Savannah: What to Know Before You Go

Short answer: Savannah's 2.5-square-mile Historic District is designed to be explored entirely on foot (leave your car in a municipal garage and use the free DOT Shuttle), adults aged 21 and over can legally carry one 16-ounce clear plastic cup of alcohol along the streets north of Jones Street, and visitors should never pick up Spanish moss off the ground to place on their heads because fallen clumps harbour tiny biting red chigger mites.

1. Understanding the 1733 'Oglethorpe Plan' & The 22 Squares

When General James Oglethorpe laid out Savannah in 1733, he created America's first master-planned urban grid: neighbourhoods (wards) organised around shady, green 1-acre pedestrian park squares every two blocks. Of the 24 original squares built between 1733 and 1851, 22 Historic Squares still survive today, arranged in five neat north-to-south columns between Bay Street (at the river bluff) in the north and Gaston Street (Forsyth Park) in the south, a pleasant 20-minute walk from end to end.

2. Three Local Rules Every Visitor Should Know

1. How the Legal 'To-Go Cup' (Open Container) Rule Works: inside the official Historic District boundaries (from the Riverfront south to Jones Street, and between MLK Jr. Blvd and East Broad St), adults aged 21 and over are legally permitted to walk on public pavements and through the squares carrying one open alcoholic beverage, provided it is in a clear, unbranded plastic cup of 16 ounces (473 ml) or less. Every bar, restaurant and hotel lobby keeps a stack of legal 'To-Go Cups' by the front door so you can take your drink with you on an evening stroll.
2. Never Touch Fallen 'Spanish Moss' on the Ground: hanging in the live oak trees, Spanish moss (an air plant related to the pineapple, not a true moss) is harmless; once a clump falls onto the grass, however, microscopic red mites called chiggers (red bugs) move in and cause fiercely itchy bites.
3. Use the Free 'DOT Shuttle' & 'Savannah Belles Ferry': see our free transit guide for loops and stops.