Savannah ( sə-VAN-ə) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia and the county seat of Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the British colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later the first state capital of Georgia. A strategic port city in the American Revolution and during the American Civil War, Savannah is today an industrial center and an important Atlantic seaport.
It is Georgia's fifth most populous city, with a 2020 U.S. census population of 147,780. The Savannah metropolitan area, Georgia's third-largest, had a 2020 population of 404,798.Each year, Savannah attracts millions of visitors to its cobblestone streets, parks, and notable historic buildings. These include the birthplace of Juliette Gordon Low (founder of the Girl Scouts of the USA), the Georgia Historical Society (the oldest continually operating historical society in the South), the Telfair Academy of Arts and Sciences (one of the South's first public museums), the First African Baptist Church (one of the oldest African-American Baptist congregations in the United States), Temple Mickve Israel (the third-oldest synagogue in the U.S.), and the Central of Georgia Railway roundhouse complex (the oldest standing antebellum rail facility in the U.S. and now a museum and visitor center).Savannah's downtown area, which includes the Savannah Historic District, its 22 parklike squares, and the Savannah Victorian Historic District, is one of the largest National Historic Landmark Districts in the United States (designated by the federal government in 1966).
Downtown Savannah largely retains the founder James Oglethorpe's original town plan, a design known as the Oglethorpe Plan. During the 1996 Summer Olympics hosted by Atlanta, Savannah held sailing competitions in the nearby Wassaw Sound.
*Take a Riverboat Cruise on the Savannah River Queen or the Georgia Queen. *Visit the Savannah Visitors Center and the Savannah History Museum. *Ride the free Savannah Belles Ferry across the Savannah river to Hutchinson Island. *Watch the show at Club One Jefferson (home of the Lady Chablis-Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil) *Walk the Bull Street corridor from City Hall (at Bay St.) to the fountain in Forsyth Park. *Take a picture with a statue in one of the historic squares. *Walk down River Street, see the Waving Girl, and shop in one of the local candy shops. *Shop at City Market. Check out the local art galleries, where you can often pick up great student art for prices easy on the wallet. *Visit the Telfair Museum of Art and the Jepson Center for the Arts. *Stay at a Savannah B&B historic mansion inn for high drama and beautiful scenery. *Children will enjoy following the "Savannah Safari," a coloring book of Savannah's wildlife typically depicted in dolphin rain downspouts and lion water fountains. *Visit Bethesda Home for Boys (the oldest orphanage in the USA) 9 miles south of Savannah. *Buy cookies at the Byrd Cookie Company. *Take a trolley tour or one of the many ghost tours. *Visit the Juliette Gordon Low birthplace and the beginning of the Girl Scouts. *Tour the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD). *Picnic in Forsyth Park. *Attempt to find Forrest Gump's bench at Chippewa Square (it's not there). *Visit Flannery O'Connor's childhood home. She played in the square and kept chickens here, and for Southern literary buffs, the small house is a must. *See a Savannah Bananas Game (also known as the Sand Gnats). *Visit Old Fort Jackson, just outside Savannah's city limits. *
Savannah is called the "Hostess City of the South" and as such, there are no shortages of watering holes; from hole-in-the wall joints to upscale bars. In downtown Savannah, it is legal to consume alcohol in public. Ask the bartender or doorman for a "go cup" (a "traveller" if you're a local) to pour your libation in.
Savannah, the historic riverside birthplace of Georgia, was settled in 1733 by British colonists led by General James Oglethorpe and Colonel William Bull. In 1864, when General William Tecumseh Sherman and his Union Army marched in, the mayor of Savannah gave Sherman's men run of the city in exchange for leaving it untorched. As a result, Savannah is one of the few major cities in the South with antebellum charm and architecture remaining intact.
Southerners joke that in Atlanta, the first thing locals ask you is your business; in Charleston, they ask your mother's maiden name; and in Savannah, they ask what you want to drink. It's partly that ethos that keeps the city tourism industry flourishing, along with a little help from what locals call "The Book": Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (also a feature film). The local art school, Savannah College of Art and Design, also keeps the city awash in accessible, affordable art.
