My love for Savannah started on a father / daughter trip about five years ago – obviously I got to pick the destination – and something very strange happened to me…I felt at home there and that took me by surprise. I enjoy Texas, where I was born, and I love New York, the place where my work and dreams are, but every time I get down to this small southern town I get that feeling of peace, that I am where I belong. Savannah has so much of what I love about New York to it: it’s walkable, has great restaurants, beautiful parks, great coffee, art, interesting people, antiques and historic dreaminess. I’ve gone back every year since over and over again, tweaking my list of must-dos, and must-eats. Here is my guide to Savannah if you’re just visiting like me or thinking about going to SCAD one day.
COFFEE JOINTS
LUNCH SPOTS
- Gryphon Tea Room
- Blowin Smoke
- Zunzi’s (Fisherman’s Deck, both sauces. OMG)
- Green Truck Pub
- Mrs. Wilkes (best fried chicken in the world)
- Public
- Soho South Cafe
SWEETS
HAPPY HOUR
- The Olde Pink House (basement bar, live piano music)
- Rocks on the River (rooftop view where you can watch dolphins swim by at sunset, best Bloody Mary’s!)
- Perch
- P.S.- in the downtown historic district you can “take a soldier to go” and walk around with your drink!
DINNER
- Local 11 Ten
- The Grey
- The Florence
- Cotton & Rye
- Elizabeth on 37th (Southern romance)
- A.Lure
- Leoci’s Trattoria
- 700 Drayton
- Garibaldi’s
SHOPPING
- E. Shaver Booksellers
- Sylvester & Co. (great coffee in the back!)
- Prospector Co.
- The Paris Market
- One Fish Two Fish
- shopSCAD
- Alex Raskin Antiques (the building alone is amazing)
- *just take a stroll up and down Broughton Street*
HISTORIC HOME TOURS
SLEEP
- The Gastonian
- Marshall House (ask for a 2nd floor room facing Broughton Street so you can enjoy the balcony porch!)
- The Mansion at Forsyth
- Kehoe House
- Thunderbird Inn (budget travelers)
- The Inn at Palmetto Bluff (30mins outside Savannah, STUNNING)
BEYOND SAVANNAH
- Bonaventure Cemetery (hauntingly beautiful)
- Tybee Island
- Wormsloe Historic Site
- Okefenokee Swamp
SPA
This is just a handful of our favorites! Savannah is full of much more from galleries, big brand shops such as Marc by Marc Jacobs, endless cuisines from around the world, and unlimited hotel / B&B options. There just isn’t enough time to try everything but these are the places we find ourselves going back to over and over again.
PS- I’d love to hear your favorite places so I can try them out next time!
I think you’ve pretty much covered it 🙂
I am dyeing to go back to Savannah. It is one of the most lovely places I’ve been. I will definitely use your guide the next time! We stayed on the main drag in town and it was a bit noisy. I would love to check out your recommended hotels!
Vanessa* Everyday Embellished
Glad to hear it!
LOVE your images – you’ve beautifully captured the essence of our quaint city and I second every place that you’ve mentioned- all great choices! Here are a few other restaurants y’all should check out next time you’re in town: Tequila’s Town for authentic Mexican (there’s always a wait, but it’s worth it!), Cha Bella, Alligator Soul, and Circa 1875-all located in the downtown district about a block off of Broughton Street! 🙂
Thanks Susan! It was so nice to run into on our last visit! Thanks for the recs! Adding them to our list to try next time 🙂
I felt the exact same when when I first visited Savannah and I’m counting down the days until I get back. Thanks so much for sharing this, I plan on trying lots of these next time I make it back down!
I love love these images and guide, Savannah is awesome. I spent a Valentines there a while back and had a fabulous (creepy) dinner at the Olde Pink House, it was delish and haunting at the same time. The basement bar is very cool! Great recommendations
No joke, I was this close to going to SCAD (they had such an impressive booklet, I even remember the cover had an incredible painting of seahorse, that was passed out when I was applying to art schools) but my mom ended up getting sick and I decided it was best to stay close to home. I still dream about visiting, even more so after seeing this post.
I’m going to Savannah tomorrow with three of my girlfriends, and this list is going to come in super handy. Thank you!!
Hope you had a great time!
Gosh this was such a beautiful post. Loving all the assortment of photographs/cinematographs. <3
We’re ready to book our trip
If I ever come to the US this Savannah is among the places I want to visit… Thanks for sharing such beautiful photos…
It’s so your jam!
ahhh so excited to visit in august for my honeymoon 🙂 alwaysssssss wanted to visit (along with charleston). this is so perfect! thankyou! x
Enjoy your time! Be ready for some serious southern heat and humidity though!
I love Savannah, it is such a charming town! My only wish is that Mrs. Wilke’s restaurant doesn’t have such a long line!
http://liveitinerantly.com/
RIGHT?!! Once we stayed in a town home behind Mrs. Wike’s and the delicious smell of fried chicken KILLED US! lol.
Whenever I go to Savannah I like to visit Papillote for lunch. My
brother went to SCAD and my oldest brother bought a little vacation home
there that is rent-able. My mom and I also like to get our custom
monogramming done at Number Four Eleven. My family is constantly going
to visit. It is a beautiful city and incredibly fun to visit!
Added those two places to my list! Thanks so much. I dream of having a vacation home there one day too!
Hey I go to SCAD! Read my blog post on my guide to Savannah! ( http://lightscameracatwalk.com/?p=8048 ) I love your picks!
xo Taylor
Awesome! Looking now! Xx
Absolutely fabulous pictures!
I am sure you wanted to know some of my favorite places in the US, but since I have now been living out of the country for about 10 years, I can only thell you some of my favorite places in Europ: Brugge, Belgium, Capri and the Amalfi Coast, Italy, Split, Croatia and Budapest, Hungary (this is my favorite of them all!). Happy Trails!! 🙂
What a lovely place! I’m eager to visit Savannah since I saw the movie Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, hope that someday I’ll have the chance.
Thank you for your beautiful pictures, they made me feel like I was there.
Thank you for the recommendation to The Public, Jamie! We ate there last night and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. The Sweet Tea Smash was pretty fantastic if you are a bourbon girl 😉
“Alligator Soul” is a small charming restaurant in the heart of Savannah with exciting, but surprisingly delicious cuisine options (think alligator sausage or basil creme brûlée).
Also, the Blackwater canoeing tour right outside the city is very scenic (it does take a little physical effort to canoe though).