underfoot, so wear sturdy shoes. Evening ghost tours book up on weekends, so reserve ahead. Many historic homes and museums have limited entry times, so check hours before planning your day around them.
Savannah rewards slow mornings and long walks more than a packed itinerary. Let yourself get pulled off-route by a square you didn’t plan to see, and keep an evening free for the city’s storytelling side. Between the architecture, the moss-draped squares, and the food scene, it’s a city that tends to feel too short even on a four- or five-day visit.
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