Inside Savannah's 22 Squares: A Slow-Walk Neighborhood Tour

Oglethorpe's ward system divided the city into self-contained units, each square flanked by trust lots reserved for civic buildings and tithing lots for residences. The result is a city that refuses to hurry. Traffic yields to pedestrians at every square, mature live oaks seal out the Georgia sun, and the rhythm of block-square-block-square becomes almost meditative within the first half mile.

Of the 24 squares originally built, 22 remain. Ellis and Liberty squares were demolished in the 20th century to accommodate vehicle flow on Montgomery Street and Oglethorpe Avenue — a loss locals still argue about. The surviving 22 are spread across roughly two square miles of the Historic District, meaning you can cover them all in a single ambitious day or spread them across two relaxed mornings.

The squares are not identical in character. Some — Johnson, Reynolds, Columbia — sit in dense residential blocks of Federal and Italianate townhouses. Others, like Madison and Lafayette, border the commercial corridors of Bull Street and Abercorn Street. Understanding that variety before you set out helps you pace the walk and know when to linger versus when to keep moving.

Bull Street is the spine of the Historic District, and walking it north to south threads together Johnson, Wright, Chippewa, Madison, and Monterey squares — five of the most photogenic in the city. Start at Johnson Square, the oldest, laid out in 1733 and anchored by a monument to Revolutionary War General Nathanael Greene. The surrounding blocks hold Christ Church Episcopal and several mid-19th-century commercial buildings converted to offices and law firms.

Wright Square, two blocks south, is quieter and more residential. The monument at its center marks the grave of Tomochichi, the Yamacraw chief who negotiated with Oglethorpe for the land the city now occupies. The irony of that placement — a colonial monument overshadowing an indigenous chief's burial site — is not lost on Savannah's historians, and the square is often a stop on the walking tours offered through GetYourGuide.

Monterey Square anchors the southern end of the corridor and is widely considered the most beautiful of the 22. The Mercer Williams House, completed in 1868 on the square's west side, is familiar to anyone who has read John Berendt's Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. The surrounding streetscape — gas lamp-style fixtures, cobblestone gutters, and cast-iron fencing — is intact enough that it photographs as if nothing has changed since Reconstruction.

South of Monterey, the grid transitions toward Forsyth Park, and two squares — Whitefield and Calhoun — mark the boundary between the Historic District's densest blocks and the Victorian District to the south. Whitefield Square, on Habersham Street, is small and tree-heavy, surrounded by Greek Revival cottages that rent for between $2,800 and $4,500 per month — modest by coastal standards, remarkable given the architecture.

Calhoun Square, on Abercorn Street, is one of the last squares before the park and arguably the most intact in terms of period streetscape. All four corner lots retain their original antebellum or Victorian structures, including the Massie Heritage Center, which occupies the oldest standing school building in Georgia. The building is open to self-guided tours on weekday mornings.

Forsyth Park itself is not a square in the Oglethorpe sense, but it functions as the social anchor of the southern Historic District. The 30-acre park's central fountain, constructed in 1858, is the most photographed landmark in Savannah. On weekend mornings, the farmers market running along the park's north edge draws a genuine local crowd rather than a tourist one — a useful reminder that people actually live here.

The eastern squares — Columbia, Greene, and Warren — occupy the blocks between Abercorn and East Broad streets and tend to attract fewer visitors than the Bull Street corridor. That's precisely their appeal. Columbia Square, on Habersham at State Street, is framed by the Davenport House Museum on its northeast corner, a Federal-style townhouse from 1820 that was nearly demolished in 1955 before a group of preservationists founded what became the Historic Savannah Foundation.

Greene Square, two blocks east on Houston Street, sits in a quieter residential zone where short-term rentals and long-term leases share blocks with owner-occupied townhouses. The square itself is modest — a central monument, four benches, the usual live oaks — but the surrounding architecture is some of the least altered in the district. A full circuit of the block takes about eight minutes.

Warren and Washington squares, adjacent on the northeastern edge of the district, mark the oldest part of the city's grid and feel accordingly settled. The blocks here are narrow, the sidewalks brick, and the canopy is continuous enough that you can walk for 20 minutes in deep shade on a July afternoon. For visitors staying in the area, the squares are roughly a 12-minute walk from the City Market district and a 15-minute walk from River Street.

The walk works best if you treat food stops as deliberate pauses rather than detours. Clary's Cafe on Abercorn Street, a diner-style spot open since 1903, sits half a block from Monterey Square and serves a straightforward breakfast through lunch. The line moves efficiently; plan for 45 minutes including the wait on a weekend morning. A full breakfast runs $12 to $16.

For something lighter, the Paris Market & Brocante on Broughton Street is a coffee-and-browsing stop with a European general-store aesthetic — it sells antiques, housewares, and espresso drinks from the same floor. Broughton Street intersects the Bull Street corridor at Johnson Square, making it a natural first-hour stop. The coffee is reliable; the croissants are purchased from a local bakery and arrive by 8 a.m.

Leopold's Ice Cream on Broughton, open since 1919, is the correct mid-walk sugar stop. The line extends onto the sidewalk most afternoons, but it moves. A single scoop runs $5 to $6. If you're planning the walk for a specific day, checking their posted hours in advance is worth the 30 seconds — they close earlier on weekdays than on weekends. The full range of things to eat, drink, and see across the district is covered on Sojourn House' Savannah things-to-do guide.

The Historic District has a dense hotel market split between boutique inns in converted antebellum townhouses and larger full-service properties near the riverfront. The Mansion on Forsyth Park, a 700 Arts & Crafts-styled property on Drayton Street, sits one block from Forsyth Park and charges between $250 and $450 per night depending on season. Rooms are large by boutique standards and the breakfast is included.

For a more residential experience, several of the squares' surrounding blocks have vacation rentals occupying full floors or entire townhouses — typically priced between $300 and $600 per night for a two-bedroom unit. These work particularly well for multi-day stays since having a kitchen allows you to treat the walk as a daily habit rather than a timed itinerary. Sojourn House' hotel listings page covers current inventory across multiple price tiers, with filters for proximity to specific squares.

Budget travelers have fewer options within the district itself — most hostels and economy hotels sit outside the National Historic Landmark boundary in the Mid-City corridor along Abercorn Street south of Victory Drive. That's roughly a 25-minute walk or a short ride-share from the southern squares, which is manageable if you're spending most of your time on foot anyway.

April through early June and mid-September through November are the reliable windows. July and August are not impossible — the shade canopy helps — but the combination of 95-degree heat and 80 percent humidity makes a full 22-square circuit a genuine physical commitment. Start before 9 a.m. in summer and carry water. The squares have no drinking fountains.

A complete tour of all 22 squares, walking connecting routes and allowing for brief stops, covers approximately 4.5 miles and takes between three and five hours depending on pace and detours. If you prefer a structured format, GetYourGuide lists several guided walking tours in Savannah that cover the square system with historical commentary — useful if context matters more than solitude. Most run 90 minutes to two hours and cost between $20 and $35 per person.

Comfortable shoes with genuine arch support are non-negotiable. The historic brick sidewalks are uneven, and the cobblestone stretches around Reynolds and Warren squares are aggressively textured. Light layers are useful even in spring — the squares' canopy traps cool air in the morning and the temperature can drop 8 to 10 degrees under a mature live oak. For a deeper orientation before you arrive, the Savannah city overview on Sojourn House covers neighborhoods, commute patterns, and real estate context alongside the visitor basics.

Savannah's 22 squares are not scenery. They are the organizing principle of a city that has spent nearly three centuries figuring out how to make urban life feel humane. Walking them in sequence — unhurried, without a rigid checklist — is one of the more rewarding things you can do in the American South. The architecture, the scale, and the persistent shade all reward the person who shows up with time to spare.

Whether you're visiting for a weekend or considering a longer stay in the district, the squares function as a practical orientation tool as much as a historical one. Each one anchors a slightly different block character, price range, and noise level — information that turns out to be directly useful if you're evaluating where in the city to base yourself. Sojourn House' Savannah listings are organized by neighborhood, which maps cleanly onto the square system.

The walk costs nothing and requires no reservations. That remains a genuinely rare combination in a city that has become one of the most visited in the Southeast.