My wife and I will be spending 5 days in Charleston next month and I want to make sure we get in as much as possible.

Attractions, restaurants, must-sees, etc. Thanks in advance!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: G-Man,

What are your interests?

Patriots Point is a must if you’re into military history or just like seeing (and touring and touching) ships and aircraft up close.

Mrs.BurtonRW and I will take an early morning walk from Waterfront Park down to the battery and then straight up into downtown for shopping, dining, etc.

The Angel Oak is amazing to see in person.

You have your choice of plantations to visit.

There’s more...

-Rob

Magnolia Plantation is awesome. My favorite place of all Botnay Bay Boneyard Beach. Warning there are two close by places called Boneyard Beach. There are no guides, directions, or signs, but it's a must. Check tide times, if low tide coincides with sunrise you are in for the view of a lifetime. Note this beach is not accessible at all at high tide, must visit at low tide. When you go, there will be no one except for a handful of photographers.

I could list off more places, but those were two of my favorite.

Acme Lowcountry Kitchen on Isle of Palms is delicious.

If you’re into ghost tours, Bulldog Tours has the best. They even do one in the Old City Jail, which was just as historically informative as it was creepy.

Highly recommended if you enjoy that kind of thing.

-Rob

I would agree to several of the above suggestions.

The carriage tours of downtown are always good, in my opinion...helps you get an overall view of the city and hear some of the history. If able, walk a lot of the city...beautiful architecture, churches, etc.

Walk around through White Point Garden (usually referred to as The Battery by many) on the tip of the peninsula, and also walk around Waterfront Park along the Cooper River side of Charleston.

If you like performing arts, check to see if there is anything going on at the Charleston Music Hall while you’re there...it’s beautiful.

I definitely second going over to Patriot’s Point in Mt Pleasant (just over the Cooper River Bridge) to tour the USS Yorktown. And the Angel Oak on neighboring Johns Island is incredible and difficult to appreciate until you see it.

One of my favorite things to do is to tour Fort Sumter, where the first shots of the Civil War were fired...they take you over on a boat, and you can disembark and take a walking tour with a guide, as well as on your own.

And there are countless, fantastic restaurants and breweries everywhere...seafood, seafood, and more seafood. One of my favorite restaurants is Jestine’s Kitchen on Meeting St...my goodness.

quote:

Angel Oak on neighboring Johns Island is incredible and difficult to appreciate until you see it.

I've showed people pictures and their response was "cool, a big tree, wow." A picture does not capture it well, it's a big ass tree.

quote:

Originally posted by Skins2881:
Magnolia Plantation is awesome. My favorite place of all Botnay Bay Boneyard Beach. Warning there are two close by places called Boneyard Beach. There are no guides, directions, or signs, but it's a must. Check tide times, if low tide coincides with sunrise you are in for the view of a lifetime. Note this beach is not accessible at all at high tide, must visit at low tide. When you go, there will be no one except for a handful of photographers.

I could list off more places, but those were two of my favorite.

Acme Lowcountry Kitchen on Isle of Palms is delicious.

Acme Low Country Kitchen is amazing. Also if you need lunch or dinner while near to Patriot's Point, Coleman Public House has some really amazing burgers.

We vacationed in Charleston last year and have taken numerous day trips down from Myrtle Beach. I agree with what others have said and would also add:

1. The Hunley Submarine Museum.
2. Harbor tour and the night time ghost harbor Tour.
3. The Charleston Fire Museum.
4. The Charleston Museum.
5. Provost Dungeon Museum.

Not sure if you are a big This Old House fan, but they did two houses down in Charleston I believe last season or season before last. We actually spent an hour or so tracking those houses down. Although we could only see the outsides, it was neat to see them in person.

Chris

Restaurants- Must go to Hall's Chophouse. It is rated #6 in the country on TripAdvisor and worth every single Penny. The food, the atmosphere, the service are all a 10. Make reservations way ahead of time if you can.

Hanks Seafood is also excellent for seafood in Charleston.

Good suggestions above, to which we add three very important words that should be uttered together while in Charleston: shrimp and grits. This is a local dish that is not to be missed.

We trudge on.

Lovely town, Charleston. I was going to suggest you have the shrimp and grits at Dixie Supply, which is a hole in the wall but has great food, but they are now closed for good. This is a shame. The 8 bucks I paid for shrimp and grits at this place was far better than the umm more expensive shrimp and grits I had at Poogan's Porch. Damn shame.

Is the Savannah still docked at Patriots Point? I toured those ships many years ago, but was particularly interested in the Savannah, the one and only nuclear powered merchant ship. I worked with a guy who was an engineer on it back in the day.

USS Yorktown was a great attraction to see - can spend nearly a half a day there.

Battery was also good to tour.

Did not get time to go out to the Fort but would have liked to tour that.

We were there last summer. Enjoyed Magnolia Plantation, the Harbor Cruise, and a Carriage Ride. We stayed out near Folly Beach and loved it.

Todd

This message has been edited. Last edited by: phxtoad,

The best thing to do in Charleston is eat. Magnolias, High Cotton, Husk, The Ordinary, Michael's on the Alley, etc.

Yorktown, Sumter, and the Battery are all nice to tour. The city is just great to walk around in. Shop, eat, see beautiful things. Get out on a boat for awhile.

And, Smithey Ironware is there if you are into cast iron cookware. ;-)

I went to a Bourbon and Bacon Festival a couple months back at the Convention Center. It was a really good time and some awesome food and drink.

There is the Charleston Rum Festival going on in June. If it's anything like the B&B Festival, you'll have a good time.

https://www.citypapertickets.c...leston-rum-fest-2019

The SC Aquarium is at Charleston Harbor.

If you like baseball, an evening Charleston Riverdogs game may be fun. Single-A ball.

You can check out the only tea plantation in the North America.

Stay away, we’re full

Downtown is fun to wonder, I never get tired of the old homes, structures and what not. Always find something new to look at wondering around. Patriots Point as mentioned can easily turn in to a full day.

Restaurants, yeah there’s plenty of them, a lot of the good ones have been mentioned, and anything resembling high end you’re best to call for reservations now.

I can walk to the Coleman Public House in 5 minutes, burgers aren’t that great. A few minutes further and I’m at Shem Creek. Some good bar food places there, Table & Tavern is the nicest place. By far the atmosphere/environment make Shem a cool place. A quick drive from that area is a place called Grace & Grit - hands down delicious food, everything. For burgers, I really like Poe’s on Sullivan’s.

quote:

Originally posted by parabellum:
Lovely town, Charleston. I was going to suggest you have the shrimp and grits at Dixie Supply, which is a hole in the wall but has great food, but they are now closed for good. This is a shame. The 8 bucks I paid for shrimp and grits at this place was far better than the umm more expensive shrimp and grits I had at Poogan's Porch. Damn shame.

poogan's is delicious, but expensive,

Jestine's is good, excellent cocacola cake

there was a place not far from Patriots Point called the Wreck of the Richard and Charlene that is delicious

food at Hyman's was ok, but it is a tourist trap