in a few days, We will be staying in the Historic District. Anyone have any advice on what to see and what to avoid?
Thanks

I think Paula Dean has taken over all things Savannah. My wife wants to go back and eat at one of her places.

We were there about 7 years ago. Not long after Midnight in the Garden of good and Evil and everything was revolving around that. and of course, somewhere, in one of the parks is where Forest Gump sat on the bench and told the story.

Lots of walking distance stuff down by the river along River Street. Restaurants and bars. I really don't remember anything special. We were there for just part of a day. Drove around through some cool antebellum neighborhoods, saw a couple of old cemeteries. There are little parks just about checkerboarding the old housing areas. One every other block or two no matter which way you are going. It all tends to look alike pretty quick. Very pretty, but a bunch of the same stuff over and over.

We spent a bunch of time on that trip in Charleston, so Savannah was just a stop over on our way further south.

well first you have to hit River Street. there is a great seafood place there i cant remember the name of that i highly recommend. since you're staying in the historic district you'll be near Forsyth Park(brings lots of film or make sure your digital cam battery is charged btw) and be near the Mercer Williams House(Midnight in the Garden of Good & Evil; known by locals as "The Book". there are carriage tours around town, one of which i believe is a tour affiliated with Paula Dean, which includes a lunch at her restaraunt "Lady and Sons". beware though there are huge crowds there.

Bonaventure Cemetery and the Telfair Museum are also cant miss places IMHO. i would also recommend making the short drive out to Tybee Island. there is a cool lighthouse and Civil War Fort out there plus its a pretty nice beach area.

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"You should never underestimate the predictability of stupidity."

Go on one of the haunted pub crawls. A lot of old pirate history and good beer as well. Also a cool local bar called Pinkie Masters. Hole in the wall with a ton of history and serves PBR in the can (no bottles). Bring cash. The river street area has tons of Irish bars as well. Fun time. Do a carriage tour or head out to Hilton Head.

Go on one of the haunted pub crawls. A lot of old pirate history and good beer as well. Also a cool local bar called Pinkie Masters. Hole in the wall with a ton of history and serves PBR in the can (no bottles). Bring cash. The river street area has tons of Irish bars as well. Fun time. Do a carriage tour or head out to Hilton Head.

okeefenokee, golden isles, st simons, etc...

Get ready for a lot of good food and a lot of history!! Sherman delivered the city of Savannah fully intact as a Christmas present to President Lincoln in 1864. Everything you're going to want to see is in the Historic District - it's perfectly laid out and everything centers around the different squares. Most of the houses are from the 1700's and 1800's. Mercer House is a cool place to visit; it's where the story of Jim Williams and Midnight in the Garden of Good & Evil took place. Savannah is also the most haunted city in the country. Paula Dean's is good, I'd also recommend the Olde Pinke House if you want a nice dinner & Mrs. Wilkes for Southern cooking.

Lots of stuff to do outside of town - Fort Pulaski, the civil war fort that guards the entrance of the Savannah River is pretty much intact with cannons and re-enactors. Bonaventure Cemetary - with the really old tombstones & live oaks, dripping with spanish moss. Plantations - Drayton Hall, Magnolia Plantation & Middleton Place in South Carolina & the remnants of Oglethorpe's Plantation at Wormsloe. Wormsloe's about 20 minutes from town and there's a mile long drive lined with arching oaks. Drayton Hall is great too and is still standing (Magnolia was rebuilt and from the 1680's).

Tybee island was OK - we didn't spend much time there; just went to see the lighthouse.

The Low Country of Savannah/Charleston has so much history and good food.

[This message has been edited by MustangOrange (edited 6/6/2007 10:07a).]

I go to Savannah and Charleston every year in the beginning of May. Awesome places!

River St. is fun but overpriced. We liked the Cotton Exchange Tavern for dinner and we sat in a bar and listened to some bands. We also liked the Pirates House Restaurant, kind of cheesy but good food and unique atmosphere.

The lighthouse on Tybee Island, Bonaventure Cemetery and Wormsloe are all good sites outside the city to visit.

The best haunted tours in my opinion are from Cobbleston Tours (you can google for their website).

First African Baptist Church near City Market is a really cool stop. They tell you all about the history and about the underground railroad that was there.

Also tour one of the historical homes, there are several to choose from and each brings something different.

Other than that, I would just say to allow time to just walk around Savannah to see all the squares, houses and general sites. The Catholic Cathedral is really cool there with some awesome stories.

I could go on, but I will stop. Whatever you do, DO NOT WASTE your time at Paula Deen's Lady and the Sons restaurant. It is NOT worth it! It was hours of waiting for a glorified cafeteria dinner that you can get anywhere in the city for half the time and price.

Let me know if you have anymore specific questions.

Thanks for the info. We are going to spend one day in Charleston and Middleton Place Plantation. I think I'll take the advice about staying away from Lady and Sons place. Sounds like hype to me. Is the hour long river cruise worth it?

I would spend more time in Charleston than Savannah. The historic area of Charleston is awesome. Great restaurants and cool homes. You can also go see the Civil War submarine that they raised a few years ago. I believe it is the Hunley. Focus on Charleston.

I didn't know you were going to Charleston too.

In Charleston there is a lot to do. I preferred Drayton Hall to Middleton Plantation just because they charge for every little thing at Middleton. I also loved going to the Angel Oak tree, it is the oldest living organism east of the Mississippi. I also liked going to the Folly Beach Pier.

In the city of Charleston we stayed at the French Quarter Inn and it was awesome! Also, the restaurant 82 Queen was really good.

As far as tours go, the Haunted City Jail Tour by Bulldog tours was scary as hell and a really cool piece of history. I also love the Gullah Tour in which you get to visit a man who has ironwork in the Smithsonian. Also, a carriage ride is always good because you get to see more of the city quickly.

Other than that, there are tons of churchs, houses and buildings to go see.

Drayton Hall is the best of the three plantations and the original house is still standing and it's pretty cool!

We were planning on going to both Savannah and Charleston but decided to make it two separate trips. You can easily spend five days in and around Savannah.

ttt for easy access

Let me also say that Charleston is way better than Savannah. They're both great, by Charleston is more enjoyable.

TAF

I would have to disagree with way better. I think Charleston's houses have more architectural detail and I really loved all the gardens the houses had, but Savannah holds its own with all of the squares and some really cool history.

So here is what I have done there which I will update with pictures and other stuff later:
-Oglethorpe trolley tour, great value for $10, great introduction to the city
-Tour ended in City Market so we ate at City Market cafe (actually walked to the river area but everyone pretty much was serving fried fish and hamburgers there so we went back to the cafe where Mr. had a very flavorful Cuban tuna and I had a chicken cordon bleu type dish)
-Went to a cool antique map store (I think Turner is in the name)
-Had dinner at the Pirate's restaurant. Wasn't as touristy as I had expected and decent service. Very cool to eat somewhere that old. It was actually mentioned in Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island

-went out to Bonaventure Cemetary--very cool
-Lunch at Vic's on the River and dinner at Olde Pink House. Vic's was pretty good, Olde Pink House was great
-Creepy Crawly pub tour with Greg was lots of fun. He's a great storyteller

[This message has been edited by semperaggie (edited 10/14/2008 10:00a).]