Savannah, Georgia
Savannah self-guided walking tour.
An original loop through Savannah’s historic district: Forsyth Park, Monterey Square and the Mercer-Williams House, Chippewa Square, Johnson Square, City Hall, the Owens–Thomas House, Colonial Park Cemetery and the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist. Read the stops here, then open the mapped route on your iPhone.
Start at the Forsyth Park Fountain
The loop begins at the fountain at the north end of Forsyth Park, on Bull Street. Walk in daylight, follow local signs and diversions, and bring water: Savannah summers are hot and humid. The route follows mapped pedestrian paths, but it has not been walked on site by DailyWander.
- On iPhone, get DailyWander if you do not have it.
- Return to this page and tap Open the tour in DailyWander. Check the preview, then choose Open in DailyWander.
- In the app, review the route and choose Start this route or Save route. Keep this guide handy for the stop notes.
Many buildings around the squares are private homes: stay on the public sidewalk. House-museum tours are separate bookings and are not included in the walking time.
Eight stops, in walking order
The route uses public viewpoints. Check the linked sources for current access before planning a visit inside.
Stop 1
Forsyth Park Fountain
Start at the cast-iron fountain at the north end of Forsyth Park, where Bull Street meets the park. The park was named for Governor John Forsyth in 1851, and the fountain, cast by a New York foundry after a French design, was installed in 1858. A six-month restoration of the fountain began in June 2025.
Stop 2
Monterey Square and the Mercer-Williams House
Walk north to Monterey Square. On its west side stands the Mercer-Williams House, begun in 1860 for General Hugh W. Mercer and finished after the Civil War by a later owner. Antiques dealer Jim Williams restored it from 1969, and John Berendt’s 1994 book Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil made it famous. House tours are separate from this walk.
Stop 3
Chippewa Square
Continue up Bull Street to Chippewa Square. Its centrepiece is the bronze statue of Savannah’s founder, James Oglethorpe, by Daniel Chester French, dedicated in 1910. The bus-stop bench scenes in Forrest Gump were filmed on the north side of this square; the bench was a film prop and is not here.
Stop 4
Johnson Square
Two squares further north, Johnson Square was laid out in 1733 as the first of the city plan’s squares, and it is still the largest. The obelisk honours Revolutionary War general Nathanael Greene; his remains and those of his son rest beneath the monument.
Stop 5
Savannah City Hall
At the river end of Bull Street, City Hall looks over the Savannah River from Bay Street. It opened in 1906, and its copper dome was first gilded, with 23-karat gold leaf, in 1987. Factors Walk and River Street lie just below if you want a detour; it is not included in the mapped distance.
Stop 6
Owens–Thomas House
Head east and south to Oglethorpe Square and the Owens–Thomas House, completed in 1819 to designs by the English architect William Jay. Telfair Museums runs it as a house museum; its carriage house holds one of the earliest intact urban slave quarters in the South. Tours are ticketed.
Stop 7
Colonial Park Cemetery
Continue down Abercorn Street to Colonial Park Cemetery, a burial ground used from 1750 to 1853 and now a city park. Button Gwinnett, one of Georgia’s signers of the Declaration of Independence, is believed to be buried here. Follow the posted opening hours.
Stop 8
Cathedral of St. John the Baptist
A block further, the Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist faces Lafayette Square. The Gothic Revival building was dedicated in 1876, gutted by fire in 1898 and rebuilt, and it was named a minor basilica in 2020. From here the mapped route returns south to Forsyth Park.
Georgia Historical Society marker: Cathedral of St. John the Baptist
Keep the route with you
The tour link opens a route preview with an iPhone handoff. You can also download the GPX and open it from Files → Share → Daily Wander. The app shows the route; this page supplies the stop descriptions.
Savannah walking-tour questions
How long is this Savannah walking tour?
The mapped loop is about 2.4 miles (3.9 km). That is roughly 50 minutes of moving time at 3 mph; allow 2–2½ hours with stops. House-museum tours or a River Street detour add time.
Can I go inside the stops?
The squares, Forsyth Park and Colonial Park Cemetery are public spaces; follow posted hours. The Mercer-Williams House and the Owens–Thomas House are house museums with ticketed tours, and the cathedral is an active church. The walk itself uses public streets and sidewalks.
Can I follow the route on my iPhone?
Yes. Tap Open the tour in DailyWander, check the route preview and choose Open in DailyWander. If you need the app, install it first and return to this page. The page supplies the stop notes; the app shows the walking route.
Does the walk return to the start?
Yes. The loop starts and finishes at the Forsyth Park Fountain, at the north end of the park on Bull Street.
Can I combine it with Charleston?
Charleston is about two hours’ drive from Savannah. Our Charleston self-guided walking tour uses the same format: stop notes on the page and the route on your iPhone.
Can I download the GPX instead?
Yes. Download the GPX from this page, save it in Files on iPhone and share it to Daily Wander. The route geometry is available under the Open Database License.
Make another walk from your hotel
For a different distance or a loop from another starting point, use the US walking-route planner. DailyWander can suggest a separate loop from the location you choose.
More self-guided tours: Charleston, New Orleans French Quarter, New Orleans Garden District and Amsterdam.
Original itinerary by VANTH Studio. Reviewed October 10, 2026. Route geometry from OpenStreetMap via the FOSSGIS pedestrian router; distance measured along the track. Actual time depends on your pace, stops and diversions. Access to venues is controlled by their operators.