Savannah Historic District

This is a beautiful city that is a must see. We took the Hop on Hop Off Bus Tour which is a nice guided tour throughout the city. You can get off at any of the many stops, shop, get something to eat, walk around and then get back on the next bus. My previous time on this tour two years ago had actors as various characters from Savannah history come onto the bus to tell a brief story about themselves. This time, that feature wasn't available, I suppose was do to COVID19. It was still quite enjoyable and I would definitely do it again.

The historic district is a very walkable area, full of history, with lots of good restaurants, pubs, shopping, and sites to see. It is a lot like Charleston and New Orleans. Most of the restaurants are down by the river. The Dot is the city bus system for the area and is free and available up until midnight. The city market area has lots of little unique shops and live music. The River Street area, Colonial Park cemetery, Public Squares, old houses, and statues are all within walkable distance, though a lot of cobblestone areas could be difficult for some folks. The people are friendly and seems to be things to do and tours still going on until late at night. A very family friendly and lively area of town.

On the first visit we didn’t have enough time so we just took hop-on-hop-off bus tour around the city to have an overview. This time we parked in the town and walked. So much to see. So many beautiful old houses/churches/squares/parks with cozy seasonal decorations.
Some notes:
The Old Savanah Tour has free parking at their station.
1$/hr parking on the street but hard to find a vacancy.
Public parking on Whitaker road has more room. I recommend J’s Christopher restaurant. Their food so good and reasonable price.
The Vault kitchen and market is a bit out of old town but they have amazing Asian food.

I always presumed that Savannah was rich in history, but I was amazed. the buildings, the early families, the layout of the town squares

You could spend two or three days just taking in the history of the town squares and the people who built them. There are places along the Eastern seaboard that have a deep history, but Savannah has maintained most of the squares, buildings, and stories that built the town.

What Savannah has done is pure genius. The city has only about 140 thousand residents (I'm told), yet they took their old houses, streets and squares and renovated them instead of bulldozing them. And for their efforts they have a fascinating and charming city dripping with history to rival Boston, Philly, Charleston and other bigger famous places. Once they made themselves a bonafide destination, the restaurants, bars, hotels and tours followed. Genius, and well done.

Took a horse and buggy ride through the historic district and covered 8 squares. Mike was our driver and Teddy was the Clydesdale horse that lead the way through the brick paved streets. Mike did a great job narrating the history of the squares as well as so many of the historical buildings.
Historical downtown Savannah is definitely a place to revisit!

We were originally going to take the bus tour bus Google Maps shows the area so we’ll that we decided not to waste the money for the few hours we had left.

After finding a place to park (be patient), we went to the Prohibition Museum and then started waking to all the beautiful squares. From ages 14-47 every person in our family was in awe of the beautiful buildings and parks. If you’re not a waller take the bus but otherwise the walk is great.

I would recommend getting there early if you enjoy looking through shops.

Although not handicap friendly (you will be sorely challenged) , it is definitely worth the time. The history and architecture are amazing and so many far above average restaurants and shops. Our main issue with handicap is getting from A to B. My wife is in a post surg boot and limited. By moving from a parking garage to take her places, I encountered multiple parking fees, filled parking requiring me to walk a mile here and there, etc. So if you are in a chair/walker/crutches plan carefully and know that you will be spending far more than able bodied people just to access areas of town.

We went on the Gray Line Savannah historic tour. It’s the only tour which goes outside the historic district to show you the artistic side and how the artists help resurrect the city. It covers all the other sites the other tour buses cover and it great detail. Big Scott was a great tour bus host with over 40 years of experience and living in Savannah. He had great stories and answered all our questions and spent time at the sites where people had the most quiet. All in all an awesome and amazing experience. Got picked up and dropped up at the front of our hotel. Well done Gray Line!!!!

The city seemed to be missing the joy that is normally present. We did not see any street performers or artists. We visited the art areas and a large number of the galleries were closed. The people giving tours seemed to be calling it in. No passion anywhere. We left a day early