Free Walking Tour Savannah: Squares, River and Mansions

From the fountain in Forsyth Park past Mercer Williams House and the cotton warehouses of River Street to a cathedral born of a colonial ban on Catholics.

9 Stops 5.3 km ~1 h 17 min walking
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Route map for the Savannah walking tour
Stop 1 of 9
490 m·6 min
Forsyth Park
Head north toward the Mercer Williams House
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Nine Stops from Forsyth Park to the Cathedral

Nine stops over 5.3 km: from Forsyth Park via Mercer Williams House, Savannah History Museum, SCAD Museum of Art, River Street, Telfair Academy, Chippewa Square and Colonial Park Cemetery to the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist.

Pure walking time is 1 h 17 min; plan about four hours with two visits inside. Park, river, squares, cemetery and cathedral are free; the house and the three museums charge admission. The GPS route runs free in your browser, the AI Tour Guide is optional.

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View of Savannah

The Route

Walking Map of Savannah, Park to Cathedral

9 stops 5.3 km 1 h 17 min walking
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The 9 stops along this route

  1. Forsyth Park in Savannah, stop 1 on the self-guided walking tour
    1Forsyth Park
  2. Mercer Williams House in Savannah, stop 2 on the self-guided walking tour
    2Mercer Williams House
  3. Savannah History Museum, stop 3 on the self-guided walking tour
    3Savannah History Museum
  4. SCAD Museum of Art in Savannah, stop 4 on the self-guided walking tour
    4SCAD Museum of Art
  5. River Street in Savannah, stop 5 on the self-guided walking tour
    5River Street
  6. Telfair Academy in Savannah, stop 6 on the self-guided walking tour
    6Telfair Academy
  7. Chippewa Square in Savannah, stop 7 on the self-guided walking tour
    7Chippewa Square
  8. Colonial Park Cemetery in Savannah, stop 8 on the self-guided walking tour
    8Colonial Park Cemetery
  9. Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Savannah, stop 9 on the self-guided walking tour
    9Cathedral of St. John the Baptist
  10. That's the full route.

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Your Savannah Walking Tour in Nine Stories

  1. 1

    Forsyth Park

    Forsyth Park in Savannah, stop 1 on the self-guided walking tour

    Begin at the large fountain in Forsyth Park, 30 acres of green inside Savannah's Historic District, framed by Gaston Street, Drayton Street, Park Avenue and Whitaker Street. Around you run walking paths past a children's play area, tennis and basketball courts and open lawns used for soccer and Frisbee; the Savannah Shamrocks rugby club plays its home games here. Look for the Fragrant Garden, laid out for blind visitors, and keep an eye out for posters: from time to time the park hosts free public concerts.

    The park goes back to the 1840s, when William Brown Hodgson donated the first 10 acres. In 1851 it was enlarged and named after Georgia governor John Forsyth, and General James Oglethorpe's original town plan had already reserved room for such a space. By 1853 every ward of that original plan was occupied, and the city needed more open ground.

    That need explains the southern lawns. In 1853 the mayor and aldermen dedicated part of the old cantonment area as a Military Parade Ground, placed in the hands of the captains of Savannah's volunteer companies. In 1859 the 18.9-acre ground was sold to the Military Captains Association, and ordinances in 1914 and 1923 confirmed the deal: the owners let the city use the land for public enjoyment, and in return the city exempts it from property tax and maintains and secures it forever.

    Remember the park when you reach Chippewa Square later: two busts of Confederate officers, Francis Stebbins Bartow and Lafayette McLaws, were moved from there to Forsyth Park to make room for a new monument. From the park it is 470 m, about 7 minutes, to Mercer Williams House on Monterey Square.

    Hours
    Open 24/7
    Price
    Free
  2. 2

    Mercer Williams House

    Mercer Williams House in Savannah, stop 2 on the self-guided walking tour

    The Italianate mansion at 429 Bull Street fills the southwestern block of Monterey Square. Architect John S. Norris designed it for General Hugh Mercer, great-grandfather of the songwriter Johnny Mercer. Work began in 1860, the Civil War halted it, and cotton merchant John Randolph Wilder finished it around 1868. The twist everyone enjoys: nobody named Mercer ever lived in Mercer House.

    In the twentieth century the building served as the Alee Temple of the Savannah Shriners, then stood empty for a decade. In 1969 Jim Williams, one of the city's earliest and most committed private restorers, bought it and spent two years bringing it back. That same year an 11-year-old boy, Tommy Downs, fell from the roof onto the iron fence on the West Gordon Street side and died; he is thought to have been hunting pigeons. The broken tip of one spike has since been replaced.

    Williams made the house the centre of Savannah society. His Christmas parties, held on the eve of the Savannah Cotillion Club's debutante ball, were the event of the season, and he kept an "in" box and an "out" box for invitations depending on who was in his favour. In 1981 he shot Danny Hansford here, the story John Berendt retold in his 1994 book Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil; the film version followed three years later.

    After Williams died in 1990 the house passed to his sister, Dorothy Williams Kingery, who died in 2023. Today his niece, Dorothy Susan Kingery, runs the museum from the carriage house at the back, and the house opens in restricted form for tours with admission. Go in if you have read the book or seen the film, or if restored interiors are your thing; otherwise the façade and that fence already tell you a lot. Next comes a longer leg: 950 m, about 14 minutes, to the Savannah History Museum.

    Local name
    Mercer House
    Hours
    Mon–Tue, Thu–Sat 10:00–17:00 (tours 10:30–16:10), Sun 11:30–17:00 (tours 12:00–16:00), Wed closed
    Price
    USD 14.95 adult; USD 12 reduced
  3. 3

    Savannah History Museum

    Savannah History Museum, stop 3 on the self-guided walking tour

    On Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, the Savannah History Museum fills a former passenger depot of the Central of Georgia Railway. The Coastal Heritage Society runs it, and the city's past now sits under a roof that once sheltered travellers waiting for their trains. Take a moment with the building itself before you go in: it does a good share of the storytelling on its own.

    The exhibit with the oddest biography is a bench. The opening scene of Forrest Gump was not shot on one of Savannah's real park benches but on a fiberglass prop, and one of those props is on display here; the other original never left Paramount Studios in Los Angeles. The square where it was filmed comes later on this walk.

    Admission is charged. It is worth it if local history in a railway setting appeals to you, or if the film is part of why you came. The railway story continues right next door: 360 m, about 5 minutes, to the SCAD Museum of Art, whose history begins in the same company's former headquarters.

    Hours
    Mon–Sun 09:00–16:00
  4. 4

    SCAD Museum of Art

    SCAD Museum of Art in Savannah, stop 4 on the self-guided walking tour

    The SCAD Museum of Art belongs to the Savannah College of Art and Design and works as a teaching museum, open to students, residents and visitors alike. It started in 2002 as the Earle W. Newton Center for British American Studies, named after Newton's 2001 gift of British and American art, and took its present name in 2006 as the collections grew beyond that focus.

    Its story is tied to the Gray Building, an 1856 Greek Revival structure that once held the headquarters of the Central of Georgia Railway. The complex is a National Historic Landmark and the only surviving antebellum railroad complex in the country. In 2007 and 2008 the masonry and windows were repaired and the original roof, by then 150 years old, was replaced. The adjoining 1853 depot is the focus of SCAD's latest restoration work.

    After a long rehabilitation the museum reopened on 29 October 2011 with new galleries and classrooms, a 250-seat theatre, a terrace with an outdoor projection screen, a conservation studio, a café and a 12-foot touch table for orientation. Look up for the 86-foot steel and glass lantern that now marks the building on the skyline.

    Inside, the permanent collection holds more than 4,500 pieces, from haute couture to drawings, painting, sculpture, photography and prints. A focal point is the Walter O. Evans Center for African American Studies, alongside the André Leon Talley Gallery, named for the Vogue contributing editor who sat on SCAD's board of trustees. Admission is charged; go in for fashion and contemporary art. From here it is 1,060 m, about 15 minutes, to River Street.

    Hours
    Mon 10:00–17:00, Tue closed, Wed–Sat 10:00–17:00, Sun 12:00–17:00
  5. 5

    River Street

    River Street in Savannah, stop 5 on the self-guided walking tour

    River Street runs for 2 miles along the Savannah River, but the stretch everyone means is East River Street, lined with restaurants, cafés and craft shops. The name changes where the Hyatt Regency Savannah spans the street, around 40 feet beneath Bay Street. The pedestrian promenade along the water, the John P. Rousakis Riverfront Plaza, is half a mile long and named for Savannah's longest-serving mayor.

    Turn your back to the river and read the buildings. The terraces on the city side are former King Cotton warehouses, the working rear ends of the smarter Bay Street fronts above. Factors Row, the row of red brick buildings on the bluff, keeps the trade in its name: this is where cotton brokers bargained when the crop was at its peak. Factors Walk sits on the middle level of the sloping bluff, with warehouses beneath and Bay Street on top.

    The same warehouses have a darker past. They were also used as holding cells for enslaved Africans, and that belongs to the story of Savannah's cotton wealth as much as the brokers' offices do.

    Look down at the Belgian block paving. The rails set into it first carried horsecars, then streetcars between 1890 and 1946, and a local freight train, the River Street Rambler, rolled along here until 2003. When you are ready, head back up into the grid of squares: 1,080 m, about 16 minutes, to Telfair Academy.

    Hours
    Open 24/7
    Price
    Free
  6. 6

    Telfair Academy

    Telfair Academy in Savannah, stop 6 on the self-guided walking tour

    Telfair Academy fills an entire block on the west side of Telfair Square, bounded by Barnard, West President, North Jefferson and West State Streets. William Jay designed it, and it is one of only a few of his buildings that survive. The two-storey house is brick finished in stucco; notice the projecting portico with four composite columns, a Jay signature, and how its entablature continues around the whole building as a band.

    It was built in 1818 for Alexander Telfair, son of Edward Telfair, one of Georgia's early governors after independence. The ground had history before that: the official residence of Georgia's colonial royal governors once stood here. In 1875 Alexander's sister Mary left the house, with its furnishings and family collections, to the Georgia Historical Society.

    Architect Detlef Lienau remodelled and enlarged it, the former carriage house in the west wing was adapted in the 1880s, and in 1886 the house opened as a free art museum. That made it one of the first ten art museums in America and the oldest public art museum in the South. Its first director, elected in 1883, was the artist Carl Ludwig Brandt, who spent his winters in Savannah. The building became a National Historic Landmark in 1976.

    Today admission is charged, and the interior is the reason to pay it. The outside is perfectly symmetrical, the inside is not: an octagonal drawing room, a dining room with a rounded end, a long drawing room rounded at both ends, and fine Adam style woodwork in the west wing. Architecture lovers should go in. Then it is 600 m, about 9 minutes, to Chippewa Square.

    Hours
    Mon closed, Tue–Sun 10:00–17:00
  7. 7

    Chippewa Square

    Chippewa Square in Savannah, stop 7 on the self-guided walking tour

    Chippewa Square is one of Savannah's 22 squares, laid out in 1815 on Bull Street in the middle of the city's five rows of squares. Its name honours American soldiers killed at the Battle of Chippawa in the War of 1812, and for this square the spelling "Chippewa" is the correct one.

    In the centre stands the James Oglethorpe Monument by sculptor Daniel Chester French and architect Henry Bacon, unveiled in 1910. Oglethorpe, the founder of the colony, faces south with his sword drawn, toward Georgia's old enemy in Spanish Florida. To make room for him, the Confederate busts you passed in Forsyth Park were moved out of this square.

    Walk around the edges. The Savannah Theatre at 222 Bull Street, dating from 1818, is the oldest building on the square. The First Baptist Church from 1833, the Independent Presbyterian Church and the Philbrick, Eastman House from 1847 complete the frame.

    Film fans head for the north side: that is where the park bench scene at the start of Forrest Gump was shot, on the prop bench you may have seen at the Savannah History Museum. From here it is 490 m, about 7 minutes, to Colonial Park Cemetery.

    Hours
    Open 24/7
    Price
    Free
  8. 8

    Colonial Park Cemetery

    Colonial Park Cemetery in Savannah, stop 8 on the self-guided walking tour

    Colonial Park Cemetery was laid out in 1750, when Savannah was the capital of the British Province of Georgia, the last of the Thirteen Colonies. Three expansions by 1789 gave it its present six acres, bounded by East Oglethorpe Avenue, Habersham Street, East Perry Lane and Abercorn Street. Entry is free, but unlike the squares it closes its gates in the evening.

    It started as the burial ground of Christ Church Parish, the city's Church of England congregation, and from 1789 took in Savannahians of every denomination. For 103 years it was the city's main public cemetery, known along the way as the Old Cemetery, the Old Brick Graveyard, the South Broad Street Cemetery and Christ Church Cemetery. Burials stopped in 1853, and in 1896 the ground became a city park.

    Look closely at the old stones. After Union troops occupied Savannah on 24 December 1864, several hundred soldiers camped here; they are said to have damaged and defaced markers, even changing some dates and ages, and to have sheltered inside the vaults. One of them was the Gaston Tomb, built here in 1844 and moved to Bonaventure Cemetery in 1873. Among those buried here is John Berrien, a major in the American Revolution.

    The last leg is the shortest: 330 m, about 5 minutes, to the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist.

    Hours
    Daily 08:00–20:00 (March–November / DST), Daily 08:00–17:00 (November–March / Standard Time)
    Price
    Free
  9. 9

    Cathedral of St. John the Baptist

    Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Savannah, stop 9 on the self-guided walking tour

    The Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist stands at 222 East Harris Street near Lafayette Square. It is the mother church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Savannah and a minor basilica, and its story begins with a ban: the 1732 charter of the Province of Georgia explicitly forbade Catholics to live in the colony, out of fear of England's Catholic rivals and plain religious prejudice.

    Only after the US Constitution was ratified in 1788 could Georgia no longer exclude Catholics. The first to settle in Savannah came in the late 18th century, many of them refugees from the French Revolution and from the Haitian Revolution of 1791. For decades the parish answered to bishops elsewhere; from 1820 Georgia belonged to the Diocese of Charleston, whose Bishop John England laid the cornerstone of a new church in Savannah that year and consecrated it in 1839.

    In July 1850 Pope Pius IX created the Diocese of Savannah with Francis Gartland as its first bishop, and St. John the Baptist, then the only Catholic church in town, became its cathedral. A few weeks later a hurricane badly damaged it. By the 1860s the building was too small for the growing diocese, and in 1870 Bishop Ignatius Persico began planning a new cathedral.

    Visiting is free, with a donation requested; it is a working church, so keep your voice down if a service is on. This is where the walk ends, and the GPS navigation in your browser can lead you back to Forsyth Park if you want.

    Hours
    Mon–Sat 09:00–11:30 & 13:00–16:30, Sun 13:00–16:30
    Price
    Free (donation requested per adult)
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Press start wherever you are, even hundreds of kilometres from Savannah, and the guide begins telling its stories right away. In the city, pick any of the 9 stops to start from: it leads you there, then talks with you the whole route, asking, listening, remembering, and shaping the tour around your answers.

9stops 5.3km 1 h 17 minwalking 13languages
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Shorter Ways Through Savannah

Not every day has room for nine stops. These three stretches follow the route order, so the GPS navigation works for each of them as it is.

Mansions and museums

Stops: 1, 2, 3, 4

For a morning with time to go inside. From Forsyth Park to the SCAD Museum of Art is 1,780 m and 26 minutes of walking. Mercer Williams House, Savannah History Museum and SCAD Museum of Art all charge admission, so pick the one or two that match your interests.

River, square and graveyard

Stops: 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

For anyone who wants the cotton era, the squares and the colonial dead in one go. River Street to the cathedral is 2,500 m and 37 minutes on foot. Only Telfair Academy charges admission; the cathedral asks for a donation.

The free short loop of the old town

Stops: 7, 8, 9

For an hour between other plans. Chippewa Square, Colonial Park Cemetery and the cathedral are 820 m and 12 minutes apart in total, and none of them charges admission.

How Long This Savannah Tour Takes, Walking and Visiting

The pure walking time for the whole route is 1 h 17 min. If you stay outside everywhere and give each stop a proper look, count on about two and a half hours. With a tour of Mercer Williams House and one museum, around four hours is realistic; anyone who wants all four paid stops should plan a full day.

The order starts in the park, builds the railway story across two neighbouring buildings, drops to the river and then climbs back into the grid of squares, so the colonial and religious history comes together at the end. For the shorter variants, add roughly an hour for the museum stretch with one visit, about two hours along the river with Telfair Academy, and an hour for the free loop.

Before You Set Off in Savannah

  • Start: Forsyth Park is the recommended start, at the fountain. You can join the route at any stop; the order here is simply the one that tells the story best.
  • Finish: The walk ends at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist. If you want, the GPS navigation in your browser leads you from there back to the start.
  • Time of day: Start in the morning if you want to go inside: the house and the museums keep daytime hours, and the cemetery closes its gates in the evening, unlike the squares and the park.
  • Admission: Mercer Williams House, Savannah History Museum, SCAD Museum of Art and Telfair Academy charge admission. Forsyth Park, River Street, Chippewa Square and Colonial Park Cemetery are free; the cathedral is free with a donation requested.
Walking tour route map of Savannah
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9stops 5.3km 1 h 17 minwalking 13languages
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What the AI Tour Guide Adds Between Savannah's Squares

On this route the AI Tour Guide fills the walks between the stops: it greets you at the fountain, tells the stories of each place as you arrive, asks what you care about, and if Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil or the cotton trade grabs you, it follows that thread. You can interrupt any time, for example to ask how Oglethorpe's plan of wards and squares was meant to work, or what Johnny Mercer actually wrote about his hometown. The route itself stays the same.

A Real Conversation A voice AI Tour Guide greets you, leads the whole route, and tells the stories and facts as you walk, asking what you want to see and keeping a real conversation going. Not a recording you press play on.
Map Navigation Follow the route on the map and walk at your own pace. You choose where to start and when to move to the next stop.
Ask Anything Curious about a building you pass? Ask your AI Tour Guide on the spot and the conversation carries on.
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Common Questions Before You Walk Savannah

Where is Oglethorpe Square, if not at the Oglethorpe statue?

The statue of James Oglethorpe stands in Chippewa Square, which is why locals sometimes call it Oglethorpe Square. The real Oglethorpe Square lies just to the northeast of Chippewa Square.

Are Confederate soldiers buried in Colonial Park Cemetery?

No. Burials ended in 1853, years before the Civil War. The soldiers connected with the cemetery are Union troops who camped there after Savannah was occupied in December 1864.

Is Telfair Academy the only Telfair Museums building?

No, it is one of three sites owned by Telfair Museums. The academy is the historic mansion; the walk only takes in this one.

Can I still ride the streetcar on River Street?

No. A heritage streetcar served six stops on River Street from 2009 and stopped running in 2015. The old rails are still set into the paving.

Is the tour really free?

Yes. The whole tour is free: the route, the interactive map and the navigation cost you nothing. Only the voice AI Tour Guide is optional and paid: you test it with 100 free credits, then you pay either €5 per hour or €19.99 for this whole tour, with no time limit. Admission to 4 of the 9 stops is not included: Mercer Williams House, Savannah History Museum, SCAD Museum of Art and Telfair Academy charge their own entry fees.

Do I need to download an app?

No. Everything runs in your phone browser. Open the route and start walking, no download and no sign-up required.

Do I need to book the walking tour in advance?

No booking needed. This self-guided tour is available anytime. Open the route in your browser and start walking. The AI Tour Guide works instantly, no app, no reservation required.

What languages is the AI Tour Guide available in?

The AI Tour Guide speaks 13 languages, so you take the tour in your own language and can switch at any time.

Can I skip stops or change the route?

Yes. Skip any stop, spend extra time at places you like, or start the route from any point. It is your walk, you set the pace.
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