Charleston
THE AMERICAS · CITY · LOWCOUNTRY
Charleston is a peninsula of pastel houses, cobbled lanes and church steeples that has been quietly running one of the best restaurant scenes in America for two decades. It is also the port through which around 40% of enslaved Africans entered the country, and the better museums here don't look away from that. Walkable end to end, and hot as blazes in August.
The plan
Walk south of Broad
Rainbow Row, the Battery, and the side lanes — Stoll's Alley and Longitude Lane — where the tour groups don't fit.
International African American Museum
Built on Gadsden's Wharf where the ships landed. The most important museum in the city, opened 2023.
Middleton Place or Magnolia Gardens
Landscaped gardens up the Ashley River, with honest interpretation of the enslaved communities who built them.
Sullivan's Island and Folly Beach
Twenty minutes out for Atlantic sand, and Poe's Tavern on Sullivan's afterwards.
A Lowcountry dinner
This is the real reason people come. Book FIG, Chez Nous or Rodney Scott's weeks ahead.
Book before you fly
Plantation sites
Middleton, Magnolia and McLeod all sell timed tickets; McLeod tells the story from the enslaved community's side.
FIG, Chez Nous & Husk
The best tables open 30 days ahead and go the same morning.
Carriage tours
Licensed operators are allotted routes by lottery on the day — you don't choose your route.
Getting there
Fly Charleston (CHS)
Twenty minutes from downtown with direct flights from most eastern and midwestern hubs. Rideshare is about $30.
Drive from Savannah or Atlanta
Savannah is under two hours down the coast; Atlanta is five. The coastal route is the pretty one.
Getting around
The peninsula is entirely walkable and DASH shuttles are free. Rent a car only for the beaches and plantations.
When to go
Best time to go
March to May for azaleas and 24°C, or October to November when the humidity finally breaks.
Cheapest months
January and February — mild by northern standards and the cheapest rooms of the year.
Priciest & busiest
July and August, when it's 35°C and humid, and Spoleto in late May when the city books out.
If you've got one day
Morning
Walk south of Broad
Late morning
International African American Museum
Lunch
Rodney Scott's BBQ
Afternoon
Middleton Place or Magnolia Gardens
Evening
Dinner at FIG, then Sullivan's Island and Folly Beach
If you've got a week
Day 1
Arrive, settle in around The Dewberry, and take it slowly — Rodney Scott's BBQ for dinner.
Day 2
Walk south of Broad.
Day 3
International African American Museum. Dinner at FIG.
Day 4
Day trip — Savannah →.
Day 5
Middleton Place or Magnolia Gardens. Chez Nous at some point.
Day 6
Sullivan's Island and Folly Beach.
Day 7
A Lowcountry dinner. Finish with Husk.
Staying longer?
Nearby & day trips
Under two hours south along the coast.
Beaufort and the Sea Islands
Ninety minutes south — Gullah Geechee culture, live oaks and the quietest coast in the state.
Kiawah Island
Forty minutes for wide empty beaches and the golf.
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