Visiting Historic Savannah and Haunted Savannah

Every day that I get to wake up and work in Savannah, Georgia, I count myself lucky. There is nowhere else quite like it — and there is far more to a visit here than a single ghost tour.

Savannah is a beautiful and historic city, and it wears its age well. Founded in 1733 by General James Oglethorpe, it grew up around a grid of open squares that still shape the way you move through the old city today. Twenty-two of the original squares survive, shaded by live oaks and draped in Spanish moss, and together they anchor one of the largest National Historic Landmark districts in the country. It is a place built for wandering, for lingering, and for getting pleasantly lost.

You are not alone in wanting to see it. In 2024, the Savannah area welcomed nearly 13 million visitors, and the city has long since learned how to host them well. Whatever day you arrive, you will find something worth doing in the Historic District — and we have put together a set of free city guides, written by the same local historians and investigators who lead our tours, to help you make the most of it.

A City Built for Wandering

The genius of Savannah is its plan. Oglethorpe laid the town out around a repeating pattern of squares, and nearly three centuries later that pattern still works beautifully. Each square is a small park with benches, monuments, and enormous oaks, and the streets flow around them so that a walk across the Historic District becomes a series of quiet green rooms rather than a slog down a straight avenue.

Start at Forsyth Park, with its famous fountain, and work your way north along Bull Street through Monterey, Madison, Chippewa, and Wright Squares toward the river. Along the way you will pass antebellum mansions, historic churches, small museums, and more than a few houses with stories attached. River Street and City Market bring the bustle — shops, music, and the working waterfront — while the residential lanes just a block away fall almost silent. To understand how it all fits together, and the history beneath it, our Savannah welcome & history guide is the place to begin.

When to Visit Savannah

Savannah is a year-round destination, but the seasons feel very different. Spring, roughly March through May, is the classic time to come — azaleas and dogwoods in bloom, mild days, and a packed events calendar (Savannah’s St. Patrick’s Day celebration is one of the largest in the country). Autumn brings comfortable weather and thinner crowds, and it is prime season for ghost tours as the nights turn cool and early-dark.

Summer is hot and humid, genuinely so, but evenings on a shaded porch or a moonlit square have their own magic — and hotel rates often soften. Winter is mild and quiet, an underrated time to have the squares nearly to yourself. Whenever you come, it is worth checking what is on: festivals, markets, and seasonal events fill the calendar all year. Our festivals & events guide lays out what happens when, so you can plan around it.

Getting Around & Parking

Here is the good news: the Historic District is wonderfully walkable, and most of what you will want to see sits within a compact, flat, tree-covered grid. Comfortable shoes matter more than a car once you have arrived. Many visitors park once and leave the vehicle where it sits for their whole stay.

That said, parking in a 300-year-old city takes a little know-how — metered streets, city garages, and lot options each have their quirks and their price. Rather than circling the squares hunting for a spot, read up first: our Savannah parking & getting-around guide covers where to leave the car, how the meters and garages work, and how to move around the district on foot once you are settled.

Where to Stay

One of the first two things every visitor wants is a place to stay — and Savannah spoils you for choice. You can book a grand historic hotel, a boutique inn tucked into a converted mansion, or one of the many bed-and-breakfasts that put you within walking distance of the squares. Staying inside the Historic District costs a little more but saves you the parking dance and puts the whole city at your doorstep; neighborhoods just outside the core can offer more room for less.

For a curated look at where to rest your head — from landmark hotels to intimate B&Bs — see our Savannah hotels & lodging guide.

Where to Eat & Drink

The other thing every visitor wants is a good meal, and Savannah delivers, from Lowcountry classics and fresh coastal seafood to celebrated fine dining and unpretentious neighborhood joints. Shrimp and grits, she-crab soup, fried green tomatoes, and a proper Southern breakfast are all easy to find and hard to forget.

When the plates are cleared, the night is young. Savannah is famous for its relaxed to-go cup rule in the Historic District, and its bars run from centuries-old taverns to rooftop lounges and live-music rooms. Point yourself in the right direction with our Savannah restaurants guide and, for after dark, our bars & nightlife guide.

Shopping & Souvenirs

Between meals and squares, leave time to browse. Broughton Street is the Historic District’s main shopping stretch, mixing well-known names with local boutiques, while City Market and the lanes around it are full of galleries, makers, and gift shops. It is the place to find something to carry home, whether that is local art, Savannah candy, or a keepsake with a bit of the city’s history in it. Our Savannah shopping guide points you to the best of it.

Make a Night of It

Savannah is regularly called America’s Most Haunted City, and after sundown you begin to understand why. The same beauty that charms you by day takes on a different weight once the gaslights flicker on and the oaks throw long shadows across the squares. There is no better way to meet the city’s darker history than on foot, in the dark, with a storyteller who knows it.

That is where we come in. Destination Ghost Tours has been leading guests through haunted Savannah since 2010, and our guides are genuine local historians and paranormal investigators — the truth is always stranger than the legend. If you have a question the guides don’t answer on the street, ask us; we live and breathe historic Savannah, so there are few questions we can’t answer.