I’ll be visiting Savannah and Charleston next week, and I’ve never been to either before. I’m traveling for business, but expect to have some free time as well. Please tell me what to see – I am staying downtown and can’t travel far, but would love some local suggestions. I am especially interested in local places to eat that I might otherwise not find and second-hand bookstores. What can you recommend?
Savannahian here. Since you’re going to be downtown, check out River Street. If you like old houses, you can see tons of them in the downtown area. There’s a few museums and art galleries, if that’s your thing.
Go to the old cemetery in Savannah. I can’t think of the name of this particular one, but someone will be along to tell you. I’ve never seen such atmosphere. People hold parties there. Read Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil before you go. (Seeing the movie is definitely not the same.) The book sets you up for the trip there. Plan on staying in a hotel or B&B in the historic district. It is worth the access to the gorgeous squares. I think it is the most beautiful city in the South.
In Charleston, eat at Hymen’s Seafood restaurant. It is definitely affordable, but the line is way out the door because the food is worth it. Try to be there early. See what celebrity sat at your table. Take an escorted carriage tour around historic Charleston. Very interesting. Plan on at least one full afternoon at the famous street market where just about everything you can think of is sold. Save up your money for one of the beautiful and finely made baskets made by Gullah-speaking natives.
That would be Bonaventure Cemetary.
Both cities are beautiful, with neat attractions, lovely architecture, and amazing food. Here’s the last Charleston-related thread that was started, where I linked to two older ones with even more information and recommendations:
http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=302428&highlight=Charleston
Always nice to discover a neighbor on the boards.
I don’t know how much time I will have working around my meetings, but I would rather have too many choices 
Any advice about the weather? Weather.com makes it sound not too cold, but I have to be prepared. Luckily San Francisco has been cooling off, so it won’t be too drastic a change.
I moved to Charleston last Friday and I can say I’ve never seen such gorgeous weather - 60’s & 70’s, no jacket needed. We’ve had some heavy rain in that time, but it always stayed warm.
I’m sure every eating experience is different, but when I went to Hyman’s, my fish dish was way overspiced (couldn’t taste the fish hardly) and wet. We did get seated quick, though, b/c we chose to sit at the bar. For very nice, go to the Peninsula Grill and for fun, the Mellow Mushroom on King St, I think. Avoid A.W. Schuck’s. Try the Smiling Oyster maybe? It’s too bad you’ll be stuck downtown, b/c there are some great places to eat in Mt. Pleasant and Shem Creek. Bull and Finch is a fun place for drinking, Wet Willie’s is a scary place for drinking. Tiger Pub had a really good brunch and you can walk from there to the harborfront parks and the Provost & Dungeon. (This is an actual dungeon, not the name of a pub.)
FYI, they’ve got Jose Padilla in the Charleston Naval brig.
In Charleston, Tommy Condon’s is a nice Irish pub. For barbecue, you cannot beat Sticky Fingers. You must order a bowl of she-crab soup…it’s the law. Check out The Market in downtown, and for dessert and coffee, Kaminsky’s is excellent.
Welcome to Charleston!
If you’re looking for an always-yummy soup/salad/sandwich place for lunch, I cannot suggest Five Loaves enough. There’s one on Cannon Street, and one in Millennium Music. Their dinner menu looks good, and not excessively pricey ($12 or less entrees), but I haven’t managed to actually eat dinner there yet.
Hominy Grill, at the corner of Cannon Street and Rutledge, is a great Southern eat for residents and visitors alike. I’ve never heard anyone complain about their lunches, but I am a particular fan of their desserts. I will go there for lunch and eat salad and dessert. The chocolate pudding, if you’re a chocolate freak like me, is just to die for. Not too sweet, but rich and deeply chocolately. Their fruity shortcake type things (you know, the kind with a fruit and a crust and whipped cream) are also unfailingly delicious.
Doggone it, now I’m hungry again.
Anyways, have fun in Charleston! 
I enjoyed seeing the U.S.S. Yorktown which is docked in Charleston. Also enjoyed seeing Ft. Sumter. It’s a short boat ride to the island but rich with history. Also quite enjoyed the Magnolia Plantation tour, which is a 1/2 hour or so drive from Charleston.
In Savannah, stop by Mrs. Wilkes Dining Room for lunch if you’ve got a hankering for southern food. She’ll sit you with a bunch of strangers at a huge round table and pass around bowls of corn, grits, green beans, fried chicken, you name it, until you think you’ll bust.
I quite enjoyed the trolley tour of Savannah as well. There are a few ghost walks, but I’m a non believer, so they didn’t do much for me. I’m more of a history buff. Eat in one of the many restaurants along the Savannah River and marvel at the container ships coming into port. Or take a dinner cruise and see some dolphins. If you have an entire day to kill you might take a cruise over to Hilton Head Island and walk around Harbour Town, if you’ve never been.
Have fun!
Former Charleston resident here. Portia, have you found your way to A.C.'s yet? It’s a bar on King Street near Ann St. Go late on a Friday or Saturday night to see another slice of life.
‘Another’ as compared to what?
Containers are my business, so I have no doubt I will be seeing plenty! I’m priniting out the thread to refer to once I am there. Thanks to all for your recommendations. 
Well, if AC’s is anything like it used to be, its not the kind of place that you’ll find a lot of tourists and fraternity boys. Happy Hour tends to be more of a blue-collar crowd. At night, you will generally find a representation of the colorful characters for which Charleston can be known. Putting it simply, its just a different atmosphere than one usually finds in establishments in and around the Market.
AC’s used to be located further down King, near George Street. Now that place was wild. They had to move to their current location after the kitchen caught fire.
Sigh, I miss the old days.
Restaurant Anson has lovely food (Charleston).
One fun way to kill an evening is to sign up for a “Ghost Walk.” It’s a night walking tour of Charleston that recounts some of the area’s stories and legends about hauntings.
I admit to a certain fascination w/ tugs and container-filled barges, but that’s most likely due to a crush I have on a former stevedore! You’ll be able to get a good view if they blow up more pieces of the old bridge while marveling in the beauty of the new Ravenel Bridge from Charleston to Mt. Pleasant.
Maybe some of us Charleston area dopers should get together for a drink while you’re here?
Another vote for trolley tour in Savannah and buggy tour in Charleston. It may sound touristy, but the information is great and helps you plan your “tour on your own” time. In Charleston they talk a lot about the great fires and earthquakes that have hit and majorly affected the city. (You’ll notice rods sticking out of all buildings built before the 1890s- these are support for the earthquake damage- they were turned each day to keep the house from shifting.)
They’re both colonial cities built by English colonists for the most part, but they’re very different cities. In Charleston I love the big market downtown. The sea grass baskets are the city’s most famous crafts, but unfortunately they’ve become absurdly expensive due to the popularity. In Savannah I love just wandering aimlessly and looking at the old houses, some of which are open to the public (including Mercer House [from Midnight- there are Midnight themed tours), Flannery O’Connor’s birthplace and others.
I love colonial American history and in Charleston I loved The Old Exchange and Provost Dungeon, one of the oldest buildings in the town. (I believe the oldest building is the Pink House, a small- like it’s name would imply- pink house built in the late 17th century.) Also cool are the bike drawn rickshaws that take you through the city, and the sideporches on almost every house that usually have the main door of the house.
Have fun.