Where: Savannah, Georgia
When: year-round
If you like: urban escapes, history, dining and drinks
Why you should go: Savannah is fresh off a thirtieth birthday of sorts: The year 1994 had been a momentous one, with John Berendt revealing the city’s seductive underbelly with the publication of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil and Tom Hanks doling out life lessons from a picturesque downtown bench in Forrest Gump. Tourists descended like ants on a praline, and Savannah has been stretching to accommodate them ever since. In the past five years, two gleaming new mixed-use districts have reshaped the historic riverfront, while the restaurant-rich Starland District has lured visitors south. Between those two hubs, the Hotel Bardo opened last year on Forsyth Park and transformed a Southern Gothic mansion into a stunning oasis with Amalfi Coast vibes. And later this spring, the team behind the Death & Co. cocktail empire will debut its first hotel, the Municipal Grand, in the heart of the historic district; fittingly, the lobby’s Municipal Bar will be the centerpiece. “If you’re walking down Broughton Street, you will see what will look like a big, bustling bar and restaurant, and that’s very intentional, whereas on the other side, on Abercorn, you’ll see more clearly that this is a hotel,” says Alex Day, cofounder of Midnight Auteur, the group’s hospitality brand.
With a Ritz-Carlton on the horizon for 2026, Savannah’s sheen doesn’t look to be dulling—which makes it all the more inviting to enjoy a peaceful picnic (martini optional) in Bonaventure Cemetery, as Berendt did, or warm a bench in an oak-shaded square like Gump.
G&G tip: The Grey, the restaurant many credit for launching Savannah’s grown-up food scene, recently marked its tenth anniversary and remains as vital as ever, a homeplace for moments of both celebration and contemplation. Note the neon art installation in the ceiling rafters, which lights up every hour for two minutes and twenty-three seconds to mark the date of the 2020 murder of Ahmaud Arbery in nearby Brunswick.
