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Best Savannah Itinerary for a weekend

Our weekend started on Friday morning.  We had both worked extra hours during the week so we could take Friday off from work.  We live in Charlotte so it’s a four and a half hour drive to Savannah. We got into town around 12:30 and we headed straight to The Olde Pink House.

I had made reservations but we were early and they were able to seat us early.  We sat in one of the front rooms decorated in icy blue with peach colored curtains.  My husband ordered the salmon salad and I order the fresh catch tacos because they were swordfish and I love swordfish!

The waitress was very nice and gave us a lot of history about the house. I asked if the tavern would be open for us to see – I had read about the history of the house and wanted to see it if possible.  She said we were free to walk around to see the whole house and be sure not to miss the ballroom.

They brought our plates out to us after a short wait.  The salmon salad had a huge filet and looked very good.  My tacos were deconstructed on a wooden slab – not exactly what I expected.   The tacos were good the fish was not dry as I thought it might be since it was exposed (?), if that’s the right way to put it.  There was guacamole so it was all good. David said his salmon salad was very good, it was all arugula and the salmon was cooked very well.

After we finished our lunch we went upstairs and there were quite a few rooms for dining up there as well.  The ballroom was amazing! It had mirror-lined walls and so many chandeliers – it was very elegant and it was set up for a wedding reception later that day.  The room also had a fireplace that was beautifully decorated where the flowers on it matched the centerpiece flowers on the tables. It was a magnificent place for a wedding reception – so very elegant.

Next, we went down to the tavern.  There was a shadow box that had some historical pieces that had been found over the years during remodeling.  I was anxious to see the tavern. Our waitress had told us about the mansion being used as a bank in 1865, it housed the first bank chartered in Georgia.  A vault had been built in the cellar during that time. It now houses their wine storage. There is also a table for two in there and you can schedule to have dinner in that little room.  I loved seeing the bar which has been there since the prohibition era. I highly recommend this as a stop during your visit to Savannah.

Next, we checked into our hotel and then we started walking along Broughton Street which is full of restaurants and shops.  It’s a fun place to spend some time and money.

For dinner that evening I had made reservations at Collins Quarters.  What a cool restaurant! See pics – very cool bar and I loved the décor.  I had branzino served with a risotto cake and roasted tomatoes. It was delicious.   My husband, adventurous eater that he is, had salmon quinoa salad. It must have been good – he ate almost all of it and it was a lot of food.  

After dinner we went out and walked for an hour or two, most of the stores were closed so we took this time to look at the squares and monuments. Suddenly ice cream sounded good so we walked over to Broughton Street and found Leopold’s Ice Cream.

The line was ridiculous but it moved quickly. Soon we were inside ordering our ice cream. Everything looked good from their menu but we both decided on an ice cream sundae.

Their menu is substantial in that it has a lot of options for ice cream sundaes, banana splits, and ice cream sodas but they also have a café menu with sandwiches, soup, and coffee drinks.

The dining room area is like an old-fashioned parlor and they have a lot of movie posters of movies filmed in Savannah. There is also a working jukebox with old songs. But you go for the ice cream so enjoy it – it’s delicious!

After we enjoyed our ice cream we walked over to Bay Street where there are restaurants, bars, and touristy shops. We walked over to the City Market area and listened to some live music and made our way along the shops.

There is a place called the Tree House there and it seemed to be filled with people enjoying the night without inhibitions if you know what I mean! We made our way to the hotel and slept soundly after all that walking.

The next morning we had brunch reservations at The Ordinary Pub. I wish there had been a good way to get a picture of their sign. It’s a restaurant built into the basement of a very old building. They lovingly kept what they could and created an authentic experience with the atmosphere and food. Stained glass and lighting fixtures were made by local artists. The concept is minimalistic and lets the original brick and mortar shine throughout. They are becoming well known for the brunch and bottomless mimosas.

After fueling up we took on the shopping on Broughton Street. Many unique boutique shops are worth mentioning here. Custard Boutique is not far off Broughton on Whitaker Street. They feature a lot of Made in America clothing, handbags, and jewelry. Plus they have a website if you want to check that out. Red Clover Boutique is on Bull Street. They have unique clothing here and it’s worth checking out. There are also many other shops – I enjoyed the Spartina store because I had never seen one before. And I bought something at Kendra Scott to remember our trip. There are a lot of designer shops but still enough independently owned boutiques to keep it interesting.

ShopSCAD is a store selling items produced by students of Savannah College of Art and Design. The store has art, jewelry, home décor items, and accessories. It’s fun to walk around and see what they are coming up with product-wise but also what materials they are using to create their designs.

I had read about the Paris Market for the last couple of years but had never been. It was a nice little shop but I may have been expecting too much. However, I did find a really great shop that had a great selection of home décor items, Yeti, Spartina, custom furniture, jewelry, hostess serve ware, bath /body products, and too many other things to mention.  One Fish, Two Fish (onefishstore.com) has so much to offer and the owner is so nice. I was blown away by the selection and what they had to offer. They were also voted best home accessory store by Savannah Magazine earlier this year!  

If you’re into décor and design be sure to stop by 24e Design Company on Broughton. They won the Arts Award for #1 single location retailer in the nation. 2 steps into the store and you know it’s different than any other furniture and design store you’ve been in and you’re hooked. I was making what I thought was a quick stop but I couldn’t stop looking at everything! Be sure you go upstairs too because the landing has a very unique setting you don’t want to miss. So much to see that you can’t catch it all in one trip through the store.

Vic’s on the River was where we had dinner that evening. The food was very good as was the service and it’s right over River Street. I enjoyed the sea scallops which were perfected seared and served with citrus risotto.

My husband had the crab cakes which were served with parmesan risotto. Afterwards, we went down to River Street and walked around and did some shopping and people watching. I found another boutique which had a good offering of clothing made in America called Missing Pieces.

The shop owner was very nice and said he preferred to carry apparel made in USA. No trip to Savannah would be complete without a trip to buy pralines – irresistible!

We boarded the ferry over to Hutchinson’s Island, where the Westin Savannah Harbor Resort is located across the Savannah River. We walked along the riverfront and then went into the Westin’s lounge and had a drink to enjoy the view of Savannah. Before it got dark we took the ferry over to River Street.

To watch the sunset, we walked to The Bohemian Hotel and walked into the lobby. We went up to the rooftop to Rocks on the Rooftop, a bar with a terrace over the river. There we got a table outside and watched the sunset. We stayed to enjoy the lights of the city for a while before walking back to our hotel.

The next morning we walked to Good Feathers Café for breakfast – it’s quick and dependable. Then we walked to Adventure Tours in Motion for our Segway tour of Savannah. My husband and I recently discovered how much fun it is to ride Segways and now we do it wherever we can. We didn’t really need a tour – we’ve been here a few times – we just wanted to ride the Segways.

Next we toured the Isaiah Davenport House Museum built in 1820. It has survived almost 200 years and it is beautiful inside and out. It’s a good way to see how they lived back then and to hear how the house survived almost town down in the 1950s.

After our tour we walked over to B. Matthew’s Eatery on Bay Street for lunch. We split the vegetable strudel and the kale salad (although we swapped the kale for arugula). Both dishes were very good and we ate all of both – we had worked up and appetite. Then we headed home!

Here are some things we have done on past trips: