Savannah Georgia

I am not one to ever enjoy a tour of a city.  But Savannah, Georgia, is one city for which even I recommend a tour.

As the backdrop for the book Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt, the city gained a bit of attention in the 1990s.  A movie has even been made from the book.  All the tours of the city will point out the landmarks involved.

Savannah was a planned city.  To truly understand its historical origins and rich architecture, it is a must see stop on any tour of Georgia.  While Atlanta has only one ante-bellum church that Sherman did not burn, Savannah is rich with pre civil war era housing.  Even the older African-American churches feature “breathing holes” below the pews where slaves were hidden.  A tour will point out many unique architectural features easy to overlook.

Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) is a thriving entity in full force in the city.  Single-handedly responsible for reviving much of the city, SCAD is prevalent all around the town.  Each section of the city was planned, complete with several churches in each “section”.  Each section was also assigned a city part, of which most remain intact today.  The several that were removed are in the process of being restored to bring Savannah to its original planned glory.

The train depot is where all the tours originate from.  There is also a nice museum housed in the depot. It was a good trip to stop and go through the museum.

There is a wonderful sea walk on one side of the city.  It features unique food and shopping venues.  The festival Savannah is most famous for occurs around St. Patrick’s Day.  Reservations must be made months in advance.  So get out your best leprechaun outfit and let’s go to Savannah in March.