Over the Thanksgiving break, my husband and I went down to Savannah. It reminded me of how much I love that city. It's the perfect place to take a vacation: there's plenty to do, but there are no must-dos. You can fill your schedule with activities, or you can actually relax and spend the time just wandering around. Whenever someone tells me that she's going to Savannah, I have a huge list of suggestions. Now I'm going to share them with Drawl.Keep in mind that none of these things are obligatory, and that you can have a great vacation in Savannah doing nothing but wandering around the Historic District and occasionally stopping for food.
First, if you don't have a car, it is vital that you stay downtown. Downtown Savannah is highly pedestrian-friendly, but the rest of the city isn't. Even if you do have a car, staying downtown is the best option; you don't want to have to fight traffic before breakfast. Besides, it's much prettier. If you can swing it, stay in one of the historic inns or B&B's, like the Kehoe House.
If that’s out of your range, that's no problem. There's everything from a Best Western to a Holiday Inn Express right along Bay St, and you can usually find a good deal on Hotwire.
The best place to get breakfast is B. Matthew's Eatery on East Bay and Habersham (oh yes, get yourself a map of the Historic District right away). The last time I was there, I had an amazing goat cheese-spinach-egg scramble with mimosas. If you're more into pancakes, go to J. Christopher's down on Liberty.
For lunch, there's B&D Burgers on Broughton. They have a long list of burgers named after different locations in Savannah, and they'll make any one of them veggie. I also recommend Vinnie Van Go Go's, a fantastic pizza place in City Market. If you want some really famous, authentic Savannah food, go to Mrs. Wilkes'-- you'll have to get in line in the morning to get in for lunch, though. As for The Lady & Sons? If you're going to wait in a line that long, go to Mrs. Wilkes'.
There are plenty of great places to get snacks. If you're a tea lover, you have to go to the Tea Room on Broughton. It is one of the most authentic tea rooms in the country, and the ladies who run it know what they're doing. You can get just about any kind of black, green, oolong, white, scented, or herbal tea you can possibly think of, brewed properly and served with fresh shortbread fingers. The sit-down meals are a little on the pricey side, but you can get a "walking tea" for not too much. There's also Gallery Espresso, again a little pricey, but charming and with plenty of tasty options. If you go all the way down to the south (i.e., uptown) end of Forsyth Park, you'll find a hippietastic coffee house called the Sentient Bean-- one of my favorite hangouts-- and a health food store called Brighter Day that carries amazing vegan deli sandwiches.
Back downtown, Parker's Gourmet Gas Station is open 24 hours and is full of deliciousness and gifts.
My favorite dinner place is Moon River Brewery on Bay Street. The food is great, and they offer a wide variety of well-made beers. This trip down, my husband and I had dinner there with a friend. Husband and friend both had sausage and scalloped potatoes, which seemed to go over well, and I had fried green tomatoes and goat cheese-leek cakes. Yum! If you have dinner at Moon River, follow it up with dessert at Leopold's. Leopold's Ice Cream, right next to the Trustees Theater (the one with the big vertical SCAD sign), has just about the best ice cream you will ever taste. If the line there is too long, check out Cafe GelatOhhh in City Market. Better yet, check out Cafe GelatOhhh regardless.
So, now that food is figured out, what are you going to actually do? Well, first thing, as soon as you get into town, get a copy of Connect Savannah and check out the community calendar. See if there's anything going on that piques your interest, like a performance at Muse Arts Warehouse down on Louisville Road. (Louisville is what Liberty turns into just west of the Historic District.) Once you've marked any special events on your agenda, plan to do at least one tour. Savannah is famous for its ghosts, and there are a lot of great ghost tours. If that's not your thing, do a history tour or garden tour with Savannah Walks. Their office is on Abercorn, just north of Broughton, and they know their stuff. If at all possible, take a walking tour. The trolley tours give a decent overview, but nothing beats getting to see the historic homes and landmarks up close and having a guide who's able to take his time because he doesn't have to worry about traffic.
If you or one of your travel buddies was ever in the Girl Scouts, you may want to visit the Juliette Gordon Lowe birthplace. It's a well-kept, beautiful house, and you'll learn more about "Daisy" herself when you take the tour. My favorite house is the Owens-Thomas, which is owned by the Telfair Museum. You can get a discounted pass to their three locations-- the original Telfair Museum, the contemporary-art Jepson Center, and the Owens-Thomas House. I'd recommend doing so.
The Roundhouse Railroad museum (Louisville and MLK, can't miss it) is incredibly cool if you're at all into trains. The Ships of the Sea Museum is likewise very interesting. Colonial Park Cemetery, in the heart of downtown, feels more like a park than a graveyard and is full of informative signs and very old stones.
If you want to see Bonaventure, Savannah’s more famous (and elaborate) cemetery, you'll have to drive a few miles from downtown. It's worth it. Make sure you get to the old part of the cemetery. The first time I went out there was for a funeral, and all I saw were simple, modern graves and expanses of lawn. Then I saw the 19th-century section, which is incredible. Say hello to Gracie for me.
In the evening, you have your pick of bars. If you'd like a quiet neighborhood bar to sit and have a chat with a friendly bartender (and a pickleback, which is a shot of whiskey followed by a shot of pickle juice-- I know, but trust me, it's good) you want O'Connell's on Congress and Drayton. If you want drag queens, go to Club One. If you want live Irish music, go to Kevin Barry's down on the River. If you want really good Scotch, go to Six Pence. You want karaoke, go to McDonough's. You want chocolate, go to Lulu's Chocolate Bar. You want wine, go to Bacchus. There's also a little hole-in-the-wall just south of Johnson Square (the one with the giant phallic monument in the middle of it-- heh heh, Johnson) that serves many kinds of cocktails, including a chocolate and peanut butter-tini.
That should keep you busy.
One more thing-- those little red carts pulled by people on bicycles? Those carts are Pedicabs, and the number to get one is (912) 232-7900. Put that in your phone now, because you're gonna want it. The drivers work for tips-- tip them well, tip your tour guides, and have a good trip.
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