Every search for “what to do in Savannah” turns up the same fountain photo and the same riverboat ad. Whether you typed in “must see things to do in Savannah GA,” “what is there to do in Savannah,” or just “what to do in Savannah Georgia” at midnight before a trip you booked on a whim, you’re going to get some version of the same five results, recycled by twelve different websites.
I’ve been leading walking tours through this city for over 16 years, seersucker suit, bowtie, and all, so I’ve watched a lot of first-time visitors try to do everything and end up doing none of it properly. Below is the list I’d actually hand a friend, roughly in the order I’d do it, with a note on what’s worth lingering over and what you can knock out in fifteen minutes. Almost everything on it is walkable from the Historic District downtown, so if you’re specifically wondering what to do in downtown Savannah, you’re already reading the right list.
The Short Version
- Free and non-negotiable: walk the squares. It’s the spine of the whole city.
- Give it a real morning: Forsyth Park, especially the Saturday farmers market.
- Walk, don’t drive, to River Street. Go through Factors Walk to actually see why it’s built the way it is.
- Pick one evening activity: a ghost tour or a sunset riverboat cruise.
- Got more than a weekend? Add Bonaventure Cemetery, a proper Southern meal, and half a day at Tybee Island.
1. Wander the Squares First (Trust Me on This One)
Savannah was one of the first planned cities in the country, built around 22 public squares, and looping through them on foot is basically the spine of any visit here. Chippewa Square gets the crowds because of Forrest Gump, Johnson Square is the biggest and busiest, and Monterey Square has the kind of grand houses people fly here to photograph.
I go into the full history of each square, who they were built for, and which ones are worth a second look, in my guide to Savannah’s most iconic sites. For now, just know this is free, it’s outside, and it’s the one must-do on this entire list.
2. Give Forsyth Park a Real Morning, Not Just a Photo
Forsyth Park is where the squares open up into one big green space, and it rewards actually slowing down in it. Walk the mile and a half loop under the oak canopy, find a bench near the cast-iron fountain, and if you’re there on a Saturday, the farmers market at the south end is worth building your morning around.
Half the visitors I meet try to power through Savannah like a checklist. Forsyth Park is where I tell people to stop doing that, sit down, and let the city catch up to them.
3. Walk Down to River Street the Right Way, Through Factors Walk
Don’t just drive to River Street. Walk down through Factors Walk, the old iron bridges and cobblestone ramps where cotton brokers once did business, and you’ll actually understand why the riverfront sits below the rest of downtown instead of level with it.
Once you’re down there, it’s exactly what it looks like: old cotton warehouses turned into shops, candy stores, and restaurants, with cargo ships from the Port of Savannah occasionally sliding past close enough to feel it. Georgia lets you carry a drink outside downtown, so a to-go cocktail on a River Street stroll is a normal, and very legal, part of the afternoon.
4. See the City From the Water on a Riverboat Cruise
You’ve walked the riverfront, now see it from the water. A daytime sightseeing cruise gives you a different angle on the skyline, and a sunset cruise is one of the better answers if you’re looking for things to do in Savannah for couples. Neither takes more than 90 minutes to two hours, so it slots in easily around everything else here.
5. Figure Out What to Do in Savannah After Dark
This is where “what to do at night in Savannah” actually gets interesting. Once the sun goes down, the same squares you walked through that morning take on a completely different personality.
A ghost tour is the classic move, and most of them route you past the Mercer-Williams House and one or two of the older cemeteries downtown. If you want the full story behind that house, it’s in my iconic sites guide. On the tour itself you get the more entertaining, less footnoted version, which is honestly the point.
If you’d rather drink than get spooked, Savannah’s bars are legally allowed to stay open until 3am, an hour later than nearby Charleston, which is part of why the city has a reputation for a hard-drinking good time. One thing worth knowing if you’re wondering what to do in Savannah on a Sunday: most “true bars” downtown are closed by city ordinance that day, with a few holiday exceptions, so lean into brunch, a slow walk through the squares, or that riverboat cruise instead of a bar crawl if your trip lands on one.
6. Walk Bonaventure Cemetery (Yes, on Purpose)
This one throws people until they’re actually standing under the oaks on the bluff above the river, and then it makes complete sense. Bonaventure sits a few miles outside downtown, so you’ll need a car or a rideshare, and it’s worth giving it a real hour rather than rushing through. You can walk it yourself for free, or book a guided tour if you want the stories behind specific graves rather than just the scenery.
7. Step Inside the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist
This is a fifteen-minute stop, but it’s worth building into your route since you’ll likely pass it anyway. Step inside the Cathedral for the stained glass alone. It’s free to visit with a suggested donation, and since it’s an active church, it’s worth checking service times before you plan a visit.
8. Eat Like You Actually Live Here
I’m not going to try to cram a full restaurant guide into this list. If you want my actual picks, down to what to order and when to show up to dodge the wait, that’s covered properly in my guide to where to eat in Savannah. What I will say here is don’t leave without a proper Southern meal at least once. It’s not a trend that showed up for the tourists. It’s just what people eat.
9. Shop at Broughton Street and City Market
If you want a couple of hours that aren’t history-heavy, Broughton Street is the main shopping strip downtown, and City Market a few blocks over leans more gallery and antique shop, with outdoor cafes if the group needs a break. Good option for an afternoon when everyone wants something different to do for a while.
10. Let a Trolley or Carriage Take Over When Your Feet Give Out
Savannah is walkable, but by day two your feet will start voting against you. A trolley tour is a solid way to get your bearings early in the trip and figure out where you actually want to come back to on foot. A horse-drawn carriage ride does something similar but slower, and it’s a favorite if you’re specifically after things to do in Savannah for couples rather than a big group activity.
11. Catch a Savannah Bananas Game
You can’t really write a things-to-do list for this city anymore without addressing the Bananas. The Savannah Bananas play their home games at Historic Grayson Stadium, a short drive from downtown, and the team has become one of the hardest tickets in American sports. Tickets go through a lottery because demand wildly outpaces the number of seats at Grayson Stadium, so enter early and don’t take it personally if you don’t get picked the first time.
If you can get in, go. It’s baseball with a marching band’s energy and none of the boredom, and it’s one of the more distinctly Savannah things you can do with an evening. Check SavannahBananas.com or the ticket lottery at BananaBall.com directly.
12. Get Out to Tybee Island for a Few Hours
Savannah itself doesn’t have a beach, but Tybee Island does, about a 25-minute drive away. If your trip runs longer than two days, it’s worth carving out half a day for, especially with kids in tow. I’ve written a full breakdown of Tybee’s beaches and how to get there if you want the specifics on which stretch of sand suits your group.
13. Time Your Trip Around Whatever Festival Is Happening
Savannah’s calendar rarely sits still. Between St. Patrick’s Day, the SCAD Sidewalk Arts Festival, and a steady run of waterfront events through the year, there’s a decent chance something is going on while you’re here. I keep a running list of what’s on by season over on the events page, so it’s worth a look before you lock in your dates.
14. See It With Someone Who Actually Lives Here
You can do everything on this list on your own with a map and a bit of patience. But a lot of what makes Savannah interesting isn’t written on the plaques. It’s the version of the story nobody bothered to put on a sign. That’s the gap a good walking tour fills, and it’s what I’ve spent 16 years doing.
Book a walking tour with me, and I’ll show you the Savannah I’d actually want a friend to see.
The Must-Dos, If You’re Short on Time
If you’ve only got a weekend, don’t try to do all fourteen of these. Walk the squares, give Forsyth Park real time, get down to River Street, and pick one evening activity, either the ghost tour or the riverboat cruise. Everything else here is worth doing if the days allow it, but those four are the ones I’d never tell you to skip.
Savannah pulls in millions of visitors a year chasing the same handful of postcard shots. Slow down a little more than they do, and you’ll end up seeing a better version of the city than most of them do.
