Free Things To Do In The Historic District

History & Architecture

River Street

River Street is Savannah’s tourist center, with lots of shops, bars and restaurants, but it also has a lot of historic appeal. Don’t miss Factor’s Walk, an unusual architectural feature consisting of a series of footbridges, constructed in the 19th century to link bluff-top Bay Street to the upper stories of the River Street warehouses.

→ More about River Street

If you want a better look at the street and its historic buildings, you can take a (brief) ride on the free ferry that connects River Street to Hutchinson Island. Embark near City Hall or near the Waving Girl Monument (with its own interesting history) in Morrell Park.

→ Free ferry info

Bull Street

If you want to see some of the best of Savannah’s architecture, but don’t know where to start, you can’t go far wrong with Bull Street. Savannah’s most important boulevard since the 19th century, the five squares along the street are home to its oldest monuments and surrounded by its grandest antebellum mansions.

Historic places of worship along the way include neoclassical Christ Church, the oldest congregation in Georgia; the imposing Independent Presbyterian Church; and Congregation Mickve Israel, one of the oldest surviving synagogues in the United States and home to Georgia’s earliest Jewish congregation.

Jones Street

One of Savannah’s prettiest streets and another of the best places to appreciate the city’s 19th-century architecture is Jones Street. Lined with arching oaks draped in swathes of Spanish moss, the street was one of Savannah’s most successful restoration projects. Start walking (heading east) at the very western end, between Chatham and Pulaski Squares.

Cathedral of St John the Baptist

One of Savannah’s highlights is the Cathedral of St John the Baptist, its whitewashed spires reaching above Savannah’s low rise buildings and visible from all around.

The outside of the Cathedral is impressive enough, but if you arrive outside of mass times, you can also go inside. There you will find an equally outstanding interior, with dozens of stained glass windows and one of the best collections of religious murals in the South. Donations of $3 per adult are welcomed, but optional.

City Hall

Savannah offers free monthly tours of City Hall, the first Tuesday of every month at 12pm. Reservations are required, see details.

Monday-Friday, 8:30am-5pm you can also make a self-guided visit to City Hall and its rotunda, complete with stained glass dome. You can pick up a booklet on the history of City Hall at the security guard station. Inside the rotunda, there is usually an exhibit of art by local artists.

In the City Council Chamber on the second floor of City Hall are additional rotating history exhibits displaying local artifacts and documents. The exhibits can be seen as part of the free tours, as above, or on every other Thursday, when the Chamber is opened for Council meetings.

Battlefield Park

Battlefield Park, right next to the Visitors Information Center, is worth a quick stop if you are interested in Savannah’s Revolutionary War history.

The park is a recreated site commemorating the bloody and unsuccessful Siege of Savannah of 1779, in which combined American and French forces (including a large contingent of Black Haitian soldiers) attempted to recapture the city from the British.

The Spring Hill redoubt, part of defensive fortifications constructed to encircle Savannah, was discovered on the Battlefield Park site during recent archaeological investigations. A replica of the redoubt and informational signs explain the history of the site and the Siege.

Free Museums

Savannah’s museums generally charge admission, but free admission to many area museums is available as part of the annual Super Museum Sunday, held on one Sunday each February.

If you are a customer of Bank of America or Merrill, you can also visit several Savannah museums for free the first full weekend of each month through their Museums on Us program. A Bank of America or Merrill debit or credit card plus photo ID are required for free admission.

Additionally, some local museums offer free admission to current or former servicepeople, currently the Webb Military Museum (free for active-duty military) and the National Museum of the Mighty Eighty Air Force (free for veterans of World War II).

Parks & Cemeteries

Colonial Park Cemetery

Colonial Park Cemetery is Savannah’s oldest surviving cemetery. Only a few minutes walk from downtown Savannah, the graveyard holds the tombs of several of Georgia’s most distinguished colonial-era citizens.

Many of the graves are unmarked or illegible, but along the eastern boundary wall is a row of relocated headstones that can still, mostly, be read.

Examine them carefully, and you will discover that several of the deceased appear to have lived astonishingly long lives: this was the work of unknown vandals, sometimes (but without evidence) attributed to the Union soldiers who occupied Savannah during the Civil War.

Forsyth Park

Forsyth Park, created in the 1850s, is one of the highlights of Savannah. The park is most famous for its beautiful white fountain, but it also has several other sights within the park itself, including a fragrant garden and several military monuments, plus several other things to see along the streets that border it. A farmers market is held in the park every Saturday.

Historic squares

Savannah’s squares – of which there are presently 22 – are one of the defining characteristics of the city. The squares were laid out from Savannah’s founding through into the mid-19th century. You could try to see them all, which will be a walk of about 3.5-4 miles by the most direct route, or just select a few. Probably the prettiest (taking their architectural surroundings too into account) are those along Bull Street, and the more southerly squares laid out in the 19th century.

Arts & Culture

Most of Savannah’s several art museums charge admission, with the exception being the recently-opened Savannah African Art Museum, a fascinating collection of art objects from more than 150 West and Central African cultures. The museum is located at 201 East 37th Street. Hours are Wednesday-Saturday, 1pm-5pm.

You can also see art for free and sometimes speak with local artists themselves at any of Savannah’s dozens of commercial galleries, many of which also participate in the city’s free monthly art walks.

Free Things To Do If You Have A Car

Historic Cemeteries

Bonaventure Cemetery

Bonaventure Cemetery, made famous by its role in John Berendt’s Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, is one of Savannah’s top-rated attractions. Admission is free, but access is difficult unless you have your own transport (paid transport options are available).

Once you have got there, however, you will find one of the most charmingly beautiful cemeteries in the South, filled with oak and other trees and in season, blossoming azaleas, and an enormous selection of elaborate funerary statuary and monuments.

A guide map, available from the cemetery office located just inside the gates, outlines the cemetery’s highlights and the location of famous graves. Alternatively, if your visit to Savannah coincides with the second Sunday of the month (or the Saturday before it), you can enjoy a free historical guided tour of Bonaventure, provided by the Bonaventure Historical Society. See details

Laurel Grove Cemetery

Less well-known than Bonaventure but laid out and beautified along similar lines, and also easier to get to, are Savannah’s other 19th-century cemeteries, Laurel Grove North and Laurel Grove South.

These two, segregated, cemeteries were created in the 1850s. Laurel Grove North was the white portion, and was the main burial place for Savannah’s white citizens for much of the 19th century, with many famous individuals buried there.

Laurel Grove South was the black portion of the cemetery. In its earliest years it was a burial place for the city’s slaves; after emancipation, most of Savannah’s African-American citizens continued to be interred here, including several influential religious and Civil Rights leaders.

Nature & Outdoors

Tybee Island & its beaches

Nearby Tybee Island is an easy day trip out of Savannah. Georgia’s most northerly barrier island, Tybee has miles of beaches and a pier, and the ocean should be warm enough for swimming from May through September. Dogs are not allowed at any of the beaches.

Please note, however, that there is no free parking on Tybee Island, and you will have to pay around $2 per hour at most lots and on-street meters. More about getting to Tybee

Savannah National Wildlife Refuge

If you want to enjoy some local nature, Savannah National Wildlife Refuge, just a few miles north of the city, is totally free to visit, with no parking charges. Please note that dogs and other pets are not allowed. More info

Skidaway Island State Park

If you don’t mind a small parking charge, or you want to bring a pet, Skidaway Island State Park, a few miles southeast of Savannah, is a beautiful alternative, with boardwalks over the marsh, and historic sights along its nature trails. Other than the parking fee ($5 per vehicle), admission is free. More information about visiting Skidaway Island State Park

McQueens Island Trail

The McQueens Island Trail, eastwards out of Savannah between it and Tybee Island, offers scenic views over the Savannah River and adjacent marshes, and plenty of opportunities for wildlife watching.

The trail is open for hiking or biking, but dogs are not allowed. Free parking is available at the Cockspur Island bridge at the eastern end of the trail, and at the midpoint of the trail, both off US Highway 80.

Savannah Botanical Gardens

Savannah Botanical Gardens, a few miles south of downtown, is a 10-acre, volunteer-run botanical garden with rose, herb, flower and vegetable gardens and naturalistic areas, a small pond and the historic Reinhard House, an 1840s German-style farmhouse. Admission is free, and the garden is open daily. See website

More Things To Do In Savannah

– Beaches near Savannah
– State parks and wildlife refuges near Savannah
– Savannah events
– Antiques stores in Savannah
– Savannah art galleries

See also:
– Food festivals in Georgia
– Tybee Island events
– Hilton Head Island events
– How to get to Savannah
– The best time of year to visit Savannah