Things to see in: Charleston, SC
 

The girlfriend and I decided to go on a little vacation, and chose Charleston, SC as we've both heard good (yet non-specific) things about it. So I turn to you, the PPOT Brain Trust.

We'll be there in early June. The obvious thing to see is Fort Sumter NP, but what else is a must-see? Good places to eat? Stay?

The Husk for dinner - better get your reservations now! Charleston Grill was also good - had our Anniversary dinner there back in December. Take at least 1 carriage ride through town for some history and architectural sightseeing. Also visit the Market downtown. Drive over to Mt Pleasant and visit the Yorktown Carrier - pay the extra few $$ for the audio tour with receiver/headsets. We stayed at St. Francis Marion hotel - room 1212 is a corner room with a fantastic view - King size bed!

Spoleto Festival:

https://spoletousa.org/

I have been a number of times.

Hit Toast for breakfast. It's on Meeting St right downtown. They have the BEST traditional southern breakfast, with great southern style bloody marys. Lot's of art galleries in the area.

I enjoyed Charleston Grill a lot...But it's not cheap. Expect a $250 dinner with wine and an appetizer. I went in flip flops and cargo shorts...Most men had dinner jackets.

Take a buggy tour for sure. The history around the Battery and the slave market is amazing.

Head to Patriots Point and visit the USS Yorktown aircraft carrier and USS Glagamore Submarine museums. Lots of restored WWII planes and navy history.

Charleston is a walking city.

You want to stay in the heart of downtown. The question of where to stay is how much do you want to spend and does it need to be historic? I like the Courtyard by Marriott in the historic district. Easy parking and typically a little cheaper than the other places. The Francis Marion Hotel is nice but more expensive.

For food, it is hard to go wrong. Glazed is a donut shop on King St that is excellent. Every day different flavors and once they are gone, they are gone. For Lunch i like The Tattooed Moose (excellent duck club sandwich) or anything on King St. I like Magnolia or SNOB but bad restaurants do not last long here. You could eat most places downtown and get a great meal.

You can catch a ferry to Patriot's Point from the Charleston side near the aquarium. It's an easy walk from the hotels I mentioned and it is a nice trip.

In June it will be very busy. You will need reservations to eat.

And a warning: the humidity in June in Charleston is not for the faint of heart.

Most of all Have fun!

Yes walk, take in the homes and churches.

I stayed at the Palmer Home Bed and Breakfast:

Welcome To The Palmer Home Bed & Breakfast | Charleston, SC

Had our own balcony outside our room with view of the water and the Park....Could walk to everything in the Historic district. Wine tasting on the deck with the owner in the evening. Highly recommend.

Southern peaches ;)

South kakalacki?? and I have no idea what that means.

We visited in late December and were a bit underwhelmed. Going to have to go again when its warmer and busier to really appreciate it. Have fun!

Good tip from Craig regarding dress code. I made thr same observation

Charleston Grill - I went in suit, wife in nice dress - and it was right about $250 out the door (wine, appetizer, dinner). Got "priority seating" due to our Anniversary. Some other diners just showed up in jeans though.

Oh - we ate breakfast one morning at Virginia's. They seemed to be rather busy and looked nice, so we expected a worthwhile meal. We were very disappointed. Biscuits were the closest thing to hardtack I've ever had - almost like eating a salt brick. Everything else was just about as bad.

Stilettos Gentlemen's Club | Charleston Strip Club | Charleston, SC
GoodFellas Cabaret | Charleston Strip Club | Charleston, SC
Club Fantasy Strip Club North Charleston, SC
Club Gemini, North Charleston, SC
King Street Cabaret

We always stay at the Vendue. It's a beautiful, historic place within sight of the waterfront at East Bay, near tons of restaurants. The staff and service are great.
You'll be there in time for Spoleto, so take advantage of that. We are sponsoring a wine bar at one of the venues (not sure which one yet). If you see a sign that says, "Charlie Magazine" tell them drinks are on Patrick!
edit:
No, wait. Tell them YOUR drinks are on Patrick. Buying for everyone could get expensive.

Yes, the above is all good. The summer: June, July and August are very humid and the stench of horse urine just hangs in the air.

To put things in perspective, going west / north west outside of the city, poverty is abound - very depressing.

Charleston
 

If you like the historical stuff, see the Hunley (Confederate submarine) at the old Naval base. Also, the Charleston museum has lots of interesting things including a terrific display of silverware. The buggy rides are fun and some of the tour homes are worth seeing.

Thanks for all the good ideas... Definitely have a list to research now. And I had a pretty good idea about the humidity being miserable, but June is really the earliest that our work schedules aligned.

+1 Husk is awesome for dinner!

My observation about dress codes in SC is a little different, Seems like there are two choices to fit in and look like a local.

T-shirt, jeans, drunk as hell,

and

Well-dressed, button shirt, slacks, nice shoes, and drunk as hell.


Mostly kidding!! SmileWavy

Several Restaurant recommendations for you:

Pearlz- great casual oyster/shrimp bar $

Magnolia - classic low country mainstay exceptional food and service $$

Hals Steakhouse - high end steakhouse great atmosphere locals favorite $$$

Sermets Corner - trendy upscale bistro fare $$

Have fun - Great City - you'll want to return soon

Moultrie is worth a visit as well - there's more to see there than at Sumter.

Lots of things have already been mentioned... there are lots of houses to tour, and the Provost is good too.

BTW it'll be hot, but not hot as ****. That comes in July-early September.