17 July 2025

 

The Deep South

We offer a wide choice of cheap flights to The Deep South together with The Deep South hotels, tours and self-drive itineraries.

Southern belles

Just one look, and Anthony McGowan was swept off his feet by the American beauties of sweet Savannah and charming Charleston

The Deep South - A mighty plantation house The Deep South - I do declare! The Deep South is hard to resist The Deep South - A paddle steamer along the river

1 A mighty plantation house 2 I do declare! The Deep South is hard to resist 3 A paddle steamer along the river

THE WORDS Savannah and Charleston, for most people, conjure up images from Gone With The Wind. But while the names may be familiar, they are places rarely at the top of a transatlantic itinerary. Certainly, without a fortuitous wedding invitation, I might well never have made it to either.

And that would have meant missing out on two of the most enchanting cities I have seen. Savannah and Charleston are 100 miles apart on America’s Atlantic coast, a little above Florida. Perhaps one thing holding them back as major tourist destinations is that it takes a little effort to get there.

On our first morning we strolled along the river, patrolled by paddle steamers for tourists and the cargo ships that still use the busy docks. River Street is full of lively bars and cafes but our best discovery was the Savannah Candy Kitchen, a Wonka-esque factory complete with ancient brass-and-wood contraptions for mixing and twisting sweets, then wrapping and bagging them before the goggle eyes of children.

It runs award-winning tours

River Street is the place to head to for a beer in the evening, but the Savannah you’ve really come to see is over on the other side of East Street, in the historic district. The glory of Savannah lies in its squares. There are more than 20 of them, planned by the city’s 18thcentury founder James Oglethorpe.

The squares manage both to resemble each other, yet remain utterly unique. Each has at its focal point a monument of some kind: a statue, say, of a periwigged worthy, or a sundial or an obelisk. Each has its massive oaks, wreathed in drooping Spanish moss. There are benches in the shade from which to listen to the mocking birds and scarlet cardinals, but the real beauty is in the surrounding brick or stucco houses, arranged like southern belles on the edge of a ballroom.


Savannah is a town made of houses. That might sound banal, but in most great cities it’s the public buildings which impress. Savannah’s houses comprise architecture on a human scale.

It also runs award-winning tours around the old slave cabins, which help to put all of the opulence and beauty of Charleston and Savannah into a grave historical context. That such beauty was the product of sweat and misery adds darker notes to the picture, but detracts nothing from its contemporary allure.

If ever a place were made for strolling it’s Savannah

It’s hard not to gaze at the shuttered windows and say to yourself: ‘Yes, this is how people are supposed to live.’ And yet, because they are private, not public, dwellings, there is also something secret and exclusive about them. It’s a feeling brilliantly captured in John Berendt’s mesmerising account, based in Savannah, of fine manners and foul murder: Midnight In The Garden Of Good And Evil, the one book you should read before visiting.

If ever a place were made for strolling it’s Savannah. The squares channel and neuter the cars, keeping everything moving at a leisurely pace. We were there in April, when it’s still cool enough to walk in the middle of the day. In July and August your shirt will stick like Velcro to your back, but in spring or autumn the weather is like the most perfect English summer’s day – warm with a cooling breeze.

Charleston matches Savannah for the beauty and grace of its architecture, but adds a further dimension of fun. Savannah simpers; Charleston fizzes. This might be something to do with alcohol. As any tour guide will tell you, Charleston’s bars got around prohibition by claiming they were selling tickets to see the ‘blind tiger’.


Drinks were thrown in to keep the punters happy while they awaited the appearance of the visually challenged feline. There was, of course, no blind tiger, and Charleston’s bars continue to thrive. It’s difficult to recommend one over the others – I suggest you follow your ears and head for the buzz. However, you’re here for the sheer visual delight of the place rather than the craic.

The area known as ‘South of Broad’ contains street after street of beguiling historic houses. One feature of the houses is the long porch, or ‘piazza’ as the locals call it. Traditionally, if the porch door was open, it signalled that visitors were welcome. If closed, it meant the lady of the house had loosened her clothing, and any male foolish enough to intrude would find himself with a musket ball in the forehead.

The best way to see Charleston is to climb into a horse-drawn carriage

The best way to see Charleston is to climb into a horse-drawn carriage. The carriages are compelled to follow one of three routes, chosen randomly. You might get the stunning Battery area, taking in the grandest mansions and a view of the magnificent harbour. Tour two focuses on the lovely houses of the central area, South of Broad. Tour three takes you to the slightly less wonderful, but still awfully nice, area to the west of the old town, where you’ll see pleasant churches and a spooky old jailhouse. But here’s the catch.

Because the whole thing is done randomly, you might get the same tour over again. There’s a lot more to Charleston than charming houses. There are fine museums and galleries, and a terrific aquarium that will teach you everything you need to know about the ecology of the area.

And within easy reach of the town, there are several majestic plantation houses. The Magnolia Plantation is particularly good if you need to amuse the children. It has its own swamp, where sunbathing alligators are guaranteed, as well as exquisite gardens and a fun petting-zoo.

This article was published in the September 2011 DialAFlight magazine and all information was correct at time of going to print.

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