Savannah itinerary: choose two or three days

Savannah’s squares give a first visit its shape: Forsyth Park and the southern streets lead into house history, art and the Savannah River. Two full days cover the central highlights, while a third adds Bonaventure Cemetery and the Jepson Center without squeezing the house tours. Keep the evenings for a square, a riverfront pause and dinner nearby.

How many days, where to stay and when to go

Stay length

Two full central sightseeing days; three with Bonaventure and Jepson

Accommodation base

Historic District, between the riverfront and Forsyth Park

First morning

Forsyth Park

Day order

Southern squares on Monday if needed; museum days Tuesday–Sunday

Arrange first

Owens-Thomas House & Slave Quarters tour

The central Historic District runs south from the riverfront to Forsyth Park, roughly 20 blocks. Staying between them lets you return to your accommodation between sightseeing and dinner. Set off south towards the park on the first morning, then work back through the squares.

For a Friday–Sunday stay, the three-day order works as written. If your southern day falls on Sunday, move the cathedral interior to the afternoon. For stays crossing a museum closure, swap whole days rather than rushing individual visits.

Summer walks are easiest in the morning and evening. Hot, humid weather and frequent afternoon thunderstorms favour the planned accommodation rests. Spring and autumn are generally more comfortable, while winter is milder and drier. Wear supportive shoes and carry drinking water, sun protection and a light rain layer.

Lunch commonly falls around 11am–2pm, with cafés and restaurants offering different service windows. The named lunch areas leave you a choice rather than a fixed restaurant.

Winter evenings lose daylight earlier than summer ones, so move River Street before the accommodation rest if you want river views in daylight. For rain, shorten optional square walks and spend longer inside Telfair Academy or Jepson on their open days, but retain the house tours rather than trying to replace them at short notice.

House tours and museum tickets

Admission	Adult price	Coverage	Validity	Arrangement
Mercer-Williams	$14.95 + 7% tax	House tour	—	Walk-up; first come
Telfair three-site pass	$30	Owens-Thomas; Academy; Jepson	Seven days from purchase	Owens timed; galleries untimed
Listed-admission subtotal	$46.00 including Mercer tax	Both products	—	Per adult

Mercer-Williams has no compulsory reservation surcharge. Parties of six or more may reserve by phone. Leave room to receive a tour time rather than treating your arrival as a guaranteed start.

Arrange Owens-Thomas before building the day around it. Tour places can be allocated online up to four weeks ahead, subject to availability, or at the onsite ticket booth. Telfair Academy and Jepson do not require reserved arrival slots.

Owens-Thomas has no standalone admission. Academy and Jepson are offered through the same combined product. This makes Jepson a useful addition to a longer stay: you can explore contemporary art and modern architecture without another admission purchase.

Day 1: Forsyth Park and the southern squares

Forsyth Park’s white cast-iron fountain, Jones Street’s brick roadway and the cathedral’s painted vaults make this a day of outdoor walks and richly decorated interiors, ending with dinner near Monterey Square. Morning light suits the fountain especially well. Follow the central promenade beneath live oaks before heading north.

The Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist rewards a slow look at stained glass, marble altars and the ornate Stations of the Cross. Touring is Monday–Saturday, 9am–11:30am and 1pm–4:30pm, while Sunday access starts in the afternoon.

Jones Street’s homes have ironwork and raised stoops. Colonial Park Cemetery adds weathered headstones and the burial history of the 1820 yellow-fever epidemic. Wear supportive walking shoes and rest in Chippewa Square’s shade before lunch. Madison Square’s Sergeant William Jasper monument makes another optional stop afterwards.

Mercer-Williams House Museum pairs period-furnished principal rooms with antiques, art and the house’s association with Jim Williams and the events in Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. Tours begin at 10:30am Monday–Saturday and noon Sunday. Drop optional walks before risking the house tour.

After your accommodation rest, Pulaski Square offers a leafy pause before dinner. Around Monterey Square, look for shrimp and grits, prawns served with ground-maize porridge, or she-crab soup, a creamy crab soup traditionally enriched with roe.

Day 2: House history, art and the riverfront

From yesterday’s southern squares, turn north to Owens-Thomas House & Slave Quarters, Telfair Academy’s period rooms and River Street’s ship views: a day of household history and art followed by a waterfront evening and City Market dinner. On Monday, move this whole day to an open museum day.

Owens-Thomas connects original furnishings and architecture with domestic workspaces and the living and working conditions of enslaved people. The main house requires several flights of original stairs and has no lift. Ramped entrances serve the orientation gallery and slave quarters. The garden and public toilets are wheelchair accessible. You may sit out the house portion.

Wright Square’s Tomochichi memorial recognises the Creek leader who helped establish Savannah. Reynolds Square provides a shaded pause before lunch on Broughton Street, where cafés and restaurants sit among independent boutiques, galleries and national retailers.

Telfair Academy brings you into the Telfair family’s neoclassical mansion, especially its double parlours, before galleries of American and European art with works by Childe Hassam and Kahlil Gibran. Afterwards, browse Broughton Street or return directly for your rest.

River Street’s promenade overlooks passing ships and the opposite shore, with the Waving Girl statue among its landmarks. Expect uneven cobbles, steep ramps and steps on the descent to the waterfront. In winter, take this pause before your rest for daylight views, then head to the restaurant cluster around City Market.

Day 3: Bonaventure and the Jepson Center

After yesterday’s riverfront evening, leave the centre by vehicle for Bonaventure Cemetery’s moss-draped live oaks, winding paths and Victorian monuments, then return for Jepson’s contemporary art and dinner on West Broughton Street. On Monday, move this day to an open museum day. Seek out the Gracie memorial during the leisurely cemetery morning.

You may drive along cemetery roads, keeping right and below 15mph. Park in designated areas or on roadway shoulders without blocking traffic, never on graves or turf. Vehicles longer than 35 feet or higher than 12 feet, trailers and combination vehicles are prohibited without approval. Small parking areas near the entrance let you continue on foot, and the visitor centre is an optional final stop.

River Drive in Thunderbolt offers a lunch break before returning downtown. Tubby’s Tank House is one option for seafood, sandwiches and Southern-style dishes, not a fixed meal booking. Back in Savannah, leave the car at the Robert E. Robinson Parking Garage or use downtown metered parking before continuing on foot.

The Jepson Center contrasts with yesterday’s historic mansion: Moshe Safdie’s curved modern building has a dramatic glass atrium and broad staircase, with contemporary works by American and Southern artists. Give the galleries unhurried attention before the optional walk to Johnson Square’s Nathanael Greene monument, set over his crypt.

Return to your accommodation for a rest, then sit in Franklin Square at the western edge of City Market before dinner along West Broughton Street. The evening stays downtown, with no further driving between the square and your meal.

Two days, late arrivals and early departures

• Two full days: keep the southern squares and the house-history, art and riverfront day. Cut Bonaventure and Thunderbolt first.
• Art-focused two days: replace Mercer-Williams with Jepson using the Telfair admission, on an open museum day. Drop Madison Square and move the afternoon towards Telfair Square.
• Late arrival: enjoy the nearby evening, Pulaski Square and dinner near Monterey Square, or River Street and City Market if staying farther north. Begin the first full sightseeing day the next morning.
• Early departure: remove the outlying cemetery morning rather than squeezing it ahead of travel. If only part of a central day remains, retain a main visit and cut optional walks first.
• Museum closures: swap whole days, putting the southern walks on Monday and the Telfair visits on open days.

Choose by interest before adding more stops. The park, cathedral and riverfront give you outdoor variety. Owens-Thomas brings the household’s unequal lives into focus, while Academy and Jepson offer different kinds of art. Keep the accommodation rests when heat or tired feet make them useful.

Sources & fact-checking

Checks against the sources below cover: opening hours, closures, services, and key figures. Route times and distances were calculated from geolocated stops.

• Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist — opening hours
• Mercer Williams House Museum — opening hours
• Telfair Museums — closures
• City of Savannah Department of Cemeteries — opening hours
• City of Savannah Department of Cemeteries — service
• Telfair Museums — opening hours
• Tubby’s Tank House — key figures