The pace is gentler and slower in Charleston: life is meant to be savoured. Local Charleston Flytographer Mackenzie takes us on a tour of her city showing us why she is so in love with her home. From delicious Southern eats to gorgeous streets, read on for the many reasons to visit Charleston.
Once you visit Charleston once, I guarantee you will find a reason to come back again and again.
EAT
Look for the line snaking out the door of this tiny kitchen baking up Charleston’s best biscuits (from early morning to late night). Load up Callie’s Hot Little Biscuits with fancy butters and jams, shrimp and grits, or make a biscuit sandwich or biscuit sampler.
For that classic Lowcountry cuisine, start with (more) biscuits, local specialty She Crab soup, and load up on shrimp and grits, sweet tea glazed salmon, or Calabash seafood at Poogan’s Porch. Visit in January or February when they have a “throwback” menu to the year they opened, and prices are from the 1970s.
Love trying local beers? Explore Edmund’s Oast’s draft selection and interesting pours, like the Peanut Butter and Jelly beer, direct from their brewery. Sit at the Chef’s Counter for a front seat to the kitchen action and locally sourced dishes.
SEE
Charleston was just voted the U.S.’s Best City for the 6th year in a row by Travel + Leisure! We have a lot to offer and it never gets old, even though Charleston has been around since 1670! Because nothing can be built taller than St. Philip’s Church, Charleston’s skyline is dotted with church steeples giving it the nickname the Holy City.
Take a bike ride, walk, or carriage tour through the French Quarter and the South of Broad areas of historic downtown. Don’t miss Rainbow Row, a block of 17th-century row houses painted in a rainbow of pastels, and the Battery, a raised walkway overlooking Charleston Harbour, with grand mansions across the street and a front-row view to dolphins, sailboats, and Fort Sumter in the distance. Go beyond these gems (and the crowds) and take a longer walk through this residential district with its trailing window box gardens. Peek through the many iron gates to see gorgeous hidden gardens and courtyards!
DO
Spend the day at Middleton Place Plantation and Gardens strolling through classical gardens dating to 1741. Visit in the early spring for an unbelievable display of azaleas on the hillside, or visit in the winter for a stunning display of camellias.
Visit Charleston for your annual beach break by heading to Isle of Palms, Sullivan’s Island, Folly Beach, or Kiawah Island. Each has its own unique atmosphere.
Feeling active? Take a walk or run over the Ravenel Bridge, which connects downtown Charleston and Mount Pleasant. Then, visit the Old Village of Mount Pleasant for great views of the Ravenel Bridge in downtown Charleston and the Cooper River marshes. You could also get up close and personal with dolphins, manatees, and seabirds with a kayak trip down Shem Creek. Do it at sunset for some classic views and end with a cocktail at Tavern & Table on Shem Creek.
