Founded almost three centuries ago, Savannah is Georgia’s oldest city. But despite its Confederate history and role as a cotton exchange hub, it has evolved into a forward-thinking college town with a thriving hospitality scene and postcard-worthy streets framed by oaks dripping with Spanish moss. The Hostess City of the South is eccentric, mixing sweet Southern hospitality with of-the-moment artsy flair. The destination location is home to many prominent museums and historical landmarks, with several concentrated in Historic Savannah. In fact, Travel and Leisure Magazine named it the 4th Best City in the US in 2022. But while it boasts a list of attributes comparable to those of New Orleans and neighboring Charleston, Savannah offers a bit more quirk. This is likely due to the local university, the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), which permeates local culture. And while history is important, Savannah is busy working on expansion plans and sustainable growth initiatives that should improve its quality of life and keep visitors coming back.
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James Beard Best Chef Southeast award winner
Savannah’s culinary scene delivers a distinct taste of place, where boozy cocktails complement coastal cuisine. Its open-container law allows diners to finish their drinks in the streets, cultivating a lively social atmosphere. People stumble into bars below ground level or party on rooftops overlooking crowd-filled corridors.
Award-winning restaurants here serve cuisine that runs the gamut, from soothing soul food to upscale seafood, vegan pub fare and Nouveau Southern. The Grey is marshaled by Mashama Bailey, who took home the prestigious James Beard Foundation’s Best Chef Southeast award in 2019. The upscale favorite is uniquely housed in a 1930s-era Greyhound bus station. The Olde Pink House is a go-to for candlelit date nights in the famed 18th-century estate.
Small businesses prevail over major labels in Savannah, though there are a few big brands scattered across major thoroughfares like Broughton and Bay Street. Communities such as Highland Park and Oakdale provide quick trips to shopping and restaurant destinations. Malls and big box stores are easily reachable by car or bus, a few minutes south of the city.
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Architecture with a story to tell
The city's concentration of well-preserved 18th and 19th-century architecture is part of what has become the largest Historic Landmark Districts in the US. The oldest homes and buildings reflect the city’s origins in 1733. But Savannah’s evolution is evident as the city spreads outward into the streetcar suburbs of the early 1900s and on to Midtown Savannah 's midcentury developments.
Church bells chime through Historic Savannah from the towering Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist, a prominent landmark that sets the tone for its central neighborhoods. The city’s gridded wards of period architecture were originally intended to imitate London’s layout. Older homes, townhouses and single-family homes in this area range from $850,000 to $3 million, compared to the Savannah median home price of $350,000.
The Midtown neighborhood is highlighted by older homes with renovations and new constructions that typically cost between $350,000 and $750,000. Highland Parks ranch-style and other midcentury house designs often have lower prices than other areas, usually ranging from $200,000 to $275,000.
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Hundreds of thousands attend St. Patrick's Day Parade
The staple event here is the St. Patrick's Day Parade, the country's largest, following New York City and Chicago. Fountains are dyed green to celebrate the event and SCAD organizes its spring break around the festivities to accommodate an influx of visitors. The SCAD Savannah Film Festival is a week-long event each fall, known as the largest university-run film festival in the world, drawing A-list actors and directors for premiers, screenings and ceremonies.
A different kind of baseball with the Savannah Bananas
Historic statues, fountains and old-growth trees anchor Historic Savannah's park squares. The city has 22 original gridded public spaces, each popular for photoshoots. The Savannah Botanical Gardens is one of the city's top attractions, with natural trails, a two-acre pond and an amphitheater. The garden is home to the Reinhard House, a historic farmhouse from the 1800s that now serves as the host site and headquarters for the Savannah Area Council of Garden Clubs.
Forsyth Park sits between the commercial-heavy downtown and the south side’s historic and Victorian districts. It’s the city's go-to venue for outdoor concerts, arts festivals, and the year-round farmer's market. Locals lounge on blankets in the park and walk the dogs around its looped path, which showcases views of some of the city’s most impressive homes.
In the Parkside community is Daffin Park, home to Grayson Stadium and the Savannah Bananas. This popular exhibition baseball team has become famous for its irreverent style of play and crazy rules, like no bunting and two-hour time limits.
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Art-infused education options
The Savannah-Chatham County Public School System earns a B from Niche and serves over 36,000 students across 74 schools. Among them is the Savannah Arts Academy, one of the district's top-rated schools, receiving an A-plus from Niche. For private school options, St. Andrews School is ranked the second-best in the area and gets an A-plus from Niche. St. Andrews also offers the region's only International Baccalaureate program.
SCAD enrolls more than 17,000 students from across the world every year. It is regularly praised for its design programs, even taking home Architectural Digest's number one spot for best interior design schools in 2023, Red Dot Design's Number one design university in the Americas, and another number one spot for Rookies Global School Rankings as a top creative school in the US.
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City planning for car-free living
The Chatham Area Transit (CAT) offers 16 bus routes throughout Savannah and Chatham County. Residents living near downtown usually forgo driving or public transportation in favor of walking or a bicycle ride. In fact, Savannah is a Bronze-Level Bicycle-Friendly Community, awarded by the League of American Bicyclists. Interstates 16 and 95 are nearby, with 95 running from Miami to New York City. Travelers head 10 miles outside the city to Savannah Hilton Head International Airport, offering international and domestic commercial flights.
Community programs for reduced crime
According to FBI data, violent and property crime rates in Savannah are higher than the national average but on par with other metro communities of similar size. According to the Savannah Police Department, both have decreased in recent years, with violent crime down about 22% and property crime down about 9%. The Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement (ONSE) is a city department that provides funding to support community programs focused on reducing gun violence and connecting high-risk youth to support services.
Savannah's location means it typically deals with tropical storms, stormy summers and mild winters. The community's position within the arc of the Atlantic and northern Florida coastlines means it tends to dodge hurricanes as they curve up the coast. The last storm to deliver a direct impact was Hurricane David in 1979. Those living on the water are prone to tidal flooding during storm surges.
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