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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.
University arts center showcasing emerging & established modern artists, films, lectures & more.
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.
Dockside hits the market a year after evacuation, Hootie's Mark Bryan launches a Charleston record label, and the College of Charleston's YWCA demolition draws neighborhood pushback.
The week's most consequential real estate story wasn't a listing but a reckoning: the Dockside condominium tower on the Cooper River waterfront officially went up for sale, with near-unanimous expectation among observers that the 18-story building will be torn down. Across town, College of Charleston's demolition of the former YWCA headquarters on Coming Street moved faster than neighbors anticipated, drawing sharp criticism from a local citizens group that says the college didn't give adequate notice before the wrecking began.
On the food and culture side, Hootie & the Blowfish guitarist Mark Bryan sat down to discuss the record label he's launching out of his Lowcountry studio — worth watching as a signal of where Charleston's music economy is heading. And StoryCorps is parking its recording booth in Charleston this week, if you've been meaning to preserve a conversation worth keeping.
The three-acre Dockside property — an 18-story condo tower and 21 townhomes evacuated roughly 18 months ago due to structural concerns — has been formally put on the market through JLL. Local real estate observers say there is unanimous consensus the tower will be razed rather than rehabilitated.
Why it matters · A prime Cooper River waterfront site is about to change hands. Watch rezoning discussions closely — this parcel will reshape that stretch of the peninsula.
Workers began tearing down the former YWCA headquarters at 106 Coming Street — part of CofC's plan to build a student dormitory — without notifying a local citizens group that had been tracking the project. The demolition is one of several construction and razing efforts underway near Calhoun Street that will materially alter the college's footprint over the next few years.
Why it matters · If you walk that stretch of Coming Street, expect active demolition. The broader CofC construction wave is worth tracking for its impact on the Harleston Village neighborhood.
Guitarist Mark Bryan has formalized what has been a years-long investment in local music by starting a record label out of his Lowcountry studio. He discussed the project, his songwriting process, and new music in a wide-ranging conversation with the Post & Courier — the clearest signal yet that he's planting a professional flag in Charleston's music industry, not just its concert calendar.
Why it matters · A working label headquartered here means Charleston artists have a local infrastructure option. Worth keeping an eye on which acts sign on first.
New renderings released this week offer the first look at what would be South Carolina's first Tempo by Hilton — a Hilton brand aimed at younger business travelers. The project is still in proposal stages, but the images put a concrete face on a hotel concept that's been discussed in planning circles.
Why it matters · Another hotel flag planting in Charleston. The renderings are worth a look if you want to gauge how the brand fits the city's existing hospitality character.
James Island native Chris John left Charleston, ran a granite importing business, then came back to the water — literally — in 2007, eventually transitioning into commercial fishing. His seafood house, CudoCo., is the retail and restaurant expression of that arc, and Charleston City Paper's profile makes clear it operates on a scale and philosophy that sets it apart from the standard fish-counter model.
Why it matters · If provenance on your seafood matters to you, this is the backstory worth knowing. Worth a visit to James Island to see how the operation actually runs.
The national oral history project StoryCorps has brought its mobile recording setup to Charleston, inviting residents — native-born and transplant alike — to sit down and preserve a conversation. The City Paper notes the region's reputation as a place of storytellers, from longtime locals to recent arrivals.
Why it matters · Appointments are limited and the recordings go to the Library of Congress. If there's a conversation in your family or community worth preserving, this is the week to book it.
With two days remaining in the 53rd annual White Marlin Open in Ocean City, Maryland — the world's richest billfish tournament — Charleston sport fishermen held the top position on the leaderboard. A winning catch in the white marlin category could be worth $3.6 million.
Why it matters · Keep watching the tournament results. A Charleston boat taking home the top prize at the White Marlin Open would be a significant moment for the local sportfishing community.
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.
