The Savannah Nobody Tells You About
Midtown, Forsyth Park, Tybee Island, and Beyond the Tourist Trail
Trip Jar Travel Blog | gettripjar.com
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Most Savannah guides stop at River Street and call it done. The city is much bigger and more interesting than that. Here’s where to go once you’ve covered the historic district basics.
Forsyth Park — Go on a Saturday
At the southern end of the historic district, Forsyth Park is anchored by one of the most photographed fountains in the South. It’s beautiful, but the real reason to go on a Saturday is the farmer’s market. Local vendors from across Georgia and South Carolina bring produce, prepared food, baked goods, flowers, and crafts. Locals are out with dogs and frisbees, SCAD students are scattered on blankets, and the whole thing has an energy that the touristy parts of Savannah can’t quite replicate. If you’re staying in an Airbnb with a kitchen, this is where you shop for dinner.
Collins Quarter has a location in the park itself, perfect for coffee before you walk the market. The trolley runs down to Forsyth, so you don’t have to hike it.
Midtown Savannah — Where the Locals Actually Live
South of Forsyth Park, the Midtown neighborhood is where the city feels most like itself. Less polished, more real. Two stops worth making: Big Bon Bodega with it’s cult-following bagels, lavender honey coffee, and lines out the door at the right times, and Black Rabbit Bar and Restaurant, a proper neighborhood dive with creative sandwiches, good drinks, and a mix of locals that makes you feel like you found something. Neither of these are on the main tourist circuit. Both are worth the short detour.
This is also where Sanctuary Place Inn, the converted church Airbnb we mentioned in the accommodations post, is located. Staying in Midtown gives you a completely different feel than the North Historic District and easy access to both the park and the historic area.
SCAD’s Invisible Footprint
The Savannah College of Art and Design has quietly bought and restored dozens of buildings throughout the historic district, using them as classrooms, offices, and dormitories. You’re often looking at a SCAD-restored building without knowing it. The school’s presence keeps the city architecturally maintained and brings a creative energy that you feel everywhere, from the design quality of local shops to the general vibe of Forsyth Park, where art students congregate.
Bonaventure Cemetery — More Than a Photo
You’ve seen the Bird Girl statue, the arms-outstretched figure from the cover of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. The original is now inside the Telfair Museums, but the cemetery is still worth the drive. Bonaventure is where Johnny Mercer (Moon River, That Old Black Magic) is buried, along with many of the people who shaped Savannah into what it is. It’s genuinely beautiful in the way that only old Southern cemeteries can be with Spanish moss, elaborate Victorian monuments, and yes, reportedly haunted.
Colonial Park Cemetery — Walk Right Through It
You don’t have to drive anywhere for this one. Colonial Park Cemetery sits right off Oglethorpe Avenue next to the fire station, in the middle of the historic district. It has some of Savannah’s oldest headstones and a quiet, slightly eerie character that’s different from Bonaventure’s grandeur. Worth a slow walk-through if you’re passing by.
Savannah Bananas — If You Can Get Tickets
The Savannah Bananas are a baseball team that plays like the Harlem Globetrotters of baseball, with trick plays, choreographed routines, players doing backflips between pitches. Tickets sell out fast. Check their schedule early and plan your trip around a game if you can. It’s genuinely one of the most entertaining things you can do in any American city, not just Savannah.
Tybee Island — A Half-Day Worth Taking
About 20 minutes from downtown, Tybee Island has a relaxed Georgia coast vibe that’s distinctly different from the Florida beach scene. Low country boil spots, casual bars, a lighthouse, and a beach that draws a mix of locals and vacationers without feeling overcrowded. A lot of famous people keep vacation homes out here. If you have an extra half-day in Savannah, the drive is easy and the change of scenery is worth it.
Mercer Williams House — Midnight in the Garden
If you’ve read the book or seen the film, the Mercer Williams House on Monterey Square is worth a tour. It was home to Jim Williams, whose trial anchored the story, and is filled with his antique collection. Johnny Mercer, the songwriter who wrote Moon River and dozens of other American standards, was connected to the Mercer family that built this home. Savannah has a lot of historic house museums, but this one has cultural weight beyond architecture.
Savannah is a city that rewards repeat visits. We’ve been more times than we can count and still have a list of things we haven’t done. That’s not a warning, it’s a promise.
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