Is Savannah family-friendly?

The Historic District grid is flat, but its brick and tabby sidewalks buckle over live oak roots, and curb cuts appear on some corners of Bull Street and vanish on others. A jogging stroller with 12-inch air wheels handles it, but plastic umbrella-stroller wheels rattle and catch every few metres. River Street is the worst stretch. The ballast-stone ramps down from Bay Street are steep and slick after rain, and the stairs along Factors Walk lack rails in places. The lobby elevators at the Hyatt Regency on Bay Street have long been the usual way around them. Savannah's transit is easier with kids than in most U.S. cities: the DOT shuttle loop around downtown is free, and so is the Savannah Belles Ferry to Hutchinson Island, which currently runs every 20 to 30 minutes and has room for a folded stroller. Plenty of toddlers rank that ride across the Savannah River, with its diesel smell and shrieking gulls, as the best part of the trip. Trolley tours make you fold and stow strollers, so bring a carrier for under-2s.

Here is a day plan that works for ages 3 to 10. Morning adventure: Fort Pulaski National Monument, 15 miles east on US-80. Adults and teens aged 16 and up pay $10 each, and children under 16 get in free. On many weekend mornings the rangers fire muskets and a cannon, loud enough to make a 5-year-old jump and then grin. The moat, drawbridge and brick casemates tend to hold kids for about 90 minutes, though the parade ground has no shade and from spring to fall the sand gnats bite hard there at dawn and dusk. Lunch and nap back in town. Gentler afternoon: Forsyth Park. Its playgrounds sit under live oaks, the fountain at the north end puts a cool mist in the air, and a farmers market sets up on Saturday mornings. On a cooler day, Oatland Island Wildlife Center makes a good swap: its 2-mile loop of boardwalk and packed dirt passes wolves, bobcats and bison, and stroller wheels built for rough ground can manage it.

Feeding picky eaters in Savannah is easy enough, but managing allergies takes more attention. Leopold's Ice Cream on Broughton Street has been scooping since 1919, and on a summer evening the line can run 30 minutes, so aim for 2 pm. Mrs. Wilkes' Dining Room on West Jones Street serves fried chicken, mac and cheese, and biscuits at shared tables, and it currently opens for weekday lunch, which fits around naps. Families with nut allergies should be careful on River Street: the candy shops there hand out warm pecan praline samples at the door, and the toasted-sugar smell carries half a block. For beds, skip the small inns around Savannah's squares. Some Historic District B&Bs set a minimum age of 12, and their rooms often hold one queen bed. The Residence Inn on West Charlton Street sits on the district's western edge, about 15 minutes on foot from Forsyth Park. Bed configuration: studio and one-bedroom suites with a sofa bed. Kitchen: full. Laundry: guest machines on site.

Skip these four. Many of Savannah's nighttime ghost tours set a minimum age of 13 or higher in the fine print, and the pub-crawl versions are 21+. River Street gets loud after 9 pm on Fridays, since the Historic District allows open containers in to-go cups. The Tybee Island Lighthouse, 18 miles east, has 178 steps and a minimum height rule for children, so check it before you promise a climb to a 4-year-old. Bonaventure Cemetery has deep shade but very few restrooms. This week the weather is mild, around 18°C under clear skies, so midday walks are comfortable. Jurassic Quest comes to the Savannah Convention Center on Friday 23 October, a short ferry hop from River Street, and the Savannah Ghost Pirates play ECHL hockey at Enmarket Arena on 23 and 24 October.