5 Best Sights in Savannah, Georgia

 Soaring over the city, this French Gothic–style cathedral, with pointed arches and free-flowing traceries, is the seat of the Catholic diocese of Savannah. It was founded in 1799 by the first French colonists to arrive in Savannah. Fire destroyed the early structures; the present cathedral dates from 1876. Its architecture, gold-leaf adornments, and the entire edifice give testimony to the importance of the Catholic parishioners of the day. The interior spaces are grand and dramatic, including incredible stained glass and an intricately designed altar.

This was the first church—then Anglican—established in the Georgia colony in 1733. It is often called the "Mother Church of Georgia." George Washington attended services here when he visited the city in 1791 (although in the building prior to the current 1838 structure), as did Juliette Gordon Low, founder of the Girl Scouts. From its location on Johnson Square, an 1819 Revere & Son bell still chimes today in the imposing white-columned steeple.

 Enslaved people constructed this church at night by lamplight after having worked the plantations during the day, finishing it in 1859. It is one of the first organized black Baptist churches on the continent, constituted in 1777. The basement floor still shows signs of its time as a stop on the Underground Railroad. Holes drilled in the floor are designed in a prayer symbol known as an "African cosmogram," and are rumored to actually have been air holes for slaves hiding underneath, waiting to be transported to the Savannah River for their trip to freedom. It was also an important meeting place during the civil rights era.

Built in 1852, this church is famous for its whimsical chimes and stained-glass windows. The extraordinary parish house is the revered Green-Meldrim House, the only remaining Gothic-style private home in the Historic District. An interesting bit of trivia: on Christmas 1864, after General Sherman moved into the Green-Meldrim House, his army chaplain conducted the church's Christmas service. Though the house is still an active parish house, tours are available on a limited basis. Contact the church to learn whether a house tour is available for your selected date.

This Gothic revival–style church memorializes the founders of Methodism, brothers John and Charles Wesley, who both lived in Savannah for a brief time in the 1730s. The sanctuary is patterned after Queen's Kerk in Amsterdam. It dates from 1868 and is particularly noted for its magnificent stained-glass windows.