Best things to do in Charleston

Palmetto Carriage Works

Sightseers ride behind horses in old-fashioned carriages while receiving a narrated history lesson.

Lowcountry Walking Tours

Guided walking tours of the peninsula led by locals who know Charleston's history past the brochure version.

International African American Museum

Waterfront museum on Gadsden's Wharf, the precise site where enslaved Africans first arrived in America, documenting that history through galleries and genealogy resources.

Colonial Lake Park

Historic tidal pond & dog-friendly park with paved pathways, benches, fishing & open green space.

Old Exchange and Provost Dungeon

Self-guided tours offered in a historic building, formerly a Revolutionary prison & City Hall.

Adventure Sightseeing

Family-friendly bus and boat tour operator running sightseeing routes through the historic peninsula since 1967.

The Battery

Seawall promenade at the tip of the peninsula where antebellum mansions face the harbor and cannons point toward Fort Sumter.

Aiken-Rhett House Museum

Tours of this historic home of an influential 1800s family include a back lot where slaves lived.

Powder Magazine Museum

Colonial military history museum & gift shop in a 1713 gunpowder storage building.

Marion Square

Urban green space with historic significance, hosting regular events including a farmer's market.

The Charleston Museum

America's first museum, founded in 1773, exhibits relics from South Carolina & Confederate history.

Carolina Polo and Carriage Co.

Horse-drawn carriage tours through the historic district, departing from Pinckney Street since the 1980s.

Mace Brown Museum of Natural History - College of Charleston

Free natural history museum inside College of Charleston's science building, with fossil collections, minerals, and regional specimens.

Charleston, South Carolina

Historic walking city where centuries of architecture, cobblestone streets, and harbor views reward those who slow down enough to look up.

The Original Ghostwalk of Charleston

Lantern-lit walking tours through the historic district covering Charleston's documented hauntings, graveyards, and colonial-era tragedies since 1999.

Rainbow Row

Historic District cluster of 13 pastel-painted Georgian-style rowhouses dating from 1748 to 1845.

The Museum at Market Hall

Greek Revival landmark built in 1841 offering Civil War history & tours by women's-group docents.

Joseph Manigault House

Built in 1803, this antebellum structure is furnished with period American, French & British pieces.

South Carolina Historical Society

Private library housing historical state photos & documents, with a Colonial & antebellum focus.

When I First Remember(Old Bethel United Methodist Church)