Museums In Savannah

Savannah offers several museums, primarily concerning aspects of local history. A couple of these museums, while bearing Savannah addresses, are located somewhat outside of the Historic District. Their distance from downtown is noted. For more museums that are near to, but not in, Savannah, see below.

Savannah’s museums

General Savannah & American History

• Savannah History Museum – Overview of Savannah’s historic achievements, attached to the Visitors Information Center.
• Massie Heritage Center – Focus on Savannah’s architectural heritage and educational history, plus other miscellaneous aspects of the city’s history.
• American Prohibition Museum – Recently-opened museum of the history of prohibition in the United States.

African-American History

• Ralph Mark Gilbert Civil Rights Museum– History of segregation and the Civil Rights Movement in Savannah.
• King-Tisdell Cottage – History of African-American lives and labor in Savannah and the lowcountry.
• Pin Point Heritage Museum (12 miles) – History of Savannah’s Gullah-Geechee community of Pin Point, which grew up around the seafood processing industry.

Military History

• Webb Military Museum – Private but extensive collection of military artifacts and uniforms from the Civil War onwards.

Transport History

• Ships of the Sea Maritime Museum – Savannah’s maritime history, with model ships and other maritime artifacts.
• Georgia State Railroad Museum – The railroad in Savannah, with historic locomotives and former railroad shop buildings.
• Savannah Classic Car Museum – Rotating selection of vintage cars, and a working restoration shop.

Other Local History & Specialty Museums

• Bethesda Museum (11 miles) – History of Savannah’s colonial-era orphanage and the school it later became.

Art Museums

Savannah’s art museums

• SCAD Museum of Art – Contemporary art in a historic former railroad buidling, operated by the Savannah College of Art and Design.
• Telfair Academy – Traditional art in a William Jay-designed antebellum mansion.
• Jepson Center – The contemporary complement to the Telfair Academy, opposite.
• Beach Institute – African-American art, with a special focus on the works of local folk artist Ulysses Davis.
• Savannah African Art Museum – Recently-opened museum showcasing a private collection of art works from the African continent.

Historic House Museums

Savannah’s historic house museums

• Andrew Low House – Classic antebellum home, former residence of Juliette Gordon Low.
• Davenport House – One of Savannah’s earliest preservation triumphs, restored to reflect the life of a middle class family in the 1820s.
• Green-Meldrim House – Gothic Revival mansion designed by John Norris, occupied by General Sherman during the Civil War.
• Harper-Fowlkes House – Charles Cluskey-designed Greek Revival mansion, tours tell the story of one of Savannah’s leading preservationists.
• Juliette Gordon Low Birthplace – Devoted to the life and works of the founder of the Girl Scouts of the USA.
• Owens-Thomas House & Slave Quarters – William Jay’s Regency masterpiece.
• Mercer-Williams House – Savannah’s most famous historic house, as featured in Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.
• Flannery O’Connor Childhood Home – Depression-era historic house, former home of well-known southern author Flannery O’Connor.
• Sorrel-Weed House – Private restoration, claims to be haunted.

Architecture & Historic Attractions

History & Architecture

• River Street – Savannah’s historic river front, its old warehouses now occupied by shops and restaurants.
• Jones Street – Said to be Savannah’s prettiest street, lined with live oaks and 19th-century homes.
• Factor’s Walk – One of Savannah’s most unusual architectural features, where numerous footbridges connect Bay Street to the former warehouse buildings that front on the river.
• Battlefield Park – Memorial site for the 1779 Siege of Savannah, with reconstructed redoubt.

Places Of Worship

• Cathedral of St John the Baptist – Striking inside and out, this Cathedral has the best collection of religious murals in the South.
• First African Baptist Church – One of the country’s oldest African-American congregations, with guided tours and a small museum.
• Congregation Mickve Israel – One of the oldest Jewish congregations in the United States, with guided tours and a small museum.
• Other historic places of worship – Savannah’s many beautiful and historic places of worship, some dating back to the 19th century.

Parks & Squares

• The squares – 22 small parks, each with a different character, distributed throughout the Historic District.
• Forsyth Park – One of the oldest and prettiest urban parks in the United States.

Cemeteries

• Colonial Park Cemetery – 18th century cemetery, one of the oldest surviving landmarks in Savannah.
• Bonaventure Cemetery – Savannah’s most beautiful and famous 19th-century cemetery.
• Laurel Grove Cemetery North – Savannah’s “other” 19th-century landscaped cemetery.
• Laurel Grove Cemetery South – Burial place of Savannah’s African-Americans from slavery through to the present day.

African-American Heritage

• Black history sites – Savannah's African-American heritage sites and attractions.

Historic Neighborhoods

• Victorian District – Just south of the Savannah’s main Historic District, this neighborhood is home to some of the city’s best late-19th-century architecture.
• Starland District – Savannah’s newest arts district, centered around the old Starland Dairy out along Bull Street.
• Isle of Hope – Charming historic suburb on the banks of the Skidaway River.

Guided Tours Of Savannah

• Trolley tours – Narrated overview tours of the Historic District.
• Walking tours – Guided tours of a smaller area of the Historic District, either general interest or focusing on a special aspect of the city’s history.
• Architecture tours – Walking tours of Savannah focused on the architecture and antebellum mansions of the Historic District.
• Ghost tours – Ghost stories from Savannah’s haunted past, including after-dark and adult-only tours.
• Comedy tours – A fun approach to Savannah’s history.
• Carriage tours – Narrated horse-drawn carriage tours of the Historic District.
• Food and drink tours – Guided tours focusing on aspects of Savannah’s culinary history and culture.
• Black history tours – African-American history of Savannah, from slavery to freedom.
• Civil War tours – Military history and Savannah’s experiences in the Civil War.
• Midnight and movie tours – Locations and history associated with the best-selling book Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil and Savannah’s movie industry.

Things To Do Near Savannah – History & Culture

Military History

• National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force (Pooler, 12 miles) – The Eighth Air Force from WWII to the present day, with several historic military aircraft.
• Fort Jackson (4 miles) – Georgia’s oldest surviving brick fort.
• Fort Pulaski National Monument (Tybee Island, 15 miles) – Well-preserved brick fort, site of the Civil War Battle of Fort Pulaski.
• Fort McAllister State Park (Richmond Hill, 29 miles) – Civil War-era earthwork fort, with museum and nature trails.

Maritime & Transport History

• Tybee Island Lighthouse and Museum (Tybee Island, 17 miles) – 19th-century lightstation and keeper’s house, with attached museum of Tybee Island’s history.
• Savannah-Ogeechee Canal Museum (17 miles) – Restored section of the 19th-century Savannah-Ogeechee Canal and its locks, with museum (limited hours) and nature trails.

Other Local History

• Wormsloe Historic Site (9 miles) – Colonial-era plantation ruins, nature trails and a live oak avenue.
• Richmond Hill History Museum (Richmond Hill, 20 miles) – History of Richmond Hill and its association with the famous industrialist Henry Ford.
• Ebenezer Living History Museum (Rincon, 27 miles) – Small museum operated by the Georgia Salzburger Society, outlining the history of the area's Salzburger settlers.

Things To Do Near Savannah – Nature & Outdoors

Beaches & Seafront Communities

• Tybee Island (18 miles) – The nearest seaside town to Savannah, with miles of beach, a pier and several major annual events.

Botanical, Ecology & Wildlife Attractions

• Oatland Island Wildlife Center (6 miles) – Displays of Georgia wildlife and farm animals.
• Coastal Georgia Botanical Gardens (13 miles) – Botanical gardens with large bamboo display and one of the best collections of camellias in the country.
• Savannah Botanical Gardens (8 miles) – 10 acres of gardens and nature trails.
• Tybee Island Marine Science Center (19 miles) – Displays of local sealife and natural history, plus special programs on aspects of Tybee's barrier island environment.

Kayaking, Paddleboarding & Boat Trips

• Little Tybee Island – Unspoiled nature preserve, easily accessible by boat tour or kayak from the town of Tybee Island.
• Wassaw Island – Secluded National Wildlife Refuge, accessible by boat or kayak.
• Ossabaw Island – Nature preserve and cultural heritage site, accessible by boat or kayak.
• Ebenezer Creek (Rincon, 27 miles) – Tranquil blackwater swamp north of Savannah, an ideal kayaking or paddleboarding destination.
• Kayak, canoe and paddleboard tours – A great way to explore the marshes and creeks around Savannah.
• Watersports and equipment rentals – Where to rent kayaks and other equipment or take watersports lessons in the Tybee-Skidaway area.
• Boat tours – Dolphin and nature tours, plus boat charters, in the Savannah-Skidaway-Tybee area.

State Parks, Trails & Refuges

• Skidaway Island State Park (14 miles) – Scenic marshes, maritime forest and boardwalks, not far from Savannah.
• Savannah National Wildlife Refuge (Hardeeville, 9 miles) – Enormous wildlife refuge on the site of former rice plantations along the Savannah River.
• McQueens Island Trail (10 miles) – Hiking and biking trail along the bank of the Savannah River.
• Nature attractions near Savannah – Other nature and outdoors attractions in coastal Georgia and vicinity.

Things To Do Near Savannah – Other Activities

• The Combat Zone (Bloomingdale, 18 miles) – Paintball center and ex-military tank-driving experiences.
• Helicopter tours – Tours offering an aerial perspective on Savannah, Tybee Island or Hilton Head.