Top 15 Must See Attractions and
Fun Things to do in Charleston, SC

The Battery & White Point Gardens

(843) 724-7327

The Battery is one of the most famous landmarks in the city. The seawall stretches from the lower shores of the peninsula and was formerly used for defensive purposes. Along the city's southern tip is a row of Southern-style mansions overlooking Charleston Harbor and was formerly the heart and soul of the city's maritime activity. The Battery is famous for its stately antebellum homes.

White Point Gardens is 5.7 acres and stretches along the city's southern tip. Visitors can have excellent views of the Fort Sumter and Charleston harbor from the White Point Garden. The park has numerous old oak trees and plenty of open spaces.There you will find paved paths, a gazebo, military statues and monuments, cannons and picnic areas as well as several Civil War relics and memorials commemorate the city's role in the battle. Along East Battery are the 11-inch Dahlgren gun that fired shells at For Sumter in 1863 and two Confederate columbiads (large cannons) that were used in the defense of Fort Sumter. On Murray Blvd. there are several more artillery pieces: a rare 7-inch Brooke rifle (a large cannon) that was found at Fort Johnson and four 13-inch Union mortars (weighing 17,000 pounds each). On the King Street side is a 1918 World War I howitze.

Time to spend: 2 hours to half-day

Nathaniel Russell House

Nathaniel Russell House

Nathaniel Russell House

(843) 724-8481

Nathaniel Russell House is a historic house built by the wealthy shipping merchant Nathaniel Russell in 1808. It is one of the most significant neoclassical houses in the United States. One interesting feature in the house is an elliptical spiral staircase which ascends three floors. The Adamesque ornamentation of the fireplaces' mantles and cornices are among the most detailed in the city. This 19th-century mansion is home to an extraordinary circular dining room and self-supporting three-story spiral staircase.

A visit to the Nathaniel Russell House provides a detailed understanding of wealthy families during the economic booms of the 19th century. The house has three main rooms on each floor with diverse geometric designs - a front rectangular room, a center oval room and a square room in the back.

There are slave quarters behind the house which were used to accommodate 18 slaves who served the Nathaniel Russell House.

An exhibition in the original kitchen house highlights artifacts uncovered during archaeological investigations at the site—pottery sherds, beads, and part of a slave tag. These objects reveal the everyday duties performed by slaves and the spiritual beliefs of the enslaved men and women that maintained the grand townhouse.

Today, the interiors are restored to their original 1808 grandeur and surrounded by formal gardens.

Time to spend: 2 hours

Hours:
Monday - Saturday 10:00a - 5:00p
Sunday: 2:00p - 5:00p

Calhoun Mansion Museum

Calhoun Mansion Museum

Calhoun Mansion Museum

The Calhoun Mansion is a 24,000 square foot 35-room Italianate mansion built in 1876 at a cost of around $200,00 and the lot was purchased at $40,000.The construction of the house took five years. The Italianate style home consists of 35 rooms and 23 period fireplaces. It was once the finest private residence in South Carolina. The 24,000-square-foot gilded-age mansion is equipped with 30 well decorated rooms and five smaller rooms.

The grand entrance hall is 14 feet high by 14 feet wide and is 65 feet in length. The house has 14 foot ceilings, ornate plaster and wood moldings, elaborate chandeliers, a stairwell that reaches to a 75 foot domed ceiling, and a music room with a 45 foot covered glass skylight. The Mansion also includes beautiful decorative paintings and lighting designed and installed by Louis Comfort Tiffany at the turn of the twentieth century. The Calhoun Mansion also features original walnut and oak woodwork, gas chandeliers, and Minton encaustic tiles. It still remains the largest single family residence private home and house museum in Charleston. On a visit to Calhoun Mansion, make sure to explore the beautiful gardens surrounding the house.

Guided tours are conducted every hour and a half with a knowledgeable guide who shares original stories related to the house all through the tour.

One of the locations used in the filming of Nichaolas Spark's "The Notebook".

Time to spend: Half day

Tours:
Begin at 11:00a on the hour and half-hour (Last tour is at 5:00p)

Seasonal Schedule
December - February Tours: 11:00a - 4:30p Daily
March - November: 11:00a - 5:00p Daily
Thanksgiving Day & Christmas Day: Closed

Waterfront Park

Waterfront Park

Waterfront Park

Waterfront Park is a twelve-acre park along approximatley one-half mile of the Cooper River in Charleston. Waterfront Park opened in 1990 and one of the most visited parks in South Carolina which offers amazing views of the Charleston Harbor. Gardens, fountains, walking paths and numerous park benches are all available on the property. One of the attractions is the large fountain at the northern entrance of the park with a wooden pier that extends to the Cooper River. A floating dock near the fountain offers clear views of the Ravenel Bridge, Charleston Harbor, Castle Pinckney, the U.S.S. Yorktown at Patriot's Point and Fort Sumter. It is also a good place to sit, relax and watch the sailboats cruising the waters and large ships heading in and out of the harbor.

The park has two fountains for children to enjoy splashing in the water during hot summer days. One of the fountains is the famous Charleston Pineapple Fountain which resembles a pineapple.

Time to spend: 1 - 2 hours

Charleston City Market

Charleston City Market

Charleston City Market

The Charleston City Market was established in the 1790s. The market covers four city blocks which included the significant Market Hall, which faces Meeting Street, through a continuous series of one-story market sheds, the last of which terminates at East Bay Street. The Market Hall has been described as a building of the "highest architectural design quality.

The main building was built in 1841 and is an apparent modification of the Grecian-Doric temple of "The Wingless Victory" at Athens. The cornice is ornamented with ram's and bull's heads, a survival of the Greek custom of hanging in the temple skulls of animals sacrificed to the gods, later symbolized in conventional architecture.

Charleston's City Market was developed as a replacement for the city's Beef Market building which burned in 1796. Market Hall was added in the early 1840s. Throughout the 19th century, the market provided a convenient place for area farms and plantations to sell beef and produce, and also acted as a place for locals to gather and socialize. It is one of the major and oldest public markets in the United States.Today, the City Market has over 300  vendors who sell souvenirs and other items ranging from jewelry to Gullahsweetgrass baskets.

Time to spend: 1 hour to half day

Hours:
Sunday - Saturday:  9:30a - 5:00p
Night Hours:
Friday - Saturday: 6:30p - 10:30p

Old Exchange & Provost Dungeon

Old Exchange & Provost Dungeon

Old Exchange & Provost Dungeon

(843) 727-2165

The Exchange and Provost, also known as the Custom House, was where many significant events of the American Revolution and early Federal period occurred. The Old Exchange and Provost Dungeon is considered as one of the oldest historic buildings here. Provost Dungeon was used to chain the prisoners held by the British during the Revolutionary War.

As Charleston became the South's largest port, the Exchange and Custom House was built from 1767 to 1771 for the expanding shipping industry, but also served as a public market and meeting place. Confiscated tea was stored in the building in 1774 after the protest meeting against the Tea Act. The British used the building as barracks and the basement as a military prison during the Revolutionary War. The State Legislature met in the building in 1788 after the Statehouse was destroyed and in 1791 a grand ball was held here for George Washington when he visited Charleston.

The symmetrical Georgian style building is two stories with an elevated basement and hipped roof. The central projecting pavilion on the main side of the building and tall Palladian windows are typical classical details of the Georgian period. Originally the building fronted the harbor, but during the past two centuries several blocks have been created by landfill between the Exchange and the water. In the 19th century the building was used mainly as a post office and customhouse. In 1879 a new United States Custom House was built and the Exchange was no longer needed to conduct Port business.

Visitors can tour its three floors that highlight numerous features of Charleston history throughout the Colonial and Revolutionary periods.

Time to spend: 2 hours to half-day

Hours: Open daily 9:00a - 5:00p