Southern Comfort: Savannah's Attractions and Museums

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Adjacent to the Savannah Visitor Information Center, the museum is operated by the Coastal Heritage Society. The structure is on the site of the 1779 siege of Savannah, a Revolutionary War battle. The attraction has artifacts and displays depicting Savannah's history, a film about the founding of the city and a diorama depicting the siege. Included in this collection is a large quantity of historic women's clothing and accessories from the 1800s to the present as well as military uniforms and weapons and railroad items.

Ships of the Sea Museum
41 Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard
912-232-1511
www.shipsofthesea.org

William Jay designed this house for merchant prince William Scarbrough, one of the principal investors in the S.S. Savannah, the first steam vessel to cross the Atlantic. This maritime museum houses a large collection of ship models, artifacts, and memorabilia representing man's 2,000-year quest to conquer the sea.

Tybee Lighthouse and Museum
Off U.S. 80 at Fort Screven
912-786-5801
www.tybeelighthouse.com

Located on Tybee Island, the Lighthouse has been the guardian of the Savannah River since 1736. The existing 154-foot tall lighthouse was rebuilt in 1887. The museum was built in 1897 as a coastal artillery battery on Tybee Island, and features exhibits of early life on the Island, as well as Indian and Civil War weaponry and dolls.

Tybee Island Marine Science Center
1510 Strand Avenue
912-786-5917
www.tybeemsc.org

Discover the Atlantic Ocean's mysteries at the center, where visitors can experience touch tanks, aquariums, and year-round beach walks. The museum consists of aquariums and a touch tank containing specimens indigenous to the coast of Georgia. Exhibits provide information on shells, sharks, marine mammals, sea turtles, marine pollution, the salt marsh, and maritime forest. There is also a gift shop and classrooms for group programs and special events.

Telfair Museum of Art and Jepson Center for the Arts
121 Barnard Street
912-232-1177
www.telfair.org

Designed and built in 1818 by William Jay, the Telfair Mansion was the site of the royal Governor's residence. The mansion contains many family furnishings. A large wing was added in 1883 which contains superb American and European paintings and sculpture. It is the oldest art museum in the South. Hours of operation are seven days a week, call for times.

Wormsloe State Historic Site
7601 Skidaway Road
912-353-3023
www.wormsloe.org

Located on Isle of Hope, Wormsloe was settled by Noble Jones, one of Georgia's first colonists. Wormsloe was received into the Jones family by a royal grant in 1756 and has remained the only Savannah plantation in possession by its original owners until 1974, when it was given to Georgia Heritage Trust. This historic site has a visitor center with exhibits and audio-visual programming on Georgia's colonial period, and is the site of the ruins of tabby fortification and the Fort Wimberly earthworks.

City Market
Between Barnard, Congress, and Bryan streets
912-232-4903
www.savannahcitymarket.com

Four blocks in the heart of the Historic District have been renovated to capture the authentic atmosphere and character of the city's old open marketplace. The market features artists working in their lofts and exhibits of works for sale. There are also restaurants, open-air cafes, jazz clubs, theme shops, and stores offering crafts, accessories and gifts.

Factors Walk and River Street
Between Bay and River streets
912-234-0295

Located along the river bluff on Bay Street, this area was a 19th century meeting place and center of commerce for cotton merchants. The top contained offices for cotton brokers, and the lower warehouses on River Street contained the cotton that was shipped from Savannah to the world. Bridge ways connect the buildings now used for quaint shops and restaurants. Cobblestones used as ballast in ships from England pave each ramp and form the walkways.

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