The Deep South itinerary — December 2026

Mild holiday season with short days, lower beach demand, and strong historic-district weekends.

• Dec 25Christmas DayPublic holiday

Ranked for December suitability using weather, setting, ratings, and review volume.

1. 1Waterfront Park & Pineapple Fountain
2. 2Sullivan's Island & Fort Moultrie
3. 3Rainbow Row & The Battery
4. 4Historic Charleston City Market
5. 5Gibbes Museum of Art
6. 6Aiken-Rhett House Museum
7. 7Magnolia Plantation and Gardens
8. 8Fort Sumter National Historical Park

• 1

  Waterfront Park & Pineapple Fountain

  4.8★ · 6,572outdoorOpen daily

  Harborfront park with shaded paths, pier swings, and the city's best low-effort Cooper River view.

• 2

  Sullivan's Island & Fort Moultrie

  4.7★ · 2,391outdoorOpen daily

  Barrier-island beach plus a layered harbor-defense fort, useful for pairing beach time with Revolutionary War and Civil War context.

• 3

  Rainbow Row & The Battery

  4.6★ · 7,105outdoorOpen daily

  Pastel Georgian row houses, oak-lined mansions, and harbor-facing defensive walls at the peninsula's southern edge.

• 1

  French Quarter

  Gallery-heavy historic core near the market, St. Philip's, and cobbled lanes. Best for first-time walks, architecture, and dinner reservations.

• 2

  South of Broad

  Quiet mansion streets, gardens, The Battery, and Rainbow Row. Photogenic but residential, so mornings work better than late-night wandering.

• 3

  Cannonborough-Elliotborough

  Younger restaurant and coffee corridor northwest of King Street, with smaller inns and a less formal feel than the old core.

• 4

  Upper King Street

  Dining, bars, hotels, and nightlife north of Calhoun Street. Lively after dark and easy to pair with the visitor center.

• 5

  Mount Pleasant

  Suburban harbor base for Shem Creek seafood, Patriots Point, and easy bridge access to Sullivan's Island.

• 6

  Sullivan's Island

  Residential barrier island with broad beaches, lighthouse views, seafood restaurants, and Fort Moultrie history.

Mild holiday season with short days and strong restaurant demand around weekends.

• Dec 25Christmas DayPublic holiday

Ranked for December suitability using weather, setting, ratings, and review volume.

1. 1Forsyth Park
2. 2Bonaventure Cemetery
3. 3Savannah Historic District Squares
4. 4Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist
5. 5Telfair Museums
6. 6River Street
7. 7SCAD Museum of Art
8. 8Tybee Island

• 1

  Forsyth Park

  4.8★ · 19,172outdoorOpen daily

  Thirty-acre park south of the historic core, anchored by the 1858 fountain, shaded walks, lawns, and a Saturday farmers market.

  Wikipedia
• 2

  Bonaventure Cemetery

  4.7★ · 813outdoorOpen daily

  Large Victorian cemetery east of town known for live oaks, funerary sculpture, and bluff views over the Wilmington River.

  Wikipedia
• 3

  Savannah Historic District Squares

  4.8★ · 287outdoorOpen daily

  A grid of pocket squares framed by churches, houses, museums, and inns; walking square-to-square is the core Savannah experience.

• 1

  Historic District

  Squares, inns, museums, churches, and restaurants in the walkable core north of Forsyth Park.

• 2

  Victorian District

  Colorful 19th-century houses, quieter blocks, and the south edge of Forsyth Park.

• 3

  Starland District

  Creative corridor with SCAD influence, murals, small galleries, coffee, vintage shops, and casual restaurants.

• 4

  River Street

  Touristy riverfront nightlife and warehouse restaurants, best for a short evening walk rather than an all-day base.

• 5

  Ardsley Park

  Residential early-20th-century streets with broad medians, useful for architecture walks away from the visitor crowds.

• 6

  Tybee Island

  Beach-and-pier escape with lighthouse history, seafood shacks, and a completely different pace from the squares.

December is mild and damp, with Reveillon dinners, holiday bonfires upriver, and French Quarter lights drawing weekend demand.

• Dec 25Christmas DayPublic holiday

Ranked for December suitability using weather, setting, ratings, and review volume.

1. 1St. Louis Cathedral
2. 2National WWII Museum
3. 3New Orleans Museum of Art and City Park
4. 4Steamboat Natchez and Mississippi riverfront
5. 5Mardi Gras World
6. 6Frenchmen Street
7. 7St. Charles Avenue Streetcar
8. 8French Quarter and Jackson Square
9. 9Audubon Park
10. 10Garden District and Lafayette Cemetery No. 1

• 1

  St. Louis Cathedral

  4.8★ · 5,019indoorOpen daily

  The cathedral on Jackson Square traces its parish to 1720, with the present triple-spired building completed in the 1850s after earlier fires and rebuilds. It anchors Chartres Street beside the Cabildo and Presbytere.

• 2

  National WWII Museum

  4.8★ · 29,728indoorOpen daily

  The museum opened in 2000 in the Warehouse District and grew from the Higgins Boats built in New Orleans for Allied landings. Exhibits cover the European and Pacific theaters, aircraft, oral histories, and the U.S. Freedom Pavilion.

  Wikipedia
• 3

  New Orleans Museum of Art and City Park

  4.7★ · 5,307indoorClosed Mon

  NOMA opened in City Park in 1911 and holds French, American, African, Japanese, and decorative arts collections. The Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden sits beside bayous and live oaks in the same park.

• 1

  French Quarter (Vieux Carré)

  The Quarter is dense and old, with Jackson Square, Royal Street galleries, Bourbon Street bars, hidden courtyards, Creole townhouses, and the riverfront within a tight grid.

• 2

  Marigny and Bywater

  Marigny and Bywater are downriver and music-heavy, with Frenchmen Street clubs, Crescent Park, colorful cottages, St. Claude Avenue venues, and neighborhood restaurants.

• 3

  Tremé

  Tremé is tied to Black New Orleans culture, with Congo Square, Backstreet Cultural Museum, brass-band history, Creole cottages, and second-line routes near North Rampart Street.

• 4

  Garden District and Lower Garden District

  The Garden District is mansion-lined and leafy, with St. Charles Avenue, Magazine Street shops, Lafayette Cemetery No. 1, Commander's Palace, and streetcar stops.

• 5

  Uptown and Carrollton

  Uptown stretches along St. Charles and Magazine, with Tulane, Loyola, Audubon Park, Maple Street bars, old oaks, and po'boy counters.

• 6

  Warehouse District and CBD

  The Warehouse District and CBD feel more modern, with the National WWII Museum, Ogden Museum, Julia Street galleries, hotels, Superdome access, and convention crowds.