We are planning a week road trip through the state of Georgia. Want to visit some quaint historical southern towns. We will travel in early April. Any suggestions of towns that have beautiful old homes to see. Savannah is on the top of the list. Where else should we visit?
History, walks and nature are our favorites. Any recommendations of must visit places?

You might want to pop over to Jekyll Island and tour some of the historic millionaires' homes in the National Landmark Historic District. There's also nature walks on your own or through the UGA/4-H Tidelands Nature Center. You can also walk on the beach, ride bikes, take a Segway tour, etc. See the Jekyll Island tourism website for more info: www.jekyllisland.com

Never been there, but Thomasville (just north of Tallahassee) may be a possibility. Look into it.

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Vic's travels: http://my.flightmemory.com/vogilvie

Definitely Madison GA
http://www.madisonga.org/

If you start in Atlanta you could take one of several guided walking tours -
http://www.preserveatlanta.com/walkingtours.htm

In Atlanta you can also see historic homes at
http://www.atlantahistorycenter.com/

See the antebellum plantation at Stone Mountain Park -
http://www.stonemountainpark.com/att...ttractionID=55

A quick visit to the Margaret Mitchell house if that's of interest to you -
http://www.margaretmitchellhouse.com/

Eat at Mary Mac's Tea Room for southern cooking, especially vegetables
http://www.marymacs.com/


Visit one or more of those places in Atlanta before you start your drive south. At least drive through Madison. (see above).

If you didn't eat at Mary Mac's, stop at the Blue Willow Inn in Social Circle near Madison.
http://www.bluewillowinn.com/

Your route would take you down I20 to Madison and Social Circle.* You need to head south to intersect with I16 to get to Savannah. 441 is a good route - now 4lane all the way so you'd make excellent time. You could stop for a few minutes in Eatonton GA -
http://www.eatonton.com/Visit/history.html
and the Uncle Remus Museum
http://www.eatonton.com/Visit/what_t...html#UR_Museum
(I just saw on that link they have an Alice Walker Driving tour I'm going to have to take).

The drive on 441 is an easy drive but takes you through the "real" Georgia with beautiful pastures, pecan groves and lots of pine forests.

Then jump on I16 to Savannah.

If you want to stay somewhere between Atlanta and Savannah, the Ritz Carlton at Reynolds Plantation on Lake Oconee is gorgeous. To me it looks more like a NE resort than southern. There are lots of B&Bs and inns around Madison too.

Back in Atlanta, I just thought of the Joel Chandler Harris house and the historic Oakland Cemetary. Docents offer excellent tours.

http://www.wrensnestonline.com/ =
http://www.oaklandcemetery.com/

If you skipped the I20/ Madison route and just take 75S to 16, you may be interested in a detour to the tiny town of Juliette GA where they filmed Fried Green Tomatoes. The Whistle Stop cafe is there and still serving. The story was set in Alabama but they used this little town for filming the movie.
http://www.juliettega.com/

*If you DO go towards Madison on I20 and liked either In the Heat of the Night, the original Dukes of Hazzards or the current Vampire Diaries, you may want to drive through the little town of Covington GA. It served as the location for all of those and others (including Tyler Perry movies - and going WAY back, A Man Named Peter) -
http://www.covingtonhistory.co.uk/Georgia.htm
Drive around the square and Floyd and Conyers streets. The antebellum homes are gorgeous. Walk into the Town House Cafe, just off the square, which has remained unchanged for decades. Let Mr Hamm cook you some real southern/soul food and if you are lucky one of his fabulous cakes will be on the cake stand ready for slicing.

I think you would enjoy any and all of the above.

thanks for your fantastic suggestions!

What about the GA Gold Rush and wine country northwest of Gainesville. Check out Dahlonaga and Habersham areas.

I second the recommendation for Thomasville, GA. It was a resort for wealthy northerners in the late 19th century and is full of beautiful Victorian homes and plantations. The downtown area retains its brick streets and old storefronts. Of course, I might be a little biased -- it was my mother's hometown and she and my father are buried there (as is my husband #1). http://www.thomasvillega.com

On the other hand, I was born in Atlanta and have lived here for almost 62 years. I find nothing tourist-worthy about it.

Starrs gives some great ideas,as usual.If you head towards South ga thru Thomasville, you should really stay at the Susina Plantation Inn--heres a link http://www.gpb.org/georgias-historic-inns--its awell refurbisehd plantaion house on 3000 acres thats was used as a quail huting lodge in the mid 1800s--Sherman did get that far so many of the plantions are still around--there are sevral more you can tour nearby. Youll also pass Andersonville off I75 as well,which was where they held Northern prisoners during the Civil War--pretty depressing part of US history. Susina is a 1st calls deal, very,very nice rooms,great communal meals,and nice hiking trails

Yes, trust starrs, who gave us some great tips when we visited the SE last year.

If you like history, you will probably enjoy the Hofwyl-Broadfield Plantation--we did:
http://gastateparks.org/HofwylBroadfield

HTTY