Best things to do in Charleston

Cypress Gardens

Swamp garden with giant cypress trees offering boat tours plus a butterfly house attraction.

Friends of the Hunley

Waterfront museum offering weekend tours of a 19th-century historic submarine, artifacts & exhibits.

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.

Middleton Place

Sprawling Ashley River rice plantation dating to the 1730s, with gardens and refined lodging.

Old Exchange and Provost Dungeon

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

Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie National Historical Park

A pair of historic military sites with roots dating from 1776 & featuring Charleston Harbor views.

Colonial Dorchester State Historic Site

Colonial-era settlement with many original buildings & ruins, archaeological digs & guided tours.

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.

Hampton Plantation State Historic Site

Established in 1735, this historic plantation is an interpretive site about slavery & offers tours.

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.

Edmondston-Alston House

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

Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie National Historical Park

Two Civil War forts bookending Charleston Harbor, reachable by ferry, where the first shots of the war were fired.

Charles Towne Landing State Historic Site

Tours & interactive exhibits at the birthplace of the Carolina colony, first settled in 1670.

Heyward-Washington House

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

The Museum at Market Hall

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

Drayton Hall

Storied, well-preserved antebellum plantation with tranquil grounds & an African-American cemetery.

Joseph Manigault House

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

Magnolia Plantation Gardens

Romantic-style gardens dating to 1680. Azaleas peak in March; camellias bloom all winter.

Charles Pinckney National Historic Site

Remnants of a 1700s plantation, with indoor & outdoor exhibits on Charles Pinckney's life & times.

South Carolina Historical Society

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

Historic Charleston Foundation

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

When I First Remember(Old Bethel United Methodist Church)