Savannah, Georgia is the state’s oldest city and is veritably bursting at the seams with history. The historic downtown is dominated by old mansions and quaint squares shaded by massive live oaks draped with ropey, eerie, Spanish moss.

Walking around the city, I was struck by the sort of gothic Southern charm that oozes out of everything – yes, even the historic home now operating as a city municipal building looks like it has some stories to tell.

Savannah’s historic downtown feels like New Orleans‘ cleaner, more prim, younger sister. But like in New Orleans or any urban area, the safe and sketchy parts flow in and out of one another. It’s good to keep your eyes open, and your wits about you, especially after dark. Savannah’s card trick is that she makes this grit feel like just another facet of her charm. Without it, all you’d be left with is a dull, sanitized history museum; a side street in Disneyland called “Deep South.”

My best friend Genie and I spent a few days here wandering the streets, soaking up the southern sun and plenty of calories to boot. If you have a few days, good walking shoes, and want to visit a city chock full of history, character, and candy shops, look no further than Savannah, Georgia.

The Good

The Good: Savannah’s Walkability

Savannah’s historic downtown is infinitely walkable. There are 22 squares (small parks) interspersed in the city’s very well organized grid street system. Each square has a name and some sort of statue with an explanatory plaque. If you have your phone handy you can supplement the plaque with a wikipedia article and it’s like your own little walking tour.

Jones street is one of the most picturesque streets to stroll down, and on a warm summer day, provides a welcome canopy of shade from the huge, old trees lining it.

The Good: Impeccably Preserved Architecture

Thanks to efforts by the Historic Savannah Foundation, founded in 1955, a ton of stately mansions have been saved from demolition and lovingly restored. You will run into these without even trying, and can either read up about them on your own, or take a tour at one of the many that offer tours, including the Mercer Williams House, the site of the notorious murder chronicled in the book (and later movie), Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.

The Good: Unique Boutiques

The shopping here is as unique as the city. Everywhere you look are boutiques offering interesting household items, handmade bath and beauty products, and really great “fashion-y” clothes – the kind I wish I had in my closet, although I curiously always end up with plain t-shirts and sundresses instead. If you need a starting point, head to the Eastern influenced gift shop, Frieze, on Bull street and W. York, then make your way south until you reach Monterey Square. There you can take a break and tour the Mercer Williams House, before working your way back up on Whitaker street starting with Custard Boutique, an all American made clothing and jewelry shop that has the friendliest shopkeeper in the whole town.

Oh, do you like rocks? Rock shops abound here, for some reason. You can find fossils, chunks of raw amethyst geodes, jewelry, and other fun carved shapes made from labradorite, citrine, amazonite, moonstone, jasper, the list goes on. Our best rock store find was Cornerstone Minerals and Natural History, where my friend bought three necklaces and came back the next day for another she couldn’t stop thinking about. (She has a bit of a jewelry problem, or maybe just a very deep love of rocks.)

The Bad

The Bad: Industrial Outskirts

While Savannah’s historic downtown is beautiful, charming, and compact, the edges of the city were decidedly less quaint. From downtown rooftop bars you can see that almost immediately the city dissolves into an artless industrial landscape, with the full effect of it’s commercial port activity on display.

Cranes dot the horizon and barges laden with shipping containers crawl up the Savannah river. The grand mansions of the historic quarters quickly give way to gray and drab building blocks.

However, the juxtaposition between the two Savannah’s doesn’t take anything from the city’s beauty and history, it only makes you appreciate it all the more.

The Bad: Generic Shopping

I know I just waxed poetic about the great shopping in Savannah, but I was talking about the boutiques. As far as touristy gift shopping goes, Savannah’s is some of the worst. There are gift shops, candy stores, and ice cream shops galore but we came to realize that they were basically all owned by the same three brands. That meant each shop wasn’t its own special delight to discover, but a boring, consumerist déjà vu of the same thing you saw along the river, and three streets back, and across the street, and oh yeah, just over there. You’ll know ’em when you see ’em.

The Bad: Dietary Restrictions? Savannah Don’t Care

Do you have dietary restrictions? This city doesn’t want to hear about it. I am a pescatarian (no meat, but I eat fish) and Genie is vegetarian and gluten free. Thank goodness neither of us are vegan or we truly would have starved. Luckily, we managed to eek out some amazing dinners cobbled together from starters and sides. The combo of gluten free and vegetarian really cuts way into the things you can eat, unless a restaurant goes out of their way to accommodate. There are certainly spots here that serve vegan and vegetarian food, but hardly any of the nicer restaurants in the historic quarter made accommodations for special diets.

The Southern

The Southern: That Famous Hos-pih-tah-lih-tee

You’ve heard of Southern hospitality? Savannah is overflowing with it, and not the fake “bless your heart” kind but the real, warm, welcoming kind. From the Uber drivers, to shopkeepers, to folks driving down the street, it’s unexplainable how even Savannah transplants still had that same chill, friendly attitude. The genuine warmth of everyone we met just seemed to be baked into the culture here. As far as cities living up to a reputation of Southern hospitality, Savannah’s totally killing it. (With kindness, that is.)

The Southern: Pecan Pralines

You absolutely can’t go to Savannah without at least taking a bite of a praline. You’ll find them everywhere you look, and they are nothing but sugar baked onto a bite or two of pecan but they won’t even let you on the plane to go home unless you can prove you at least tried it. It is cloyingly sweet, but a right of passage for visiting the south so close your eyes, take a bite, just a little bite, chew, swallow…now go brush your teeth. Everything is going to be alright.

The Southern: Crab Cakes and Fried Green Tomatoes

Before you let pralines scare you away from this city, let me tell you about the crab cakes. Better yet, just go to Savannah, head straight to Vic’s on the River, and order a glass of champagne and crab cakes right away. Provided you like crab (and maybe even if you don’t), these are some of the most heavenly delights you will encounter in this city. Don’t worry, if you can’t get them at Vic’s you can find them everywhere, along with fried green tomatoes, which are a delicious southern dish unto themselves, not just the title to a 90’s movie about old ladies.

The Southern: Savannah’s Grim Past

Unfortunately, you don’t get a Southern city full of history without a lot of it being pretty dang dark. Slavery was common here, and the port of Savannah was one of the most active in the trans-Atlantic slave trade. The city was the site of several battles of the American Revolution and aside from that, has a pretty grim history of crime, punishment, and exploitation. Savannah grapples with a respect and remembrance of her historic past, and an almost gleeful embrace of the tourist dollars that ghost tours and the potential experience of paranormal activity bring in. For me, there is too much reality in the spookiness of Savannah, too much pervasive sadness about it, to do anything but let any spirits still wandering around, just…be. This was their city first, after all.