The beauty of Savannah, Georgia completely took my breath away. This southern city is a dream for architecture lovers, photographers, supernatural enthusiasts, history buffs, and those of us that can’t get enough of that good ole southern comfort food. The city is extremely walkable and is a perfect place to visit to be able to see and do a ton within just a couple of days. If peach cobbler and southern sweet tea aren’t enough to make you want to start packing your bags right now, I can guarantee visiting this charming and lush green city you will have so many reasons to want to stay and linger on longer.

First Day in Savannah

Coffee and Forsyth Park

We were lucky enough that our Airbnb was only a block away from Forsyth Park and it made for the perfect place to begin our exploration of the city. We stopped into the Sentient Bean, a hip little coffee shop with a great outside patio area to enjoy the warm weather in. I got an iced tea and a delicious chocolate croissant and then walked around and enjoyed the beauty of Forsyth from the people playing tennis, lush green trees, street musicians, people taking pictures of their dogs and of course the beautiful fountain.

Savannah’s Squares

Savannah is considered America’s first planned city and has 22 of it’s original 24 squares still standing from it’s original grid plan designed by James Oglethorpe in the 1700’s. It’s a must to walk through as many of the squares as you can while in Savannah. The famous bench scene in the beloved Forrest Gump was filmed in Chippewa Square. Sorry to disappoint but the bench from the movie is not in the square and is located at the Savannah History Museum. The bench was a movie prop and never actually a permanent part of Chippewa Square - although that didn’t stop people from trying to take pieces from other benches that were on the square even though there were signs that told people “this bench was not in the movie”. All of the squares are quite beautiful in their own right but my personal favorite was Monterey Square which had the most lush natural beauty and lots of shade.

Mercer William’s House

The infamous Mercer William’s House where Jim Williams murdered Danny Hansford also happens to be right on Monterey Square. If you haven’t read the book Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt already I highly recommend doing so before making a trip to Savannah. The book is based on the true story of the wealthy art dealer and Savannah socialite Jim Williams who lived in the red mansion and threw lavish Christmas parties every year, with only Savannah’s finest on the guest list.

One night an argument went terribly wrong and Jim Williams shot and killed his lover and employee, Danny Hansford. The book details the story of the murder and the four trials following but also introduces you to so many hilarious and intriguing Savannah characters that you truly won’t be able to forget. Reading the book beforehand makes exploring the city so much more fun when you can recognize the places you’ve read about. The Mercer Williams House is now owned by Jim Williams sister and is open for tours. I opted out after hearing that the people working there don’t like to talk about the murder or share stories of hauntings and no photography inside is allowed. For this particular infamous historic house it seemed it was better not to get information directly from the source.

Leopold’s Ice Cream

If you’re as obsessed with ice cream as I am you can’t make a trip to Savannah without getting a cone from Leopold’s ice cream. Savannah is known to get extremely hot in the summers so if you’re visiting in the warmer months there’s no better way to cool off. The line wasn’t terribly long when we arrived about mid day but is known to stretch down the street on hot days. I got a sugar cone double scoop of pistachio and banana, in my opinion you can always tell how good an ice cream shop really is by tasting those two flavors. Leopold’s definitely did not disappoint. The woman standing next to me in line looks at me as I’m handed my giant double scoop ice cream cone and says “are you going to be able to finish all that?!” She clearly had no idea how I get down when it comes to ice cream.

River Street

River Street is bustling with tourists, street artists and performers, shops, art galleries, and restaurants. I tend to prefer the quieter more residential neighborhoods in any city I visit so I didn’t care to spend a crazy amount of time on River Street. Don’t get me wrong though you definitely have to walk on the old cobblestone streets and super steep historic stairways and get a view of the Savannah river. We even caught sight of a massive cargo ship coming into port from across the Atlantic that appeared larger than the entire city itself, it was honestly wild to see so up close. Savannah has been a major port city from the very beginning and still today is the fourth largest in the entire nation.

Savannah’s waterfront also carries with it a deeply dark and troubling past. Just about every single building in Savannah is haunted, but River Street especially is known to be the most haunted part of town - which comes as no surprise since Savannah was the largest entry point for ships coming to port who had stolen and enslaved people from West Africa. Many of the warehouses that still line River Street today were used not only to hold cotton but enslaved people as well. River Street also goes down in history as the place of the largest auction of human beings in American history. There is without a doubt a lot of deep trauma and pain seeped into the city that can’t be ignored. There is a monument on River Street dedicated to the contributions African Americans made to the city of Savannah - which is certainly a necessary first step in our country acknowledging the truth of our past but in just walking through River Street without having any prior knowledge to the atrocities that occurred there it would be quite easy to never know without doing a little bit of digging. There is almost always a story buried underneath a place and a different perspective worth gaining.

Cathedral of St. John the Baptist

The intricacy and perfect symmetry of Catholic cathedrals is always so pleasing to the eye and The Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist is no exception. When exploring Savannah on foot it’ll be hard not to stumble upon this gorgeous cathedral and it’s worth it to go inside and snap a few pictures and take in some moments of peace and quiet.

What’s interesting about a giant Catholic church being right in the center of town is that when the city of Savannah was originally founded by James Oglethorpe, Catholicism was banned - as was liquor, lawyers, and slavery. Yeah as you could have guessed, it didn’t last long. Oglethorpe had dreams of creating a kind of utopia of his own desire, but Irish Catholics were coming by the boatloads, lawyers wanted to be able to sue, and the citizens of Savannah wanted to get drunk on rum and get rich off the hard labor they didn’t have to produce.

The Olde Pink House

The Olde Pink House is an institution in Savannah and the top result you’ll get when on the search for best restaurants in Savannah. I had to try it out for myself and when we arrived, tired and starving after walking close to 20,000 steps already that day, it was too late for lunch and too early for dinner so we got to select from the “afternoon menu” and sit in the Arches Bar. It was a gorgeous bar with large glass doors that opened out and got a nice breeze and sunlight inside. I ordered the low country she crab soup which was superb. I overheard a conversation at the bar of people asking “why is it called she crab soup?” - a question I had myself as well - and the male bartender responded “the female crabs were said to be sweeter, but we all know that isn’t true”.

I also ordered the fried green tomatoes and am wishing I had alternated between eating them and the soup because by the time I got to trying them, they were cold and didn’t sit quite right in my stomach afterwards. Likely a combination of being on the verge of a cold, jetlag, and walking my ass off all day in the sun, and eating only a croissant and ice cream that day.

If you know The Olde Pink House, or another super popular spot like The Grey, is on your must do list in Savannah my advice would be book a reservation online weeks if not months ahead of time if you know when you’ll be in Savannah, just to be safe. I learned the hard way that popular restaurants get booked up super far in advance when I tried to make a reservation for The Olde Pink House and The Grey less than a week before I’d be in Savannah and there were zero openings for several weeks. Also if you’re traveling alone it would be a lot more likely to easily get a seat at the bar at any popular spot and arriving early is always another way to raise your chances of getting a table without having to wait for hours. I’m wishing that I had done a little bit more planning ahead of time so I could’ve gotten the full Olde Pink House experience and I’m already wanting to plan another trip just to try their corn bread fried oysters and mac n cheese jalapeno poppers, I mean come on!

Ghost Tour

So as you should already know, Savannah is one of the most haunted cities in America, and for good reason. Practically the entire city sits right on top of burial ground, the dead including the Indigenous Yamacraw people of the area, many enslaved Africans who didn’t receive proper burials, the thousands of people who died from the Yellow Fever epidemic, and soldiers who fought in the Revolutionary and Civil Wars. When there is grief, pain, sadness, anger, or disrespect that occurs in death it’s highly likely that energy will continue to linger on in that space, making Savannah the perfect breeding ground for some freaky ass shit. Case in point, you have to take a ghost tour when you’re in Savannah to hear just the beginning of countless stories about boo hags, murders, dead bodies mysteriously moving underground, haunted inns and mansions, and the unmarked burial grounds that cover the city.

We chose Ghost City Tours and I only have great things to say about them and our tour guide, but there are countless options to choose from as far as tour companies go. You can even take a ghost tour in a hearse if that’s your kind of thing! My favorite kind of tour is always on foot and since Savannah is such a walkable city and there’s a haunted building on literally every single block, I would definitely recommend doing a walking tour. We met our tour guide, Leroy, and the rest of our group in front of Colonial Park Cemetery right in the heart of the historic district and the fun began. The Colonial Park Cemetery holds over 9,000 graves and served as a mass burial site during the yellow fever epidemic of 1820 and it’s said that 700 people who died from the epidemic were buried there but when they went to move the bodies there were only 666. Creepy!

We made our way from square to square with lots of stops along the way to hear the history and frightening tales of the buildings we were walking by. Calhoun Square is known to possess a darker energy and the stories told about the house the sits right across from it at 432 Abercorn Street had me going to sleep with the light on for days afterwards. I was clenching onto my moldavite necklace and saying my protection prayers and could not wait to get out of that square, let me tell ya. The walk back to the Airbnb after the tour was over was quite creepy with how eerily quiet the city was at night and only the sound of the strong wind blowing before the big storm that was to come the next day. I was looking behind me about every ten seconds just to make sure there wasn’t a boo hag following behind me. Don’t let any of that scare you away from taking a tour though, it is without a doubt a great time and it’s always thrilling to be a little bit scared anyways isn’t it?

Second Day in Savannah

Mrs. Wilkes Dining Room and Jones Street

So if you want the best home cooked southern food you’ve ever had, you have to go to Mrs. Wilkes, no question. They’re only open from 11:00am to 2:00pm weekdays only so make your travel plans accordingly. Mrs. Wilkes would be easy to miss if you didn’t already know it was there as it looks like any of the other homes in the residential neighborhood, but during the hours they’re open it would be impossible to miss with a line that wraps around the block of people craving red rice and fried okra. Yes people start lining up around 10:00am so definitely plan to get there early to minimize the wait. It’s 100% worth the wait in line though I promise you that. We arrived around twenty after ten and there were only about ten people already in line so we got seated pretty quickly once the doors opened.

Mrs. Wilkes also happens to be on Jones Street, given the name of prettiest street in America and I honestly can’t disagree. Gazing at the giant oaks covered in Spanish moss towering over the most gorgeous four story brick homes couldn’t have been a better distraction from a grumbling stomach. If you’re traveling with someone a perfect way to kill the time waiting in line is take turns walking around snapping photos of this picturesque street that looks straight out of a scene in a movie.

The food at Mrs. Wilkes is all served up family style so you’re seated at a dining table with people you’ve never met before and it’s a super fun way to meet people that normally you would just pass by on the street. I’ve never eaten at a restaurant that serves their meals this way and I definitely recommend trying it, especially if you’re a solo traveler as it will give you a super convenient way to connect with other people who might be traveling too or live locally.

They serve what seems like a literal endless amount of side dishes. My brain didn’t even know where to start as I didn’t want to fill up too much on one dish that I know I like without trying all the others. But there were just so many options, I couldn’t possibly try every single dish! So I skipped out on the dishes I already know I’m not crazy about like green beans and coleslaw and tried a little bit of just about everything else, going in for second helpings of dishes I just couldn’t get enough of. For instance the creamed corn, red rice, rutabaga, fried chicken, cornbread, biscuits, cucumber slices, fried okra and…okay let’s just say everything I tried was incredible. Even my dad who doesn’t give a rats ass about food and was convinced that fried chicken is the same everywhere, admitted he had his mind totally changed after eating at Mrs. Wilkes.

Oh and after you’re completely stuffed to the gills they serve you an option of banana pudding or peach cobbler, how the hell are you supposed to choose between those two bombshells of a dessert? I chose the banana pudding which was to die for but I’ve been thinking about that peach cobbler ever since so that’s my excuse as to why I need to visit again soon.

Wormsloe Historic Site

Everyone at some point has likely seen pictures of this iconic dirt road lined by oaks dripping with Spanish moss. It’s beauty has made it one of the most Instagrammable spots ever, but like many places in Savannah there is a darker history that lies there. Wormsloe Historic Site lies on what was the site of Wormsloe Plantation and the home that sits on the property is still owned by the descendants of the original owner, Noble Jones. Noble Jones came to Savannah around the same time as James Oglethorpe and since slavery was banned at the beginning of Savannahs founding he used indentured servants to work the land. Then slavery became legal and he wanted to make the plantation profitable so he began using enslaved people from Africa to work on the property. There was known to be nearly 1,500 slaves working at the estate at any given time.

There are tours of the property you can sign up for, but I opted out after everything I read said that they don’t mention anything about slavery at all on the tours. Not super surprising that attempts are being made to erase the real history, it is America we’re living in after all, but how the hell can they not even mention the more than 1,500 people who lived and worked there for over a hundred years?! But again I didn’t take the tour myself so I can’t say for certain what all is included or excluded in the tours being given currently. Either way I would recommend reading more about the history of Wormsloe and not allow the thousands of people who spent their lives raising children and growing old there, to simply be forgotten.

Bonaventure Cemetery

Just outside of Savannah is the hauntingly beautiful Bonaventure Cemetery. You may recognize it as the cemetery where Minerva, the voodoo priestess from Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, performed her rituals and magic to help Jim Williams when he was on trial for murder. “The half-hour before midnight is for doin' good. The half-hour after midnight is for doin' evil…seems like we need a little of both tonight.” Minerva describes cemeteries as “gardens” thus where the title of the book was derived.

Cemeteries have always felt so peaceful and comforting to me and Savannah fully embraces their love for their historic graveyards. Whereas in so many other cities visiting a cemetery just for “something fun to do” might be seen as weird or something only goth kids would do, but in Savannah there isn’t much that is seen as “too weird”.

You won’t find the famous bird girl statue pictured on the cover of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil at Bonaventure anymore as it was moved to the Telfair Academy to prevent any damage being done by tourists who want a piece to take home as a souvenir. However you will find another quite famous statue of the adorable Little Gracie. Her parents managed the Pulaski Hotel which formerly sat on Johnson Square and she was known to greet guests of the hotel and play in the hallways. She died of pneumonia two days before Easter in 1889 at six years old and her parents had this life size statue sculpted in her honor. She’s quite cute and if you’re going to Bonaventure you definitely have to pay her a visit, just look for the signs pointing towards section E.

Although more likely to see tourists taking photos than hoodoo priestesses practicing their magic, you will certainly feel the strong energy that lies in Bonaventure. In visiting you will witness all the intricate details of every headstone and sculpture and see something interesting and beautiful every direction you look. From the trees dripping with Spanish moss to the azaleas in bloom in early spring and the headstones of those that lived and died long before us. Bonaventure is a dream for those of us that get way too excited about all things old and haunted.

Stroll Around Downtown and Dinner

After being out adventuring all day we headed back to the Airbnb to rest up for a bit and figure out where we should go for dinner. Every place I had on my list either wasn’t answering the phone or was all booked up for the night so I text my boss who used to live and work in Savannah and he recommended Circa 1875. A French Bistro with stunning vintage interiors and an old school bar? Count me the fuck in. The dining room was booked with reservations for the night but the pub side of the restaurant is first come first serve and we happen to be the first ones there. They didn’t start serving food for another thirty minutes so we took advantage of the insanely beautiful warm evening and walked around downtown before sitting down for dinner.

We walked all over the streets of downtown passing by locals, tourists, SCAD students, and families and it felt like anyone and everyone was outside enjoying the beauty and warmth in the air that only comes after an intense rain storm. That is the absolute best kind of weather in my opinion, just after a storm when the sky opens up with a slight orange hazy glow, just enough humidity to keep the temperatures warm and comfortable, and everyone comes out of their house to bask in the fresh energy.

After basking in the spring evening it was time to head back to Circa 1875 for my favorite activity, eating! I tried escargot for the first time and the slideshow below shows progression photos of all my feelings about it.

Okay so it wasn’t nearly as bad as my face makes it look out to be, actually it was quite delicious just very hot, hence my cringey face. They were drenched in butter, garlic, and parsley so naturally that combination of flavors will make you forget that you’re swallowing slugs.

I also ordered the Moules Marinière, just another chewy little creature smothered in butter, garlic, and parsley because apparently I just couldn’t get enough. In all seriousness, Circa 1875 is a great little spot in downtown Savannah with great French style cuisine and is worth dining in for the décor alone. It’s also a great place to go when you need a break from the super crowded touristy restaurants and just want a good meal in cool digs.

In Conclusion

Are you already getting ready to book that ticket to Savannah? I know I already can’t wait until the next time I get to taste Mrs. Wilkes fried chicken and stroll around all of the gorgeous green squares. We saw and did a hell of a lot in the two days that we visited and still there is so much more to explore. I wanted to include in this post the things I would have loved to do but didn’t work out in this trip.

Our first day in Savannah I had booked the Footprints of Savannah Walking Tour which is led by historian Vaughnette Goode-Walker and tells stories of slavery, the cotton trade, and Black history of Savannah. Unfortunately our tour had to be cancelled as Vaughnette was dealing with bank fraud. Her tour has outstanding reviews and it’s definitely at the top of my list for things to do next time I’m in Savannah!

Another site that was top of my list that I didn’t end up making it to was the Owens-Thomas House and Slave Quarters. On the first day in Savannah I got in line to buy a ticket later in the afternoon and they had just sold the last ticket for the day to the person right in front of me. I tried to go again the next day right after the giant rain storm had just ended and there were big signs that read “sold out for the rest of the day”, it would appear that the universe really didn’t want me to visit Owens-Thomas on this trip for whatever reason. Just another reason to go back!

A local spot that is talked about a lot in Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil is Clary’s Café. Former drugstore turned homey diner with all the comforting traditional breakfast and lunch dishes. Clary’s is where author John Berendt meets the intriguing Savanah character, Luther, who always carries with him a tiny bottle of poison supposedly deadly enough to kill the entire population of Savannah if he puts it in the water supply. If Luther didn’t eat his breakfast that morning the patrons of the restaurant all thought that might be the day Luther’s threats became a reality. A place with a lot of history and character and known as a great place for corned beef and hash.

There’s endless possibilities of places to discover in Savannah, my trip just scratched the surface. Just book yourself a place to stay that’s centrally located so you can walk everywhere, avoid visiting in the hot humid months of summer, go on a ghost tour, eat southern fried chicken, make a list of the top things you want to experience and make plans ahead of time for those, then just be open to the slow southern pace of Savannah and let your trip unfold as it’s meant to.

Have any questions about visiting Savannah? Any other places you would recommend that I missed? Let me know in the comments!