What can I say – southern charm is real and it’s alive and well in Charleston, SC. Jetted down to the palmetto state last weekend and found myself mesmerized by the quaint & colorful city streets, spellbound & pained by the history and completely delighted by the burgeoning food scene.
The city brims with the kind of facts that leave you wondering how, in fact, you would’ve fared in such an era. Thomas Jefferson and other local diplomats signed the Declaration at Independence at 33 years old. At 33, the only thing I signed last weekend was restaurant checks, giddy with gratefulness to be visiting such an ‘Americana’ city.
Here’s the itinerary.
Passport Snapshot Who: Me & travel buddy, Rachel What: Long weekend trip When: Friday - Sunday in November Where: Charleston Why: Why not? How: JetBlue, on miles = $0 Spend: $875 per person Tip: No car needed if staying in Charleston proper; if visiting local plantations, recommend a car Budget Tip: Charleston is a foodie's paradise - condense 3 meals/day to 2 and go all out (we skipped breakfasts). Advance booking required for top dining destinations Fun Fact: Charleston was founded in 1670 as Charles Town, honoring King Charles II of England
Day 1, Friday
- Kick off the long weekend by heading straight into town from the airport for lunch at 5 Church. American cuisine with a touch of low country flair (try the Fried Chicken BLT), the restaurant & cocktail bar is housed in a former church with dramatic decor (the full text of “The Art of War” is hand-painted on the ceiling’s nave)
- Stroll through City Market, dating back to 1804, to admire locally produced sweetgrass baskets and other artisanal wares
- Wander the 14-block downtown marveling at homes adorned with “Charleston Green.” Explanation: the Union sent buckets of black paint for residents to repair their damaged homes after the Civil War. Rather than use ‘Yankee’ black, residents mixed in a yellow and created the distinctively dark, southern hue
- Check in at Hotel Indigo, Mt. Pleasant to freshen up before dinner (quick, 10 minute ride from downtown, $630 for 4 nights)
- Enjoy a late dinner at Chez Nous, a small, cozy neighborhood establishment featuring food & wine from Southern France, Northern Italy & Northern Spain. A daily, changing menu – handwritten by the chef – features 2 appetizers, 2 entreés & 2 desserts. We enjoyed the stuffed peppers, beef bourguignon and wreckfish, paired with a buttery chardonnay I’ll be buying again at home
5 Church 
Colors of Charleston 
Street scenes 
Anglican church 
“Charleston Green” example 
Charleston by night
Day 2, Saturday
- Get acquainted with the city’s history via the Historic Charleston Free Walking Tour. Running from 9:30-11:30am, guide Scott regales you with tales from the European & American history books that made Charleston what it is today, and the dark history that made the local economy hum (did you know ‘cotton gin’ was short for ‘cotton engine’?)
- Put your name in at 167 Raw and enjoy a glass of wine street-side while waiting for some of the freshest seafood of your life. Slowly savor the ceviche of the day before digging into a lobster roll (New England, who?). Tip: Request bar seats to have oysters shucked and handed to you in real-time from the ‘bros’ running the restaurant
- A sobering visit to the Old Slave Mart Museum offers a dose of needed perceptive, paying homage to the city’s enslaved peoples. At one point, as many as 40% of slaves entered the United States through Charleston
- Get to Husk, Charleston’s #1 restaurant, promptly at 5:15pm to add your name to the wait list. If you’re lucky, you’ll find yourself enjoying a low-country feast a few hours later and remember: if it didn’t come from the South, it’s not on the menu (think catfish, homemade pasta & hers and again, wreckfish)
Touring Charleston 
Colors of Charleston 
167 Raw 
Travel buddy 
Husk 
Husk fare
Day 3, Sunday
- Visit one or more of the many local plantations, just a 30 min drive from Charleston (Boone Hall is just 15 minutes)
- We chose Middleton Place due to its sprawling gardens and the House Museum, an original 1755 building. The tour is fascinating and showcases the Middleton family’s way of life and artifacts such as a written travel pass from Abraham Lincoln to one of the family members during the Cilvil War. However, it focuses on the plantation owner experience; to learn more about the enslaved people’s experience, it seems Boone Hall is a better option.
- Consider the 3pm “Savor the Flavors of Charleston” food tour if you’re looking for added context around the city’s culinary emergence. Fun fact, if i recall correctly: downtown Charleston only had 2 restaurants in the 1970’s; today it boasts more than 350
- Hit any last spots before packing up for your early Monday morning flight and dinner / a nightcap at The Ordinary. Housed in a former bank, the tuna toast, shisito peppers and Caribbean syle fish stew with carolina gold rice and the chocolate hazelnut budino – and the entire trip – were anything but….ordinary.
Middleton Place 
Lowcountry off the Ashley River
Other places to consider:
- The Grocery – locally sourced ingredients / top brunch
- Hall’s Chophouse – gospel brunch (Sunday’s)
- Water taxi to Sullivan’s Island and the surrounding area / Fort Sumpter
- Sunset drinks, Shem Creek – Mt Pleasant
- Magnolia Cemetery
Additional resources:
