Charleston

Around Charleston

Photo: George N. Barnard / Adam Cuerden · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Metro area · South Carolina · 869k people

Charleston

Locals say Lowcountry · “Chucktown”

Charleston · North Charleston

Where marsh meets sea and history breathes.

Charleston greenOcean bluePalmetto green

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Welcome to the Lowcountry! Get ready for sweet tea, marsh views, and some serious seafood. Whether you're here for the history or the beaches, you'll find your place.

Clubs for Charleston

No clubs for Charleston yet.

The room

One room for everyone around Charleston. It never closes; when it's busy it splits into tables. Once you're in, you stay until you leave.

Ask the neighbours

All

A good plumber, the best tacos, a lost cat: nobody has asked yet. Be the first.

Coming up

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Marketplace

Things for sale, free and wanted, and rooms for rent, from people around Charleston. Sign in to sell something.

Things to do

  • Fort Sumter National Monument Where the Civil War began; ferry from the harbor.
  • Charleston City Market Historic market for crafts, sweetgrass baskets, and food.
  • The Battery Seawall with historic mansions and harbor views.
  • Rainbow Row Colorful Georgian houses on East Bay Street.
  • Magnolia Plantation and Gardens Azalea gardens and wildlife.
  • Middleton Place America's oldest landscaped gardens.
  • Outdoors Kayak the salt marshes
  • Outdoors Surf or swim at Folly Beach
  • With kids South Carolina Aquarium
  • With kids Children's Museum of the Lowcountry
  • Evenings Bar hop on King Street
  • Evenings Live music at the Music Farm
  • Locals love Beach bars
  • Locals love Seafood shacks

Through the year

  • Spoleto Festival USA May-June World-class performing arts festival.
  • Charleston Wine + Food Festival March Culinary events with top chefs.
  • Southeastern Wildlife Exposition February Wildlife art and conservation expo.
  • Lowcountry Oyster Festival January Oyster eating and shucking contests.
  • Cooper River Bridge Run April 10K across the Ravenel Bridge.

Charleston has a humid subtropical climate with hot, muggy summers and mild winters. The best times to be out are spring and fall. Best: Spring (March-May) and fall (September-November)

Talk like a local

“pluff mud”
The strong-smelling mud of the salt marshes
“lowcountry”
The coastal region of South Carolina
“sandlapper”
A nickname for a native South Carolinian
“sweet tea”
Heavily sweetened iced tea, a local staple

Getaways

Local flavour

Teams

  • College of Charleston Cougars NCAA Division I
  • The Citadel Bulldogs NCAA Division I
  • Charleston Southern Buccaneers NCAA Division I
  • Charleston Battery USL Championship
  • South Carolina Stingrays ECHL

Eat and drink

  • shrimp and grits Lowcountry classic
  • she-crab soup Creamy, local crab
  • Frogmore stew (Lowcountry boil) One-pot seafood boil
  • boiled peanuts Southern snack
  • sweet tea Iced tea with sugar
  • oyster roasts Community tradition
  • benne wafers Sesame cookies

Where people go

  • historic plantations Antebellum estates
  • beaches (Folly, Isle of Palms) Sandy shores
  • marsh boardwalks Scenic walks over wetlands
  • seafood shacks Casual dining
  • historic downtown Cobblestone streets, antebellum architecture
  • The Battery Seawall promenade

Heritage and traditions

The Lowcountry is proud of its Gullah-Geechee heritage, historic architecture, and the unique blend of Southern hospitality with a coastal, Caribbean-influenced culture.

This time of year in Charleston

  • Lowcountry boil gatherings fall Fall tradition of cooking Frogmore stew for friends.
  • MOJA Arts Festival fall Celebrates African-American and Caribbean arts.
  • Taste of Charleston fall Sample dishes from area restaurants.

Say it like a local: “Fixin' to” — Preparing to do something

Festivals

  • MOJA Arts Festival fall Celebrates African-American and Caribbean arts.
  • Piccolo Spoleto summer Local counterpart to Spoleto, with performances and art.
  • Taste of Charleston fall Sample dishes from area restaurants.
  • Lowcountry Cajun Festival spring Cajun and Lowcountry food, music, and culture.
  • Charleston Wine + Food Festival spring Celebrates culinary arts with tastings and seminars.
  • Charleston Jazz Festival winter Jazz performances across the city.

Landmarks with a story

  • Old Slave Mart Museum Tells the story of the domestic slave trade.
  • Aiken-Rhett House Preserved antebellum townhouse with original interiors.
  • Nathaniel Russell House Federal-style architecture with a famous flying staircase.
  • French Huguenot Church One of the oldest Huguenot congregations in the US.
  • St. Michael's Church Oldest church building in Charleston, dating to 1761.
  • Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim One of the oldest synagogues in the US, founded in 1749.

Food traditions

  • Hoppin' John Black-eyed peas and rice, eaten on New Year's Day for good luck; brought by West African slaves.
  • Carolina Gold rice A historic rice strain that built the region's economy, used in pilau and other dishes.
  • Perloo (pilau) A one-pot rice dish with meat or seafood, a Gullah staple.

Music and arts

  • Sweetgrass basket weaving A Gullah craft using native sweetgrass.
  • Gullah Geechee music and storytelling Preserving African traditions through song and narrative.
  • Charleston Renaissance Early 20th-century art movement featuring local landscapes and scenes.
  • Jazz scene Historic jazz venues and the annual Charleston Jazz Festival.

A little history

  • 1670 Founding of Charles Town
  • 1861 Civil War begins with the attack on Fort Sumter
  • 1886 A major earthquake strikes Charleston
  • 1970s Historic preservation movement revitalizes downtown
  • 18th-19th centuries Development of Gullah Geechee culture by enslaved Africans

Rivalries

  • College of Charleston vs The Citadel Crosstown basketball rivalry
  • Game day Citadel football tailgates
  • Game day Cooper River Bridge Run
  • Outdoors Fishing in the saltwater creeks
  • Outdoors Crabbing off a dock
  • With kids Carriage rides through historic downtown
  • With kids Watching dolphins at Shem Creek

The Lowcountry accent is a slow, Southern drawl with Gullah influences, often dropping 'r's and using phrases like 'y'all' and 'fixin' to'. Gullah words like 'benne' and 'piazzas' are still used.

Only here

  • Sweetgrass baskets woven from native sweetgrass, a Gullah tradition.
  • The single house architecture, with side piazzas facing south.
  • The Gullah language, a Creole spoken in the sea islands.
  • The Charleston Tea Plantation, the only tea plantation in the US.
New here? A few tips
  • Learn to say 'Charleston' as 'CHARL-stun' – the 't' is soft.
  • Prepare for high humidity in summer; dress in light layers.
  • Try the seafood – shrimp, oysters, and she-crab soup are local musts.
  • Be aware of I-26 traffic during rush hour; plan accordingly.
  • Take a carriage tour early to learn the city's history and layout.

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Nearby

Every area
WalterboroSouth CarolinaWhere the rivers run black and the oaks hang low.Murrells InletSouth CarolinaSalt air, marsh grass, and a plate of shrimpHilton Head IslandSouth CarolinaSalt-washed days and sweet tea nightsManningSouth CarolinaWhere the pines meet the waterOrangeburgSouth CarolinaWhere peaches and Bulldogs grow.SumterSouth CarolinaWhere Southern spirit takes flightSavannahGeorgiaMoss-draped oaks and riverfront charm.Myrtle BeachSouth CarolinaSalt air, sea breeze, and endless summer days.

Charleston-North Charleston, SC. Areas from the US Census Bureau and Statistics Canada; places from GeoNames. Local flavour was written with a model and may have mistakes. Team names identify teams; no endorsement.

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