About Savannah

She’s been called the ‘Southern Belle of the Georgia Coast’ and, to be sure, Savannah’s enduring charm rests in the many small neighborhoods that surround her, like paintings from a bygone era. There are no skyscrapers in Savannah, no malls and in fact very few modern (or modern looking) structures at all. Georgia’s first city is practically devoid of anything that might make you think she’s modernized, save for one riverfront hotel. Her rich history and culture endure to this day, and to lose oneself in Savannah is to take a trip back in time to one of America’s early colonies.

Interestingly enough, even as she stands as a beacon of the past Savannah was also voted one of the "World's Top Ten Trendy Travel Hot Spots" by the New York Times and was a "Top 10 U.S. City to Visit" in Conde Nast Traveler. Located at the border between Georgia and South Carolina and situated on the Atlantic Ocean, Savannah is the third largest shipping port on the east coast and very important to America’s foreign trade. Major films have been shot in her hallowed squares, from ‘Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil’ to ‘Forest Gump’, and the annual Shakespeare in the Park festival is wildly popular.

Savannah’s founder, General James Edward Oglethorpe, is credited with being the first ‘town planner’ in the United States, as it was he who carefully organized the town into a grid with wide streets for the horse carriages of the day. Indeed, 21 of these 24 squares were carefully preserved throughout the years and still exist today, a beautiful reminder of a long-gone time. Oglethorpe even gets the credit for naming the state, which was named after England's King George II. The Historic Savannah Foundation was founded in the 1950s and deserves a great note of thanks for preserving and restoring many of Savannah’s landmarks and historic sites.

So welcome to Savannah, a city rich in American history, African-American culture and modern trendiness. Stay a while, take a look around, and don’t forget to take a walk on the famous river front. There’s plenty to do, see and taste here, and the southern hospitality will win you over in no time. Enjoy it, and relax.

Savannah attracts literally millions of visitors every year, who come of course to see her historic squares, homes and parks. But Savannah is home to quite a few historical figures also. Juliette Gordon Low is a Savannah native and famous for founding the Girls Scouts of America. Actor Stacy Keach and baseball great Bucky Dent call Savannah home, as does associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States Clarence Thomas.

The Georgia Historical Society, the oldest continually operating historical society in the South, makes its home here in this fine city, and one of the oldest African American Baptist congregations in the United States, the First African Baptist Church, makes their home here too. The oldest standing antebellum rail facility is here, and visitors can still see the Central of Georgia Railway roundhouse complex.

Savannah covers more than 78 square miles and is the primary port on the Savannah River and the largest port in the state of Georgia, being fed by the U.S. Intracoastal Waterway. Prone to flooding, Savannah has several pumping stations based around the city to help out in case of emergency, including the Fell Street Canal, Pipemaker's Canal, Kayton Canal, Springfield Canal and the Casey Canal. The first four of these drain north directly into the Savannah River.

The climate in Savannah is classified as ‘humid subtropical’ and is characterized by long, very hot summers and winters that are usually very mild. There are rarely any temperature extremes because she is so close to the Atlantic and its warming influence, but tempe5ratures in the low 100s are not unusual in the midst of summer, which are extremely humid and prone to violent thunderstorms. Snow in Savannah is a four-letter word and very, very rare, but hurricanes are a risk. Luckily Savannah is protected by the so-called ‘Georgia Bight’, which tends to keep storms at bay and shields the city.

And so now you know a bit more about this wonderful southern city, one of the most beautiful on the east coast and probably the world. Of course, the best way to get to know a city is to visit it for yourself, and the city of Savannah invites you to do just that and come experience the way of life that those of us who live here wouldn’t trade for anything.

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