What you didn’t know about Savannah, Georgia.
Beneath Savannah’s storybook beauty lies a landscape shaped by deep history, unique ecosystems, and architectural traditions unlike anywhere else in the South.
The city was built around 22 garden squares, an urban design so intentional and visionary that it remains one of the most admired city plans in the world. The Spanish moss that drapes from the oaks is not actually moss, but a flowering plant that thrives in the warm, humid coastal climate and creates Savannah’s unmistakable silhouette. The entire historic district rests on some of the oldest preserved streets in America, where ballast stones from ships were repurposed into pathways now worn smooth by centuries of footsteps. Savannah’s riverfront was once the heart of its commerce, and its preserved warehouses tell stories of trade routes, architectural evolution, and the city’s resilience. Even the soft atmosphere people describe, that dreamy, quiet glow, comes from the coastal humidity interacting with the filtered sunlight through the oak canopy. The result is a city that feels almost theatrical in its beauty, yet completely, authentically alive.
Five fascinations about Savannah.
5. Savannah was America’s first planned city.
Designed in 1733 with a grid system and 24 public squares, Savannah’s layout was ahead of its time, and still shapes its unique character today.
4. The city banned slavery at its founding.
Before Georgia became a royal colony, Savannah’s early trustees prohibited slavery and lawyers, a bold move that didn’t last but left a mark.
3. It’s one of the most haunted cities in the U.S.
With cemeteries beneath hotels and ghost tours down every alley, Savannah’s supernatural rep is as serious as its sweet tea.
2. Savannah has an open-container law, on purpose.
Locals and visitors alike stroll the Historic District with to-go cups in hand, making happy hour feel like a city-wide affair.
1. The bench scene from Forrest Gump was filmed here.
While the bench is now in a museum, Chippewa Square is still where Forrest told his story, making it one of the city’s most iconic stops.
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