Ahhh Savannah,
Where to begin? Let me first say, I love the charm of the deep South - the large plantations (Boone Hall in Charleston, S.C.), the Spanish moss hanging from the trees, the friendly "Y'all come back now"s....
We have been in Savannah in late October several times - it reminds me very much of mid July here at home. We stay out on 1-95 - last time at a Hampton Inn for about $55/night. There are some really nice hotels in the Historic District but they're considerably more expensive - I'm going to try to get them through Priceline for our fall trip.
We first visited Savannah in 1992 and did a walking tour of the Historic District. My wife and I had just started dating at that point, so the tour, the warm night and the romance of it all holds some very fond memories for me. Hang on, I'm getting verklempt.. talk amongst yourselves. I'll give you a subject - Goofy is neither a dog, nor a human. Discuss.... There, I'm better.
(We actually dated for a week before getting engaged. We married in 94.) We visited again in 96 when my wife was expecting. She was about 6 months along so we decided to take a guided tour. This time, everyone was talking about a book - "the book" as the locals referred to it. Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil has definitely changed Savannah. I bought a copy, which was autographed by one of the characters in the book (its non-fiction for the most part) and really enjoyed it. It opened up a whole new dimension to the city that I'd already fallen for. I don't know if I would recommend reading it before you visit or after - I think after would be best. That way you won't zero in on several spots in the city based on what you'd read.
Spots I'd recommend:
The Historic District - walking or guided (trolley) tour. I'm not into architecture, but it really is interesting. And beautiful. The opening scene, as well as several others, from Forrest Gump were shot in this area - the bench where he sits waiting for the bus was placed in front of Chippewa Square, I believe.
River Street - nice restaurants along the Savannah River, a bit of night life, shops, souvenirs.
Bonaventure Cemetery - partly because of the book, mostly because it's an amazing place. Johnny Mercer is one of several famous individuals buried there. A little out of the way, but wow!
I can say that I felt safe at our hotel (interior corridors, right off the I95) and during the day in the above noted locales. River Street was nice in the evening and I didn't worry about safety. We pretty much confine our visits to the Historic District and the route to it from the interstate is fairly direct and didn't concern me in the day, and was fairly quiet at night. I was only concerned about safety once - we got lost, well to the south of the historic area in what appeared to be a fairly "economically troubled" area. We've got them in Ottawa too - we just know enough to avoid them.
If you love the romance and charm of the south, you will love Savannah. Read the book (at some point), the movie didn't do it justice.
This link is pretty good for information:
http://www.ourcoast.com/savannahcityguide/visiting/
Okay, now I can't get "Moon River" and "Skylark" out of my head!
Enjoy the -blech- snow!!
