Location: Savannah, Georgia, USA
Summary: A two-night stay exploring Savannah by tram, Segway, and on foot, including River Street, the famous Forrest Gump filming location at Chippewa Square, and an attempted visit to the historic Pirates House Tavern.
We stayed in Savannah for two nights. After taking a guided tour of the city in an electric tram, I went on a Segway tour of the Historic District and later walked around the River Street area.
River Street
River Street runs alongside the broad Savannah River. The century-old buildings here were once cotton warehouses, and many have since been converted into antique shops, boutiques, galleries, pubs, restaurants, nightspots, and elegant inns and hotels. It is a great place to see Savannah from the river. Although I didn’t take one, you can go on a river cruise or simply watch ships from around the world sail into one of the busiest ports in America.
It was on River Street that I got my first tattoo, fully aware that my mum would be delighted. I emailed her a photo of it, but she wasn’t fooled for a second and immediately guessed it was only a henna tattoo that would wash off in a few days.
Chippewa Square and Forrest Gump
The square near our hotel in Downtown Savannah is famous for the park bench scenes from the film Forrest Gump. In the film’s opening shot, a feather floats above the trees, drifts past the Independent Presbyterian Church, and eventually lands at the base of a park bench in Chippewa Square. Forrest sits on this bench for most of the film, telling his life story to anyone who will listen.
The bench itself was only a movie prop and is now kept in the Savannah History Museum, but the filming location in Chippewa Square remains a popular spot for photographs. I travelled through this square on my Segway tour. Interestingly, in the film, traffic can be seen moving past Forrest in both directions, but in reality, the street is one-way.
The Pirates House Tavern
In the evening, my Uncle Dave and I tried to eat at the Pirates House Tavern, but it was completely packed and we couldn’t get a table. The tavern is just a block back from the Savannah River and became a gathering place for pirates and sailors around 1753. Maybe next time I visit Savannah, I will book a table in advance.
Fun Fact
More than twenty city squares can be found in Savannah, and many of them were originally designed in the 1700s as part of the city’s unique grid layout. This historic design is one of the main reasons Savannah is often called America’s first planned city.
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