The sprawling branches of live oak trees create a canopy over the iconic avenue at Wormsloe State Historic Site on the outskirts of Savannah, Georgia. Click the icon in the lower righthand corner of the player to expand the video.
Savannah’s historic center rightfully gets most of the attention, but I found plenty more to do in and around this scenic city on the Georgia coast.
Overshadowed by the international travel hub of Charleston, SC, to the north, Savannah is well worth its own trip. The city boasts beautiful buildings constructed in Victorian and Georgian architecture styles and public squares canopied under Spanish moss draped live oaks. It’s also loaded with history that dates back to the colonial days of America.
Many of the centuries-old stories have given way to supernatural legend, and Savannah is widely regarded as America’s most haunted city. From the famously spooky Historic District to lesser-known area locations like the quiet seaside retreat of Tybee Island, these are descriptions and personal photos of the top places I went in and around Sav:
1. Colonial Park Cemetery
Located in the heart of the Savannah Historic District, Colonial Park Cemetery is essentially an aggregation point for the city’s rich history. The cemetery was founded in 1750, less than two decades after General James Oglethorpe and his fellow English colonists arrived on Georgia’s shore in 1733. Several graves date back to the 18th century. There are also well-known plots where losing contestants of 19th-century pistol duels are interred.
Colonial Park is especially popular for paranormal tourism; it’s widely considered the epicenter of supernatural activity in Savannah. At night, guided ghost tours begin to gather at the cemetery’s main gate on the southeast corner of Oglethorpe Avenue and Abercorn Street.
If you are interested in investigating the haunted legends of the city on your own, click to read my travel guide “How to Take a Self-Guided Ghost Tour of Savannah.” The article features my 13 favorite haunted locations in the Savannah Historic District and includes photos and my custom map.
Cost: Free
Hours: 8 a.m.-8 p.m. every day
2. Wormsloe State Historic Site
Every photographer traveling to Savannah assuredly has Wormsloe State Historic Site at or near the top of his or her itinerary. Around a 15-minute drive from the city center, the former colonial estate’s live oak-lined main avenue is one of the most iconic shots in the South. You will have to arrive early to get a unobstructed view like the one below lest a procession of vehicles spoils the frame.
During my offseason visit to Wormsloe, I was in line several minutes before the gates opened for the day. Just inside the entrance, there are a small number of designated parking places. You only have five minutes to leave your vehicle and take photographs.
A parking area, visitor center, and miles of walking trails are at the end of the avenue. The trail leading south from the visitor center takes you to the ruins of the former estate, a burial site, and the remnants of shell middens created by Native Americans.
Cost: $11.25 USD per adult ticket; $8.50 USD per senior ticket; $5 USD per youth ticket; $2.50 USD per child ticket
Hours: 9 a.m.-4:45 p.m. every day
3. Tybee Island
Sandwiched between the acclaimed beachfronts of South Carolina and Florida, Georgia’s coastline flies under the radar of most travelers who are planning a trip to the East Coast. It’s the lack of crowds that makes quiet, unassuming Tybee Island one of my favorite seaside retreats in the Southeast. Despite its lack of notoriety, there’s plenty to do in the small city around a 30-minute drive east from downtown Savannah.
A fishing pier that reaches out into the Atlantic Ocean highlights South Beach, but North Beach is the area I hang out most when visiting. The Tybee Island Light Station, the oldest and largest in Georgia, and Tybee Island Marine Science Center are just next to North Beach’s main parking lot. Long boardwalks (like the one pictured below) and rock jetties make for great photography backdrops, especially around sunrise and sunset.
True to its coastal location, Tybee Island has several seafood-centric dining options including Sting Ray’s Seafood near the pier and A-J’s Dockside along Tybee Creek. The most popular restaurant on the north side of the island is the pizza joint Huc-A-Poos; it’s widely considered Tybee’s best eatery.
4. Bonaventure Cemetery
Just outside the western city limit of Savannah is another noteworthy graveyard, and it’s even more iconic than the North Historic District’s Colonial Park Cemetery. Bonaventure Cemetery holds a special place in both literary and cinematic history. The cover photo for John Berendt’s 1994 international bestselling true crime novel Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil was taken on its grounds. Three years later, Clint Eastwood’s movie by the same name shot a scene at the cemetery.
It’s easy to see why: I have visited Bonaventure several times, and the extravagant grave monuments, tropical undergrowth, and sprawling live oak branches draped with Spanish moss make for a setting unlike any other. It’s also no surprise that the cemetery is tied to the haunted legends of Savannah. For more on the ghost story of Little Gracie Watson, who is buried at Bonaventure, click to read my feature article “Haunted South: Beyond the Grave.”
Cost: Free
Hours: 8 a.m.-5 p.m. every day
Grave monuments stand hauntingly under Spanish moss-covered live oaks at Bonaventure Cemetery in Thunderbolt, GA. The famous graveyard is near Savannah. Click the icon in the lower righthand corner of the player to expand the video.
5. SCADstory
Founded in the 1970s in the heart of the city, Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) played a key role in revitalizing what was once a downturned Historic District. The institution is one of the finest of its kind in the world, and SCADstory is a cutting-edge four-dimensional presentation of its inspiring rise to excellence.
The program, which is shown in a campus building near Madison Square, is an important part of any visit to the city; it provides perspective on how SCAD has folded itself into the fabric of the downtown area. Many of the tour guides, restaurant staff, and other important hospitality and service workers you will encounter on your trip are art and design students at the college. SCADstory only lasts around 30 minutes, and it’s time well spent.
Cost: Free
Hours: Monday-Saturday 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sunday 12 p.m.-5 p.m.
6. Forsyth Park
On the south side of Savannah’s historic center is Forsyth Park, a scenic 30-acre public space that’s most famous for its Parisian-style fountain. It’s a great place to relax on a bench or blanket with a book, sketchpad, or camera. When the weather is fair, expect to see friends playing soccer or volleyball in the park’s spacious, well-maintained fields. The city also holds important outdoor events at Forsyth Park throughout the year.
Cost: Free
Hours: Open all day, every day
7. Telfair Academy
Part of the Telfair Museums that dot the Savannah Historic District, Telfair Academy makes my list of top places to visit in Savannah for one specific reason: the world-famous Bird Girl statue. I already referenced Berendt’s novel Midnight in the Garden of Good Evil; from an international perspective, the story vaulted the city into the public consciousness. Sylvia Shaw Judson’s sculpture is on the cover of the book and has become the most famous piece of artwork in the Savannah area.
The Bird Girl was created in 1936. Not long afterward, the Trosdal family purchased it for their plot at Bonaventure Cemetery. The statue became so popular after the 1994 release of Berendt’s book that it was recently moved to the Telfair Academy for protection. The Bird Girl is part of an exhibit on the second floor of the Telfair Academy that tells the history of Bonaventure.
Cost: $25 USD per adult ticket; $23 USD per senior ticket; $23 per active military ticket; $17.50 per student ticket; $10 USD per child ticket; Children 5 years old and under are free
Hours: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. every day
8. Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist
Even if you aren’t Catholic, the architectural masterpiece that is the Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist is worth a look inside. Its ornate nave (pictured below) is jaw-dropping and reminds me of the much older cathedrals I have visited in Europe. The worship center was first built in 1873, but a fire destroyed most of the structure in 1898. The reconstruction project took until 1912 to complete. I use the cathedral’s towering spires as a navigational reference when walking through the Savannah Historic District; it’s situated just to the south of Colonial Park Cemetery.
Cost: It’s free, but a small offering at the nave entrance is encouraged.
Hours: 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. every day; mass schedule affects when you can enter the cathedral.
9. Riverfront Area
Last but certainly not least on my list is Savannah’s riverfront. This is literally where the city began: General James Oglethorpe and his fellow English colonists arrived on the banks of the Savannah River in 1733. Today, the River Street Boardwalk and Savannah Riverwalk are great places to take a stroll and watch the ferries and cargo ships motor along.
Cost: Free
Hours: Open all day, every day
Related Content
– Click to view my high-resolution photo collection featuring images from the Savannah area.
– Click to read my article “Best Places to Eat in Savannah” for my list of the best restaurants in and around the city.
– Click to read my high-resolution photo collection featuring images of haunted locations in the Savannah Historic District.