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Things To DoDowntownEditor's Pick
USS Yorktown Ghost Tour
Why we picked it
“Nighttime ghost tour aboard the decommissioned WWII carrier docked across the harbor in Mount Pleasant.”
4.9Beloved1,593 ratings
5.0 · 208
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The honest list of what's worth your time — restaurants, bars, beaches, hidden gems.
Ten lists, one city. Each one written by the people who live here, and reshuffled every day by their votes.
The places locals actually book — from neighborhood lunch spots to tasting-menu nights.
Where Charleston starts its day. Roasters, neighborhood cafes, and the laptop-friendly ones.
Cocktail rooms, beer patios, and late-night spots worth crossing town for.
Sand, surf, and the Lowcountry coast — ranked by the people who use them every weekend.
Public, resort, and private — Charleston's best courses ranked by the locals who play them.
Where to live, where to walk, where to eat dinner — the city by the streets that shape it.
Studios, gyms, and the outdoor routes Charleston actually uses.
Cleaners, electricians, handymen — the ones who show up.
Tours, parks, gardens, plantations, water — what to do with a free afternoon.
Planners, venues, photographers, florists — the people who pull off a Charleston wedding.
Boutique, historic, beachfront — where to stay when you're in town.
Boutiques, antiques, bookshops, art — Charleston's best storefronts.
Spas, massage, salons, beauty — where Charleston unwinds.
Live music, concert halls, listening rooms — where the city hears itself.
Charleston's serious art scene — galleries, dealers, and the rooms behind Spoleto.
Boat clubs, marinas, charters, sailing — Charleston on the water.
Realtors, brokerages, mortgage lenders, home inspectors, and title companies — Charleston's home-buying ecosystem.
New openings, itineraries, and what locals are voting on. One short email a week. No spam, ever.
Four places we keep coming back to — chosen by Charleston regulars, refreshed weekly, never by an algorithm.
“Nighttime ghost tour aboard the decommissioned WWII carrier docked across the harbor in Mount Pleasant.”
4.9Beloved1,593 ratings
Threaded through this week's Monday Briefing and Social Pulse — the places Charleston is actually moving toward.
Waterfront museum on Gadsden's Wharf, the precise site where enslaved Africans first arrived in America, documenting that history through galleries and genealogy resources.
Concerts, oyster roasts, markets, and the rest — at the places you already know. See the full calendar →
Editorial collections — the trails, itineraries, and short lists Charleston regulars actually keep on their phone.
Every Michelin Star, Bib Gourmand, and Recommended restaurant in Charleston — from the 2025 inaugural American South guide.
What locals are actually booking
Cold dozens, hot half-shells, and the bars that earn the line — the canonical Charleston oyster guide.
Beach + dock bars, dive bars, cocktail rooms, live-music late nights.
The places that earn the golden hour — rooftops, dock bars, beach piers, and bridge walks.
Eight rooms designed for the second drink.
The roasters and cafes Charleston actually frequents
The most romantic restaurants in Charleston — Michelin Stars, candlelit corners, oceanfront sunsets, the rooms locals book when the night is supposed to mean something.
The International African American Museum weathers a financial crisis, a 1776 battle painting returns to the Nathaniel Russell House, and the SEWE gallery at Charleston Place closes its doors.
The week's most consequential local story was the International African American Museum's announcement that it will remain open despite furloughing staff and leadership for six months beginning in July — a sign of serious financial strain at one of Charleston's most significant cultural institutions. Elsewhere, a historic painting of the 1776 Battle of Sullivan's Island came home to the Nathaniel Russell House ahead of the nation's 250th anniversary, and the SEWE wildlife art gallery quietly closed at Charleston Place as renovations continue.
If you haven't been to the Nathaniel Russell House since the painting arrived, now is the time. The IAAM remains open through the summer — go before the reduced staffing changes the experience. And on Johns Island, Wild Olive continues to draw national attention; the Post & Courier reminded readers this week exactly why Southern Living named it restaurant of the year.
The IAAM announced it will keep its doors open despite a significant financial shortfall that will trigger furloughs of staff and leadership for six months starting in July. The museum, which opened in 2023 on the site of Gadsden's Wharf, is navigating one of its most serious operational challenges since launch.
Why it matters · The IAAM is open now — visit while full programming holds. Watch for updates on how reduced staffing affects hours and exhibitions this summer.
A historic painting depicting the June 28, 1776 Battle of Sullivan's Island — a pivotal early American Revolution victory — has been reinstalled at the Nathaniel Russell House Museum, arriving just as the country approaches its semiquincentennial. The work had been away from the house museum and is now on public view.
Why it matters · Head to 51 Meeting Street to see it in context. The timing, with America 250 celebrations building, makes this one of the more resonant objects on display in the city right now.
The Southeastern Wildlife Exposition's year-round gallery at the Charleston Place shops has closed, a casualty of ongoing renovations at the landmark King Street property. The space had served as a permanent outpost for SEWE's wildlife art between the festival's annual February run.
Why it matters · SEWE's February festival remains on the calendar, but the year-round retail presence downtown is gone for now. Worth watching whether a new location materializes.
The USCGC Eagle — a 295-foot barque built in 1936 and the only active sailing vessel in the U.S. armed forces — sailed into Charleston harbor on June 11, offering free public tours through June 13. The ship, which trains Coast Guard Academy cadets, is one of the more visually striking vessels to call at the port.
Why it matters · Tours were scheduled through Friday the 13th — if you missed it, the Eagle's summer schedule makes additional East Coast stops worth tracking.
A joint study by Smart Growth America and the National Complete Streets Coalition placed the Charleston metropolitan area among the country's most perilous for pedestrians, ranking 12th nationally for annual pedestrian fatalities. The finding adds data to long-running local debates over road design and development patterns.
Why it matters · The ranking will likely fuel ongoing city and county discussions about Complete Streets policy and crosswalk infrastructure. Pay attention to how council responds.
The Post & Courier's food desk returned to Wild Olive this week, making the case for why the outdoor-only Johns Island restaurant earned Southern Living's restaurant of the year distinction in 2025. The piece reads as a reminder rather than a revelation — the place has been quietly doing exceptional work for years.
Why it matters · If you haven't made the drive down Maybank Highway lately, this is the push. Reservations book fast; go on a weeknight if you can.
The historic South of Broad home long associated with the family of a former Piggly Wiggly CEO — known locally for the matched pig statues flanking its entrance — sold for $7.2 million. Built in 1914, the property is among the more idiosyncratic addresses on the lower peninsula.
Why it matters · A useful data point for anyone tracking what the peninsula's historic housing stock is commanding at the top of the market right now.
Downtown's dessert bars and Vivian Howard's biscuit counter compete for the weekend crowd, while West Ashley's wing-and-margarita circuit holds its own and Isle of Palms kitchens remind everyone summer resort season is fully underway.
The 12-layer Ultimate Coconut Cake at Benne's by Peninsula Grill has become a destination order — people are finishing dinner elsewhere and walking over specifically for a slice, citing Oprah's endorsement unprompted. The Coconut Cake Martini is now treated as a near-mandatory pairing, and the Chocolate Ganache Layer Cake is pulling second orders from anyone not on the coconut train. Weekend bar waits are accepted as part of the deal. Meanwhile, Bakehouse Charleston is running a parallel dessert conversation downtown around its salted caramel brownie and a pumpkin s'mores bar with a Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively co-sign that customers bring up without being asked.
The country ham, apple preserves, and white cheddar biscuit at Handy and Hot is the specific order people name when they tell others to go, but the potlicker stew with soft-boiled egg and tomato relish is what's earning the most surprised praise from anyone who wanders past the pastry case. The grab-and-go format gets consistent love; the price point gets flagged alongside it. Howard's name is what drives the first visit — the hand pies are what drive the second.
Stones Throw Tavern's $0.50 Monday wing night — backed by a homemade blue cheese dressing that gets described as 'garlicky and divine' — has locked in a West Ashley regular crowd that treats it as a standing weekly appointment. The BLT and loaded fries are the secondary orders; the heavy pours are the reason people stay. Across the neighborhood, Agaves Cantina West Ashley is running its own loyalty loop: one regular reports eating there eight out of ten times they go out, with the Quesadilla Jaliscos and original-mix margarita as the standing order. Service slows during peak hours — both spots are worth timing.
Coastal Crust at Wild Dunes is getting called out by name for its fig and prosciutto pizza — finished with bleu cheese and hot honey — and the meatball appetizer is earning 'best I've ever had' on its own. The insider tip circulating: order your pie well done to get the char the wood-fired oven is built for. Over at Hudson's Market, the Red Apron chef-curated dinner option keeps surprising people who assumed it was strictly a grab-and-go, while the breakfast sandwich and quiche crowd has already established its morning routine. Resort pricing is accepted as a given at both spots.
