Savannah

Southern Belle by Slim Aarons, 1957

Savannah is a coastal city in Georgia city known for its manicured parks, horse-drawn carriages, and antebellum architecture. Its historic district is filled with cobblestoned squares and parks shaded by oak trees covered with Spanish moss. Savannah has retained much of its original structure and charm with a grid laid out in 1733 by General James E. Oglethorpe— earning it the title of America’s First Planned City. Here is our guide to Savannah, Georgia.

STAY

BRICE HOTEL A boutique hotel in the historic district, just off cobblestoned River Street and the Savannah River. A complimentary yoga mat is available for guests in each room.

THE MARSHALL HOUSE An Old World boutique hotel in the historic district in a building dating back to the mid-19th-century. In a past life, it served as a hospital for soldiers at the end of the Civil War. Enjoy a sweet tea on the veranda, complete with wooden rocking chairs and green shutters, or a soak in the antique claw-foot tubs

MAGNOLIA HALL A private mansion-turned-guesthouse, available by invite only to select members of the SCAD community.

PERRY LANE HOTEL Set in the Historic District, the rooms are filled with art and vintage wares, and there is a restaurant, bar, and a rooftop pool on site.

DINE | DRINK

MRS. WILKE’S DINING ROOM A line gathers each morning at 107 West Jones Street, and you better be in it. At 11 o'clock, the doors of 107 open, and the lucky lunch crowd finds seats at one of the large tables-for-ten shared by strangers, and soon filled with family-style platters of fried chicken, cornbread biscuits, sweet potato souffle, black-eyed peas, and okra gumbo.

THE OLDE PINK HOUSE Southern cuisine is served in this rose-colored Colonial mansion dating from 1771. Live music is played in the cellar tavern after dinner.

CLARY’S CAFE You might recognize Clary’s from Clint Eastwood’s film adaptation of the book Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. The drugstore turned restaurant serves Southern classics including eggs, biscuits, and gravy for breakfast and black bean soup or fish sandwiches for lunch and dinner.

LEOPOLD’S ICE CREAM Founded in 1919 by three brothers who moved to the States from Greece, Leopold’s is a Savannah staple— serving ice cream cones, sundaes, and old-fashioned fountain sodas.

HUSK Chef Sean Brock’s second location, after putting Charleston on the food map with his original restaurant.

THE WYLD An alfresco restaurant with panoramic marsh views, offering fresh May River oysters, and crab cakes.

ATLANTIC While you wait for your reservation, order an aperitivo and play a game of Yahtzee or Jenga predinner on the patio.

COTTON & RYE  Known for pork, this restaurant serves up daily seasonal specials, as does their new sister Italian restaurant, Sugo Rossa.

THE GREY Housed in a renovated bus station, serving charcuterie plates and smoked brisket with a signature gin gimlet.

BACK IN THE DAY BAKERY  The James Beard Award-nominated pastry chef, Cheryl Day, serves homemade biscuits and Southern sandwiches with pimento cheese.

ZUNZI'S A South African–inspired takeout spot serving boerewors, sausages served on French bread with gravy, onions, and mustard.

SANDFLY BBQ Housed in a retrofitted 1938 Streamliner offering a sampling of pulled pork, beef brisket, chicken, smoked chicken, sausage, and ribs.

 THE COLLINS QUARTER An Australian cafe serving lighter options including avocado toast and biscuits.

ARTILLERY A chic cocktail bar with a signature drink called “Artillery Punch”— a lethal combination of rum, brandy, rye whiskey, and gin.

ART | CULTURE | ACTIVITIES

TYBEE ISLAND The beach is just 15 miles from Savannah’s historic district, and Tybee Island offers a smattering of local seafood restaurants, parks, bike trails, playgrounds, and water sports.

WORMSLOE HISTORIC SITE A former plantation and the 18th-century estate of English pilgrim, Noble Jones, located on Isle of Hope, 20-minutes from downtown. A mile-long corridor of large oaks laden with Spanish moss leads up to the oldest standing structure in Savannah.

GHOST TOUR According to legend, Savannah is a haunted city. Take an evening stroll around the squares to learn more about the past. Make sure to stop at the Bonaventure Cemetery and the Mercer-Williams House.

TELFAIR MUSEUM One of the oldest public art museums in the U.S., originally opened in the 1880s in a renovated family mansion, which has since expanded into three separate buildings displaying a 4,000-piece permanent art collection— a mix of 18th-21st century pieces from America and Europe. The Jepson Center in the Telfair Museum complex includes a small collection from such luminaries as Jasper Johns, Richard Avedon, and Frank Stella as is the original Bird Girl statue from Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.

SCAD MUSEUM OF ART Located in a rehabilitated and landmarked former railway depot with a permanent collection of African-American art, including works by Romare Bearden and Jacob Lawrence’s Genesis Creation Sermon series.

LANE CONTEMPORARY  A gallery by Susan Laney featuring SCAD graduates Ansley West Rivers and Menghan Qi, and photographer Jack Leigh.

CITY MARKET An 18th-century open-air marketplace.

SHOP

SAVANNAH CORDWAINER Home of sixth-generation bespoke Hungarian shoemaker, Marcell Mrsan, who personally measures each foot and handcrafts all of his shoes in the space with a focus on traditional men’s shoes like moccasin loafers, and derby boots utilizing exotic leathers including stingray and alligator.

 CHRISTIAN DUNBAR A modern furniture designer featuring strong lines wedded to industrial materials for cleanly structured lamps, tables, and chairs. “All of my work is a blend of organic and industrial, but in a way that highlights the inherent beauty of the natural materials.”

 J. PEARSON DESIGN A pharmacist-turned-interiors virtuoso who uses designer fabrics (ie Hermès, Gucci, and De Gournay) and reupholsters vintage chairs, settees, ottomans with pillows, resulting in one-of-a-kind pieces.

KATY SKELTON  With a SCAD MFA in Furniture Design, Skelton uses responsibly sourced materials for her modern Scandinavian-inspired line of furnishings, textiles, and decor.

NUMBER FOUR ELEVEN Located in the Downtown Design District, Founders Courtland Stevens and Claire Lindley Reeve, offer hundreds of vintage ciphers and fonts to monogram and customize everything from classic Italian herringbone throws and fringed linen cocktail napkins to boat bags and baby blankets.

THE PARIS MARKET Inspired by the Saint Ouen Flea Market outside of Paris, this boutique by globetrotting owner Paula Danyluk offers soaps, hand towels, jewelry, kitchenware, vintage items, and everything in between.

SHOPSCAD A gift shop offering personal creations from SCAD alumni, faculty, and students including apparel, jewelry, decor, and gift items. Housed in historic Poetter Hall, the shop also sells fine art by emerging artists including Juan Sepulveda, Katrina Schmidt-Rinke, Marcus Kenney, and Dan VanLandingham.

ALEX RASKIN  A four-story antique store in the Noble Hardee Mansion filled with classic pieces, including Sheraton armchairs.

JERE'S ANTIQUES  Hundreds of pieces are sourced from the U.K., Belgium, Holland, and France with a vast selection of chairs housed in the attic of the 33,000-square-foot warehouse.

PERIDOT A treasure box helmed by the ever-traveling and ever-elusive Kevin Johnson. His discerning eye falls on the unexpected, from Tagliapietra Murano vases to a Biedermeier birch chest sourced from author Tom Clancy’s estate. He’s particularly drawn to “anything you can put an orchid in,” from mid-century pottery to a 500-pound Chinese brazier.

MIMI CAY  A sprawling waterfront estate on the Wilmington River offering everything for sale, from a set of bronze Doré two-arm sconces and a 19th-century American Empire rosewood slipper chair to a zebra-upholstered ottoman and supremely rare collection of taxidermy.

GUSTEIN GALLERY Emerging artists and their contemporary works are for sale across sculpture, printmaking, painting, ceramics, and installation.

JESSICA O'NEILL Painting commissions featuring abstract figurative face portraits with whimsical humor are all the rage with the Southern social set. 

SCAD ART SALES Selling original works from the college’s extensive community.

Text: Veronica H. Speck Photo: Slim Aarons © Getty Images