SAVANNAH, Ga. — Every few years, my cousin Molly Carpenter and I plan a trip together to somewhere we’ve never been. Our priorities: sightseeing, shopping, good food and wine. This year, Savannah checked all those boxes for us.
Savannah is on Georgia’s Atlantic Coast, just south of the South Carolina state line. Hilton Head, S.C., is less than an hour away, and Tybee Island, Ga., is a half-hour drive.
Molly and I were focused on Savannah’s historic district, though, and we needed to have a conversation about our feet. The district is only 2 square miles, but hours of walking would surely take a toll on our north-of-age-60 legs. Could we get by without renting a car?
We discovered the free shuttle called “the dot,” which makes 12 stops on its purple line around the historic district, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. A shuttle stop was just a few blocks from our rented two-bedroom cottage on the eastern edge of the historic district.
Our first full day in Savannah, we got our bearings with the Famous & Secret East Side Food Tour, a three-hour walking tour that combined history lessons with stops for a tasty bite at six off-the-beaten-path restaurants. Highlights included pulled pork at Wall’s BBQ, blueberry sausage at Smith Brothers Butcher Shop and pimento cheese croissants at Our Daily Bread Cafe.
Unlike some Southern cities ravaged by the Civil War, Savannah retains abundant antebellum charm. Historical sites are numerous, including Fort Jackson, the oldest standing brick fortification in Georgia. Savannah’s Green-Meldrim House, a National Historic Landmark, was used by Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman as the Union Army’s headquarters in December 1864.
In the historic district, 22 squares offer monuments to famous locals. It was actually quite pleasant walking through the shady squares every few blocks. We could take a break and sit on a bench by a fountain beneath the live oak trees dripping with Spanish moss.
The Savannah River borders the north side of the historic district, dividing Georgia from South Carolina. Riverboats cruise up and down the river, past Old Fort Jackson, where cannon fire greets cruisers, and the Port of Savannah, a major U.S. seaport.
