Savannah

About Savannah

Savannah's Historic District is laid out around 22 leafy public squares, and the whole point of a trip here is to stay inside that grid. The difference between a hotel on one of the squares and a hotel out by the highway isn't a few minutes of driving — it's the difference between living inside the postcard and commuting to it. Inside-the-grid inventory is limited, which keeps rates firm on spring and fall weekends; that's where checking a member rate against the public price pays off, because the inns and boutique properties here don't discount loudly on the open web.

The city runs at walking pace by design. Mornings are for coffee under the live oaks and a slow loop through the squares; afternoons for the Mercer-Williams and Owens-Thomas house tours, SCAD galleries, and antique shops; evenings for a restaurant scene that has quietly become one of the South's best, from old-school she-crab soup rooms to ambitious newcomers. River Street adds cobblestones, to-go cups, and riverboat traffic along the Savannah River. Twenty minutes east, Tybee Island bolts a genuine beach day onto a city trip.

Our Travel Editor's Savannah advice: spring is glorious but St. Patrick's Day week is a different animal — one of the largest celebrations in the country, with rates and crowds to match. Aim for late March through May or October through November otherwise, stay south of Broughton Street near Forsyth Park for quieter nights, and book the historic inns early. The good ones are small and they know it.

— Our Travel Editor