Charleston offers horse-drawn carriage rides, mansions and museums, and nearby, historic monuments such as Fort Sumter, where the first shots of the Civil War were fired. A few miles from the city are a number of magnificent old plantation houses, such as the eighteenth century Middleton Place.
Top Ten Sights
Take a horse drawn carriage for a tour of Charleston's narrow streets lined with beautifully preserved buildings from the colonial and antebellum periods.
Stroll through The Battery or White Point Gardens, where pirates once dangled from the gallows, for spectacular views of the harbor and distant Fort Sumter.
Take a tour around some of the famous plantations and gardens, for a glimpse into life during the antebellum era. Include Boone Hall Plantation, with its majestic avenue of moss-draped oaks, or Magnolia Plantation, built in the 1670's and Middleton Place, for America's oldest landscaped gardens.
Visit the area's lush sea islands of Kiawah, Seabrook and the Isle of Palms. With endless sundrenched beaches washed by the warm surf of the tropical gulf stream currents, the islands offer watersports of every kind including sailing and deep sea fishing.
Visit Catfish Row, the inspiration for America's first opera, 'Porgy and Bess', where vendors once peddled their produce along the roadside. Now private homes and speciality shops line the area.
Tour historic sights such as Fort Moultrie, the scene of the first decisive American victory of the Revolution, and Fort Sumter, the man-made island fortress where the Civil War began.
Visit Charleston Museum, the USA's first and oldest, which interprets the story and natural history of the lowcountry through artifacts, treasures and exhibits.
Visit Charles Towne Landing, the site where the original settlement was established in 1670, and take a tram ride tour of the original fortification or stroll through the beautiful English Park gardens.
With world class courses, designed by renowned architects such as Jack Nicklaus and Tom Fazio, a game of golf is not to be missed.
Browse through the historic market on Market Street, Charleston's many boutiques, art galleries and the King Street antique shops.
