Best things to do in Charleston

Walks of Charleston

Guided walking tours of Charleston's historic streets, led by knowledgeable locals out of a small office on Pinckney Street.

Palmetto Carriage Works

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

Old South Carriage Company

Narrated sightseeing trips on historic carriages pulled by horse, plus city-center walking tours.

Lowcountry Walking Tours

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

Sandlapper Water Tours

Narrated boat tours of Charleston Harbor departing from Wharfside Street, covering the waterfront, Fort Sumter, and the historic Cooper River.

Charleston Culinary Tours

Guided walking tours through downtown Charleston that pair neighborhood history with stops at local restaurants and food producers.

Nightly Spirits

Guided ghost and history walking tours departing nightly from the Market Street area.

Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum

Visitors can explore a retired Naval aircraft carrier, destroyer & submarine docked here year-round.

Sip History - Charleston

Guided cocktail history tours through Charleston's past, poured glass by glass at a dedicated tasting space on Calhoun Street.

Bulldog Tours - Old Charleston Jail

Nightly ghost tours through the 1802 jail where pirates, prisoners, and a few thousand yellow fever victims reportedly never left.

Tour Charleston

Walking and carriage tour operator out of King Street covering Charleston history, architecture, and neighborhoods.

Bulldog Tours

Ghost, history, and pub crawl tours departing nightly from Anson Street since 1998.

Tour Charleston With Adam - History, Bar & Ghost Tours

Adam leads walking tours covering Charleston history, haunts, and bars from the heart of the historic district.

Walk It! Charleston

Guided walking tours of the peninsula led by local historians, departing from the heart of the historic district on Broad Street.

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.

Charleston History Walk

Guided walking tour of the peninsula's colonial streets, church yards, and antebellum architecture led by local historians.

Frankly Charleston Black History Tours

Walking tours focused on the African American history of Charleston, led by guides who center Black narratives over Lost Cause mythology.

Chucktown Tours

Walking and boat tours of the peninsula led by local guides, departing from Waterfront Park.

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.

Charleston Walking Tours by Charleston Footprints

Guided walking tours of the historic district led by local guides out of the Meeting and Chalmers Street corner.

Lowndes Grove

Weddings & other events are held at this elegant, riverside plantation built in the late 1700s.

Gibbes Museum of Art

Portraits & landscapes dating back to the 1700s, housed in a century-old beaux arts-style building.

Charleston Pirate Tours

Lantern-lit walking tours through the French Quarter covering Charleston's actual pirate history, including Blackbeard and Stede Bonnet.

Fort Sumter Tours & Boat Cruises

Federal ferry service running daily trips from Liberty Square to the Civil War fort in Charleston Harbor.

Stories in the Cemetery

Lantern-lit guided tours of historic Charleston churchyards, blending documented history with local ghost lore.

JWalk Tours

Guided walking tours of Charleston's historic peninsula, led by local Jonathan Bechtel out of Church Street.

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.

Fort Sumter Tours & Boat Cruises

Ferry service running visitors out to the Civil War fort where the first shots of the conflict were fired.

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.

William Aiken House

Antebellum mansion on King Street hosting weddings across its courtyard, carriage house, and formal gardens since the 1830s.

Governor Thomas Bennett House

Antebellum plantation house on Barre Street, built in 1825, now booked for weddings and private events.

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.

Nathaniel Russell House Museum

Ornate, circa-1808 home known for its "free-flying" 3-story spiral staircase, with guided tours.

Charleston Historic Tours LLC

Walking tour company based in Mount Pleasant running history-focused guided tours through Charleston's streets.

Edmondston-Alston House

Historic Federal-style home, open for tours showcasing architecture, furnishings & family artifacts.

Charleston, South Carolina

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

Fort Sumter Ferry

National Park Service ferry from Patriots Point to the Civil War battery where the first shots of the war were fired.

Charleston City Market

Four-block open-air market downtown. Sweetgrass baskets, local artists, tourist staples.

Ghost City Tours

Nightly walking tours through Charleston's darker history, covering cemeteries, haunted buildings, and the city's long catalog of documented tragedies.

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.

American Theater

Restored 1942 movie house on King Street, now a wedding and event venue with original art deco bones intact.

Rainbow Row

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

Old South Tours

Horse-drawn carriage tour company running licensed routes through the historic district since 1983.

United States Custom House

Ornate 1879 federal building on East Bay Street, still an active port authority office with a marble trading room open to visitors.

Tommy Dew's Walking Tour

Local guide Tommy Dew leads walking tours through the historic district on foot, departing from Meeting Street.

Heyward-Washington House

18th-century Georgian-style home once belonging to a signer of the Declaration of Independence.

Childrens Museum of the Lowcountry

Hands-on exhibits for under-10 kids plus parties, programs, camps & classes such as yoga & dance.

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.

High Tide Harbor Tours

Narrated harbor and waterway boat tours departing from Ripley Point, covering Charleston's coastline and historic maritime landmarks.

High Tide Harbor Tours

Small-boat harbor tours departing from Ripley Point, covering Charleston's waterfront history and working port up close.

Historic Rice Mill

Restored 1861 rice mill on the Ashley River, now a waterfront event and wedding venue with industrial bones intact.

Revolutionary Charleston Tours

Walking tours of Charleston's colonial and Revolutionary War history, departing from Washington Square Park on Broad Street.

Charleston Carriage Works

Horse-drawn carriage tours departing from Anson Street, covering the French Quarter and historic district with licensed guides.

South Carolina Society Hall

Federal-era ballroom on Meeting Street, built in 1804, renting its plaster ceilings and heart-pine floors to wedding parties.

South Carolina Historical Society

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

Old Slave Mart Museum

Displays in this former slave auction building tell the story of the slave trade in Charleston.

Hibernian Hall

A popular wedding venue, this landmark hall was built in 1840 & features Greek Revival architecture.

Good Food Catering

Wheelchair-accessible catering operation on Lockwood Drive handling weddings and events out of a ground-floor suite near the marina.

The Camden Room

Restored 19th-century ballroom on Meeting Street hosting weddings and private events inside a registered historic landmark.

Historic Charleston Foundation

Preservation nonprofit on East Bay running house museums, educational programs, and advocacy for Charleston's built environment since 1947.

Gullah Geechee Black History Tours

Walking tours rooted in Gullah Geechee culture and Black history, led by guides with direct ties to the Lowcountry community.

Ghosts of the South Candlelight

Candlelit walking tour threading through the French Quarter's churchyards and antebellum streets after dark.

When I First Remember(Old Bethel United Methodist Church)

Gray Line of Charleston

Narrated bus tours of the peninsula, departing from Meeting Street, with routes covering historic districts and landmarks.

Fort Sumter Ferry

Boat tour to the harbor fort where the Civil War started. National Park Service runs it.