Where to stay

Savannah's culture centers on antebellum homes and cordial Southern hospitality. Book a hotel in the Victorian District, the city's first suburb, where 50 blocks of Victorian homes remain from as early as the beginning of the 19th century. One neighborhood home is the Mercer House, which featured in the book and film Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. Also nearby is the 100-year-old Historic Savannah Theatre on Chippewa Square, where Forrest Gump shared his life story from a quiet bench. Stay in Historic Downtown Savannah and look for the famous bird girl statue. Here you'll also find the Telfair Museum for art, the Georgia State Railroad Museum and the Savannah History Museum. Accommodations in this neighborhood are very convenient for a visit to the contemporary SCAD Museum of Art, where Savannah College of Art and Design students find inspiration. North of the city, Pooler hotels are close to the very popular National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force.

Stay in Savannah's Historic Downtown to stroll from one to another of 22 park squares at intersections of the city's perfectly aligned grid of streets. Each leafy square is shaded by giant oaks, some dripping with Spanish moss. These unique spots are perfect for recreation, picnicking, exploring history and even holding a wedding. Accommodations on River Street are great for strolling along the Savannah River. Northwest of Savannah, Garden City is a good place to stay for a trip to the Coastal Georgia Botanical Gardens at the Historic Bamboo Farm. Book a hotel in Richmond Hill, about a 30-minute drive southwest, to kayak or fish on the Ogeechee River, following its twists and turns to Fort McAllister State Park. From hotels in the Midtown neighborhood drive for less than 20 minutes to get to the wetlands of Isle of Hope or Skidaway Island State Park and a few minutes more to the beaches of Tybee Island.

Savannah's food scene includes Southern favorites of fried chicken, fried green tomatoes, shrimp and grits and pimento cheese, as well as fine dining with steaks and farm-to-table meals. Book a hotel in Midtown, where you can enjoy fresh seafood in an antebellum home or old commercial building now converted to a trendy restaurant. Stay in the River Street neighborhood and select from a wide variety of restaurants along the long boardwalk stretch, ending your meal with sugary pralines, candied pecans or triple scoops of ice cream. From your hotel here, arrange to have dinner on a riverboat or on an old-fashioned paddlewheel boat. Accommodations in Historic Downtown Savannah are near innumerable dining choices, nearly all of them unique to the city, featuring soul food, casual brunches and celebrity chef creations.