James Oglethorpe laid out Savannah in 1733 around a repeating unit: a public square with residential lots on two sides and civic lots on the other two, repeated across a grid. Twenty-four squares were built. Twenty-two survive, each about a third of a hectare, planted with live oaks hung with Spanish moss, most with a monument in the middle.
It is the oldest planned city in the United States and the plan is why the historic district works. You cannot walk more than two blocks in it without arriving at a park.
Why the square you face matters
The squares are not interchangeable, and the difference is traffic.
Bull Street runs north to south through five of the grandest — Johnson, Wright, Chippewa, Madison and Monterey — and it is the spine of the district. Hotels on it are central and busier.
The riverfront, at the northern edge, is a lower level along the Savannah River: cobbles, converted cotton warehouses, and the most tourist-facing part of town. It is also where the cruise and party traffic concentrates and it is loud at weekends.
The eastern and southern squares, toward Forsyth Park and the Victorian district, are residential, quieter and where the town actually lives.
Forsyth Park itself, at the southern end, is not a square but a twelve-hectare park with the fountain everyone photographs.
The eleven below are grouped that way.
Facing Forsyth Park and the southern squares
The quiet end. Residential, shaded and a ten-minute walk to the centre.
Hotel Bardo Savannah occupies an 1888 mansion on Forsyth Park, reworked recently, with a courtyard pool, a bar in the old carriage house and the most ambitious food in the city. It is the best hotel in Savannah.
Hotel Bardo Savannah
Forsyth Park · 5★ · $$$$
An 1888 mansion with a courtyard pool and the city's best food
Check availabilityPerry Lane Hotel, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Savannah sits a block from the park with a rooftop pool, a good restaurant and a design-led interior. It is the most contemporary hotel in the district.
Perry Lane Hotel, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Savannah
Near Forsyth Park · 4★ · $$$
Rooftop pool with the most contemporary rooms in the district
Check availabilityThe Gastonian, Historic Inns of Savannah Collection occupies a pair of 1868 townhouses near the park with a garden, a small room count and the most personal service in town.
The Gastonian, Historic Inns of Savannah Collection
Southern squares · 4★ · $$$
Two 1868 townhouses with a garden and few rooms
Check availabilityEliza Thompson House, Historic Inns of Savannah Collection sits in an 1847 building on a residential square with a courtyard and the quietest nights on this list.
Eliza Thompson House, Historic Inns of Savannah Collection
Jones Street · 4★ · $$
An 1847 courtyard house with the quietest nights here
Check availabilityThe Bull Street squares and the centre
Central, on or near the main spine, and busier.
Thompson Savannah, by Hyatt occupies a building on the edge of the historic district with a rooftop pool, an art programme and rooms that are among the largest downtown.
Thompson Savannah, by Hyatt
Eastern Wharf · 5★ · $$$
Rooftop pool and the largest rooms downtown
Check availabilityThe Alida, Savannah, a Tribute Portfolio Hotel sits on Bay Street with a rooftop bar over the river, contemporary rooms and a short walk down to the waterfront.
The Alida, Savannah, a Tribute Portfolio Hotel
Bay Street · 4★ · $$$
Rooftop bar over the river above the waterfront
Check availabilityThe Marshall House occupies an 1851 building on Broughton Street with a rooftop bar, a good position for the shopping and the most character of the mid-range options.
The Marshall House
Broughton Street · 4★ · $$
An 1851 building in the middle of the shopping
Check availabilityThe Desoto Savannah sits on Johnson Square in a large historic property with a spa, a pool and full facilities. It is the family choice in the centre.
The Desoto Savannah
Madison Square · 4★ · $$
Spa, pool and full facilities on a Bull Street square
Check availabilityAndaz Savannah, By Hyatt occupies a building on Broughton with a courtyard, a pool and rates below the newer hotels.
Andaz Savannah, By Hyatt
Ellis Square · 4★ · $$
Courtyard pool below the newer hotel rates
Check availabilityThe riverfront
On the water at the northern edge. Convenient, atmospheric and loud at weekends.
JW Marriott Savannah Plant Riverside District occupies a former power plant on the river with a large site, several restaurants, a museum in the building and the most facilities in the city.
JW Marriott Savannah Plant Riverside District
Riverfront · 4★ · $$$
A converted power plant with a museum inside it
Check availabilityKimpton Brice Hotel by IHG sits on a square a block up from the river in a Federal-style mansion with a garden, and it is the best compromise between the waterfront and the quiet.
Kimpton Brice Hotel by IHG
Near the river · 4★ · $$
Best compromise between the waterfront and the quiet
Check availabilityWhat we have left off
The chain hotels across the river on Hutchinson Island and out along the highway are excluded. They have parking and lower rates, and they put a bridge or a drive between you and a district whose entire value is that you can walk it.
What to do
Walk the squares. Not a tour, just a walk, ideally early in the morning when the light comes through the moss. Chippewa, Monterey and Lafayette are the ones to see if you only do a few.
Do one house museum: the Owens-Thomas House, which includes one of the earliest intact urban slave quarters in the South and does not soften what it shows. Savannah's beauty and its history of slavery are inseparable and the better museums say so.
Eat properly. Savannah's food is Lowcountry rather than generic Southern, and the good rooms book ahead.
Drive out to Bonaventure Cemetery, which is the most photographed cemetery in America, and to Tybee Island, twenty minutes east, for the beach.
Wormsloe's avenue of oaks is fifteen minutes south and takes half an hour.
Practical notes
Savannah's airport is fifteen minutes from the historic district. Charleston is two hours north by road.
March to May and October to November are ideal, and the spring azaleas are the peak. Summer is very hot and humid. St Patrick's Day in March is one of the largest celebrations in the country and fills the city entirely.
The historic district is flat and walkable. Parking is difficult and largely unnecessary.
Explore 4 & 5 Star Savannah Hotels
Questions people actually ask
Riverfront or the squares?
The squares, comfortably. The riverfront is atmospheric by day and loud at night, and it is five minutes downhill from most of the district.
Savannah or Charleston?
Savannah is smaller, shadier and more relaxed. Charleston has the better restaurants and more hotels. They are two hours apart and pair well.
When is St Patrick's Day?
Mid-March, and it is enormous. Book a year ahead or avoid the dates.
How many nights?
Three. Two for the district and a third for Bonaventure and Tybee.