Savannah After Dark
Speakeasies, Ghost Tours, and Craft Cocktails in America's Most Haunted City
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Savannah doesn’t slow down when the sun goes down. If anything, it gets better. The city’s history is dark and layered, and the bar scene leans into it in all the right ways.
Artillery Bar — The Best Bar in Savannah
This is the one. Housed in a former armory, Artillery Bar is an upscale historic cocktail bar with a dress code, impeccable craft cocktails, and an atmosphere that earns the word ‘stunning’. It opens at 4pm and fills up quickly. Their version of the Chatham Artillery Punch, a locally famous recipe that has been around since the 1800s — is outstanding. This was my favorite bar of any trip to Savannah, and that’s saying something given the competition.
Alley Cat Speakeasy — Newspaper Menus and Craft Cocktails
Down a back staircase off West Broughton Lane, literally in an alleyway, Alley Cat is a dimly lit, exposed-brick basement bar with a menu formatted like an Art Nouveau newspaper. The drinks are creative and complex, the bartenders know what they’re doing with house made syrups and technique, and the moody atmosphere is genuinely impressive. You walk off a side street, head downstairs, and suddenly you’re somewhere completely different. It’s one of those Savannah experiences that feels like a discovery even when it’s not a secret.
Baobab Lounge at the JW Marriott
African-inspired decor, taxidermy, fossils and minerals on display, and seriously creative smoked cocktails. Small plates available if you need something to eat. The atmosphere is theatrical in the best way. Mr. Kessler’s properties always have that art-gallery quality, and the Baobab is no exception.
The Pirate’s House — Artillery Punch and History
On the east side of the historic district, the Pirate’s House is part museum, part restaurant, part bar. The food is good and the drinks lean into the nautical theme. Order the Chatham Artillery Punch, they have their own version, and it will sneak up on you. The building itself has a legitimate history of piracy connections and is considered one of Savannah’s haunted landmarks.
Ghosts and Gravestones — The Ghost Tour Worth Taking
There are a lot of ghost tour options in Savannah with hearse tours, bar crawl tours, walking tours. The one we recommend is Ghosts and Gravestones run by the Old Town Trolley company. You’re in the trolley for most of it (your feet will thank you after a full day of walking), and the tour stops at a few exclusive after-hours locations. The production value is high, the storytelling is genuinely good, and they’ll take you into the old cotton warehouses in a way you won’t experience otherwise. Don’t skip this.
The trolley company also owns the American Prohibition Museum in City Market, which has a basement speakeasy serving 1920s-era cocktails. Do the museum tour, the wax figures are genuinely impressive and the historical presentation is well done. The speakeasy in the basement is accessible separately in the evenings if you want the bar experience without the tour.
The Pirate Museum — Real Artifacts, Great Bar
Also in City Market, the Pirate Museum is tucked into the old underground cotton storage warehouses, exactly the kind of place real pirates would have moved through. The exhibits include actual swords, cannons, blunderbusses, and treasure, with detailed histories on famous and lesser-known pirates. The little bar inside serves grog, rum punch, and pirate-era drinks. It’s fun, well-executed, and different enough that it earns a stop even if you think you’re not a museum person.
A Note on the Squares
Savannah’s famous grid of squares, small parks every few blocks throughout the historic district, are part of what makes after-dark wandering here so enjoyable. You’re never far from a bench, a fountain, and some Spanish moss overhead. Walk between bars rather than taking a ride. That’s how you actually experience this city.
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