The Drayton Hotel

Worth getting out of bed for

Swing by the birthplace of Juliette Gordon Low, the founder of the Girl Scouts of the USA, to thank her for her contribution to female entrepreneurship and addictive cookies. Wander through the infamous Mercer Williams House on Monterey Square – flanked by palm trees, this eerie abode was the site of a crime documented in the book Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. Not spooky enough for you? Wander the Spanish-moss-hung squares and cobblestone laneways on a ghost tour.

Treat yourself to a scoop or two at Leopold’s Ice Cream; this Savannah institution is filled with kitschy film posters, props and frozen desserts. Try a cone of colourful Tutti Frutti, a scoop of Girl-Scout-cookie-inspired Savannah Smiles, or a generous helping of former President Jimmy Carter’s favourite butter-pecan ice-cream.

Tag along for a behind-the-scenes tour at Ghost Coast Distillery and hear about Savannah’s unique history of drinks before tasting a few yourself. Rather skip straight to the good stuff? Head to the Ghost Coast bar and order vodka-based Basil Sours, peach-laced Fuzzy Savannahs and chocolate-cherry-tinged Time Travellers – all made with spirits that are distilled on site.

Local restaurants

Part coffee shop, part bakery and part Tex-Mex cantina, Foxy Loxy Cafe is the place for leisurely brunches. Go traditional with bacon-topped shrimp and grits (crucially, of the cheese variety), try the café’s signature Foxy Haystack: home fries, eggs, bacon, cheese and salsa on a bed of grits, or go the whole hog with an order of brisket hash, served with an over-easy egg and a generous helping of chipotle barbecue sauce. Pop into Back in the Day Bakery (open Thursday to Sunday) for freshly-baked treats: cinnamon biscuit buns, thick slices of red-velvet cake and classic pecan pie. Lunch like a true Southerner at Wiley’s Championship BBQ; order stick slabs of St Louis barbecue ribs, queso-drenched Mexican-style pork plates and brisket-stuffed baked potatoes. For dessert, go for the classic peach cobbler or a generous helping of bread pudding with praline-bourbon sauce. Too tough a choice? Go for both – we’ll never tell. Farm-to-table Italian eatery Cha Bella sources its ingredients from local farmers and fisherman. Start your dinner with a sharing plate of clam scampi on toasted ciabatta before tucking into a dish of Georgia white shrimp and risotto. Just peckish? Opt for the bacon and bourbon tasting-board – an impressive array of candied bacon, pancetta-wrapped dates and a flight of 13th Colony Whiskey. Locally loved laidback neighborhood eatery Atlantic​ has given new life to an old filling station and has an inviting patio for alfresco dinners on warm summer nights. Start with sharing plates of citrusy scallop crudo and garlicky shrimp scampi, move on to mid-size plates of meatballs on a bed of creamed collards and potato purée or salmon gravlax with caviar and ‘everything’ sourdough crackers, then tuck into mains of linguine with Sapelo Island clams or maple-glazed duck. Share a bottle of Negroni or a heady grenache from Breaking Bread Winery; the selection of local beers on tap rotates often – state your preferences and ask for recommendations.

Local bars

The Grey Restaurant was once an actual Greyhound bus station, but today it’s one of Savannah’s go-to spots for craft cocktails and sharing plates. The drinks are saddled with appropriately transportation-inspired names, such as the pecan-flavoured Passenger, made with scotch, Calvados and Ciociaro. At the Wyld Dock Bar, order classic rye-whiskey Old Fashioneds, gin-based Chasing Rabbits cocktails with carrot and pear shrub or a heat-busting Pain Killer slushie. Keep hunger at bay by nibbling on shrimp corn fritters, bacon-fried brussels sprouts and tortilla chips with hot crab dip in between rounds.