Charleston area?

[missnic]

We are headed to Savannah in November. I wanted to add a night to my existing hotel stay, but the rate is double. So we were considering maybe going up to Charleston for that night. Any suggestions on what to see or do or eat or whatever?

 

[belle032]

Charleston is an awesome city! I recommend walking King Street, which is a main shopping thoroughfare, walking through the downtown Market for lots of local and handmade items, and doing a carriage ride through the city. The carriage rides run different routes, but you will get to see the a good portion of the city, hear a lot of history, and see the Battery. I personally like the Classic Carriage Works (green carriages), but they all should be very good.

Depending on what you're interested in, you can check out Fort Sumter, the USS Yorktown, the South Carolina Aquarium (right on the river) or do a ghost walk at night. Charleston has a ton of history and is a very easy city to stroll around in. November should bring cooler temps and less tourists.

You can't go too wrong with food, especially good seafood. Recommended Charleston staples: she-crab soup or shrimp & grits!

 

[running2disney]

November is one of my favorite months for Charleston. I would just spend your time strolling downtown and eating some delicious food. But I would plan to make reservations for dinner if you’re going close to Thanksgiving. Honestly, it’s not a bad idea at any time of year in Charleston but especially then!

 

[missnic]

November is one of my favorite months for Charleston. I would just spend your time strolling downtown and eating some delicious food. But I would plan to make reservations for dinner if you’re going close to Thanksgiving. Honestly, it’s not a bad idea at any time of year in Charleston but especially then!

Yeah, we usually do a weekend in Savannah for our anniversary (11/13). It's just far enough north of us that it's a bit cooler than home. I love it!

How is the parking situation in the historic district? We're only going to have one evening and one morning, so I don't want to spend it all looking for parking lol

 

[ctinct]

Yeah, we usually do a weekend in Savannah for our anniversary (11/13). It's just far enough north of us that it's a bit cooler than home. I love it!

How is the parking situation in the historic district? We're only going to have one evening and one morning, so I don't want to spend it all looking for parking lol

There are several public parking garages in Charleston. A few of them even have clean public restrooms. My daughter and I visited in August, and we never found parking difficult at all.

I recommend Husk for lunch. It’s a lot easier to snag a reservation for lunch than for dinner, but you’ll need reservations. You can also dress casually for lunch, which was a plus for us because it was hot and we did a lot of walking around. I know many people recommend Jestines for Southern style comfort food, but frankly, we were underwhelmed. Sorry, but I can’t remember any of the other places we ate. One was maybe something Dog Deli?, which had good sandwiches, and a Southern cafe that was good and inexpensive. We stayed in Mt. Pleasant, which was just a few minutes over the bridge. Enjoy your trip.

 

[scrappydew]

We recently were visiting our son near Charleston. Here are some ideas
-Angel Oak tree (free)
-Charleston Tea Plantation (free/$14 trolley tour..military discount)
-Charleston Market(free, LOL)
-Waterfront Park (free)
-Charleston Aquarium ($30..military discount)
-Folly Beach ($10 to park)
-Cypress Gardens($10 ...military discount/$5 guided boat tour)
-Patriots Point ($25..military discount)
-movie at North woods mall - reclining seats!
We ate at:
-Tommy Condon's
-Rita's at Folly Beach
-Gilligans at John's Island
-Swig and Swine near the Market

Have fun!

 

[My2CrazyGirls]

We are headed to Savannah in November. I wanted to add a night to my existing hotel stay, but the rate is double. So we were considering maybe going up to Charleston for that night. Any suggestions on what to see or do or eat or whatever?

There is soooooo much to do in Charleston. I can't imagine going for just one night. I think it is way better than Savannah (but Savannah is nice too). Exactly how much time will you have in Charleston and where will you be staying?

 

[monkeydawn]

Carmella's for some of the some of the best desserts and drinks you can imagine. They also do sandwiches, we didnt try those but they were doing very healthy business.

 

[GoldenAfternoon]

Charleston is my favorite city Eli’s Table, Verde, Callie’s Hot Little Biscuit and Kudu coffee shop are several of our favorite places to grab a bite to eat. There are many walking tours that are enjoyable and will teach you a great deal of the rich history of the Holy City; SO worth the time. The Confederate Museum, Boone Hall Plantation and visiting the H. L. Hunley are also interesting Have fun exploring and wear comfy shoes

 

[ProudSoccerMom]

We visit Charleston every year. There’s no place like it anywhere. It is easily our favorite city. One night isn’t nearly enough time, though. If it were me, I’d go there instead of Savannah. ;-) Anyway, you’ve gotten some great suggestions above. I don’t want to repeat what people have already said, but I wanted to add a few things.

First, make dinner reservations ASAP. Some of our favorites in the historic district include Husk, Magnolias, SNOB, Charleston Grill and Peninsula Grill. The Obstinate Daughter on Sullivan’s Island also is wonderful (you will need to drive there).

I saw someone refer to “downtown” above. There is a definite distinction between downtown and the historic district. Downtown can include/border some very sketchy areas. You want to stay/be in the HD.

For lodging, the French Quarter Inn is amazing. And a great location in the HD. Walkable to everything.

I don’t think anyone mentioned the Ft. Sumter tour. It’s a 30 minute ferry ride each way to get out there and back, and you’ll have an hour to explore when you’re there. Truly an amazing thing to see.

If you do decide to go to a plantation, we love Magnolia Plantation. The gardens are amazing. You also can take a swamp boat tour.

Make time to just walk around. Be sure to walk to the Battery to check out the park and also the amazing homes down there.

If I can answer any specific questions, let me know. Have a wonderful time!

 

[cheryl.UK]

Perhaps the ferry over to Fort Sumpter? The ferry itself is a lovely ride and we found Fort Sumpter fascinating

 

[missnic]

Thanks for the suggestions! It turns out that we will not be able to leave as early as I wanted, so we decided that it's not worth the extra 2 hour drive for such a short stay. We're staying on Tybee that night instead.

After all of these suggestions, I'm now considering a full on weekend sometime soon!