Things to Do in Fitzgerald, Georgia
Why Fitzgerald is worth slowing down for
Fitzgerald is not a normal small Southern town, and that is the fun of it. It was founded in the 1890s as a colony where Union and Confederate veterans settled side by side, which is how it earned the name the City of Harmony. The town still wears that history openly, right down to streets named for generals from both armies. You feel it in the old architecture, you hear it at the museum downtown, and you see it in the way people here are proud of a founding story most folks have never heard.
You came to Fitzgerald for your own reasons, a family visit, a wedding, a reunion, a quiet few days off the interstate. This guide is how we help you fill the hours around it. Most of it sits within a short walk or a few minutes' drive of the house on South Lee Street, so you can do a lot or very little and still be back on the porch by dark.
One thing to know before you go looking: there are chickens. Real ones, roaming the streets. More on that in a minute.
The chickens, since you are going to ask
Fitzgerald is home to a flock of free-roaming Burmese chickens that strut around downtown like they own it. The state stocked them across Georgia back in the 1960s as a game bird, the idea never took the way officials hoped, and the birds quietly made Fitzgerald their home. The town went from trying to be rid of them to putting them on the welcome signs.
Every year on the third weekend of March, downtown throws the Wild Chicken Festival in their honor, with a Run for the Roost 5K, a pancake breakfast, a car show, live music, arts and crafts, and a group chicken dance to close it out. In 2026 it ran March 20 and 21, so the 2027 festival should land around March 19 and 20. Check wildchickenfestival.com for the current year's dates. If you are here any other weekend, you will still meet a few of the locals on your way to breakfast.
Downtown, on foot
Fitzgerald's historic downtown is compact and made for walking, so park the car and take the block slowly.
Blue and Gray Museum. The anchor stop, housed in the 1902 railroad depot. This is where the founding story comes alive, how veterans of both armies built one town together, told through more than 1,200 uniforms, artifacts, and household pieces. Open Tuesday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $5 for adults and $2 for students. Start here and the rest of downtown makes more sense.
Grand Theatre (119 S Main St). A restored 1936 Art Deco theater right downtown, still showing first-run movies and hosting live music and shows, complete with a 1926 pipe organ the locals call Big Bart. Check what is on while you are in town, it is worth an evening.
Carnegie Center Gallery. Rotating art exhibits in the beautifully kept 1915 Carnegie library building, home to the Fitzgerald-Ben Hill Arts Council. Hours vary, one regular's tip is that you know they are open when the flag is out front, so call ahead if you are making a special trip.
Downtown is also a good place to lose an afternoon treasure hunting among the antique and vintage shops. If you like a little structure to your wandering, the city keeps self-guided walking tours you can follow on your phone, including an Architectural Treasures route that shows off the mixed building styles the settlers brought from all over the country.
Where we send people to eat
Small-town hours move around, so check before you head out, but these are the ones we point our own guests to. All of these were open as of summer 2026.
The Swanhouse Bakery and Cafe (118 S Main St). Right downtown and an easy walk from the house. Fresh breakfast and lunch, generous sandwiches and soups, and cookies people plan their day around. Open Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. This is our first pick for a slow morning.
Coastal Plain Barbecue Company (102 W Central Ave). Downtown barbecue done right, brisket, smash burgers, and a house sauce regulars swear by. Lunch Tuesday through Sunday, with dinner added Thursday and Friday evenings. Closed Monday.
Cafe Budapest (293 Benjamin H Hill Dr W). A few minutes' drive and one of the highest-rated spots in town, with soups, sandwiches, homemade cakes, and a pastry case that earns its reputation. Open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Closed weekends.
Li'l Shack by the Trax (228 N Grant St). Homemade sandwiches and comfort plates near the old railroad tracks, friendly and quick. Open Tuesday through Friday for lunch and an early dinner. Closed Monday, Saturday, and Sunday.
For coffee, hit the drive-through at Ellianos Coffee (173 Ocilla Hwy), open Monday through Saturday from 6 a.m. and Sunday from 8 a.m., or let the pastry case at the Swanhouse make the decision for you.
When you want some air
Milton "Buddy" Hopkins Nature Preserve (Appomattox Road). A one-mile boardwalk loop around a pond with viewing platforms, named for a local birder. Around a hundred species pass through over the year, so it is an easy, pretty stretch of legs with good birdwatching in season.
Evergreen Cemetery Arboretum. Not as somber as it sounds. It is a well-kept, tree-filled place for a slow stroll, and locals treat it as a peaceful spot to breathe.
The porch back home. We built this house for downtime as much as adventure. The front porch swing, the screened porch, and the fenced backyard are there for the afternoons you decide the best thing to do is nothing.
Half-day trips, if you have the time
Jefferson Davis Memorial Historic Site (Irwinville, about a 20-minute drive north). The spot where the president of the Confederacy was captured in 1865, now a 13-acre park with a museum, a short trail, and a gift shop. Open Tuesday through Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday 2 to 5:30 p.m., closed Monday. Admission is $2.50 for adults.
Tifton (about 40 minutes via US-319 and GA-35). A bigger town for extra shopping and dining, and home to the Georgia Museum of Agriculture, a 95-acre living-history village open Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
A lake afternoon. The best public option is Paradise Public Fishing Area near Brookfield, about 40 minutes south toward Tifton. It is a 1,341-acre state area with 60 lakes and ponds, boat ramps, fishing piers, and a nature trail, open daily sunrise to sunset. Good for bass, bream, and catfish if fishing is your speed.
Our perfect Fitzgerald day
Start with coffee and a pastry at the Swanhouse, then walk into downtown while it is still cool and spend an hour at the Blue and Gray Museum getting the town's story. Wander the antique shops, meet a chicken or two, and land back at the Swanhouse or Coastal Plain for lunch. Take the afternoon slow, a loop around the Hopkins preserve, a nap in the hallway nook, a little more downtown browsing, whatever the group is up for. Come evening, pick up dinner or fire up the kitchen, and end the night on the porch swing with the whole crew.
None of this is far. That is the quiet luxury of staying in town instead of out by the interstate, you are always a few minutes from your own front door, and the trip gets to move at your pace instead of a schedule's.