Savannah — What to Do.

Savannah is a walking city with a couple of deliberate day trips. Two days covers the Historic District at its own pace: one on foot through the squares, one for the river and whatever's farther afield. Here's what earns your time — and, where there's a real choice to make, how we'd make it.

The essentials, decided

🚶 The one walk to take → The Squares, on foot. Down Bull Street — the leafy spine that strings Chippewa and Monterey squares together — through the 1733 grid of 22 oak-shaded squares, all the way to the Forsyth Park fountain. Free, self-guided, and the single most Savannah hour you'll spend. Go early for the light and the quiet.

⛲ The green heart → Forsyth Park. The fountain, the open lawn, and the shaded paths at the south end of the Historic District — the city's front yard. An easy stop to spread out mid-walk.

🎨 The art stop → SCAD Museum of Art. The design-school museum that anchors Savannah's contemporary side — the counterweight to all the antebellum history. A cool, quiet hour when you want the city's present, not just its past.

👻 After dark → A Ghost Tour. Savannah wears its haunted reputation proudly, and a night walk through the squares is the easy, atmospheric way to lean into it. Best after a leisurely dinner, not instead of one.

The extra-day decision

Two full days cover the Historic District. If you have a third, three honest ways to spend it — pick by the day you want, not by which is "best":

🏖️ Tybee Island — the beach reset. Five beaches about 18 miles / 30 minutes east. The choice for kids, or for anyone who wants sand and a change of pace. It needs a car, and it's a full day out — a day trip, not a base.

🌆 The Starland District — the local, arty day. Coffee, vintage shops, and galleries in Thomas Square, which Southern Living named the South's #1 neighborhood in 2020. The choice if you'd rather go deeper into the living city than farther out of it. It's separated from the core, so rideshare over.

🌳 A slower square day — the do-less day. Circle back to the squares you missed, a long lawn hour at Forsyth, the prettiest stretch of Jones Street (often called the loveliest in the city). The choice when the trip is the pace, not the mileage.

Our take: first-timers with kids, Tybee; repeat visitors and foodies, Starland; couples on a slow trip, the do-less day.

A First-Timer's Two-Day Weekend, Car-Free

Day-shapes, not a minute-by-minute itinerary — the hour-by-hour architecture lives in the paid Weekend Guide. This is enough to know your trip will hang together.

Day 1 — The Squares and the River.

• Morning: walk down Bull Street, the leafy spine that strings Chippewa and Monterey squares together, all the way to the fountain at Forsyth Park.
• Midday: line up early for a famous family-style Southern lunch (see Where to Eat), or grab a lighter bite if you'd rather keep moving.
• Afternoon: browse the shops along Broughton Street, an ice cream cone in hand.
• Evening: a booked dinner off the waterfront (see Where to Eat), then a cobblestone walk down to River Street to watch the ships slide by.

Day 2 — Deeper In.

• Morning: circle back to a square or two you missed, or spread out on the lawn at Forsyth Park.
• Afternoon: the SCAD Museum of Art, a slow stroll down Jones Street (often called the prettiest street in the city), or a rideshare out to the artsy Starland District for coffee and vintage shops.
• Evening: your marquee dinner — the one you booked weeks ago (see Where to Eat).

Or Shape It to Your Trip

The Anniversary Shape (slow, two nights):

• breakfast at the inn without rushing it;
• a mid-morning walk to the Forsyth Park fountain and a slow loop of the shaded squares;
• an unhurried afternoon — a quiet gallery, or a horse-drawn carriage ride through the Historic District if the mood strikes;
• the long, unhurried dinner on the night that matters (your anniversary table is on Where to Eat).

The whole design is fewer things, more slowly.

The Celebration Shape (rooftop-anchored):

• days loose and walkable — a late brunch, a browse through City Market, maybe a ghost tour after dark (Savannah wears its haunted reputation proudly);
• nights built around the room you're staying in, with a rooftop round at sunset, the group dinner and the piano bar downstairs (both on Where to Eat), and River Street after.

Let the hotel carry the logistics so the group doesn't have to.

The Family Shape (resort-and-ferry):

• a slow resort morning — pool, splash pad, loaner bikes — so the kids burn energy on-site;
• a ferry into town for an early, kid-proof dinner and an ice-cream chaser (see Where to Eat);
• an hour in Forsyth Park for the fountain and the open lawn;
• the ferry back before the ~10pm last run;
• s'mores by the river to close the night.

Plan the day around that last ferry and everything else falls into place.

Basis: Savannah firsthand (the city). Tour schedules, ferry times, and seasonal hours move — confirm before you build a day around one. Last verified 2026-07-27. We never rank by commission.