A Guide to Charleston

Historic Charleston, named after King Charles II of England and South Carolina’s first capital, was founded in 1670. Situated on the tip of a peninsula on the Atlantic Coast between the Ashley and Cooper Rivers, Charleston is one of the loveliest of the Southeast cities. It bursts with old world charm in the form of many antebellum buildings which survived the Civil War, shady plantations, lush parks, green swamps and exotic gardens. Tobacco, rice and indigo plantations accounted for its wealth, while it achieved fame by staging the first battle of the Civil War at Fort Sumter.

Military and history enthusiasts will enjoy a boat tour to the fort, a National Monument on an island at the entrance to Charleston harbour. Union troops had held the fort but after a 34-hour continuous barrage, capitulated to the Confederates in April 1861.

The Historic District in downtown reflects the city’s Colonial and early American past. The architecture varies from Colonial, Georgian, Greek, Gothic Revival, Victorian and Italianate. Church steeples are the tallest structures in this elegant, sophisticated city. Take a leisurely horse-and-carriage ride through the tree-lined streets to imbibe the spirit of the city, passing the Gothic French Huguenot Church, south of the Old City Market in Church Street, the old magazine and, the pièce de résistance, Heyward-Washington House. Built as a townhouse in 1772 by rice planter Daniel Heyward, it contains locally-made furniture. Close by is the once notoriously busy Old Slave Mart. Edmondston-Alston House, another grand mansion at the Battery, overlooks the harbour.

Two parks to see in the vicinity are White Point Gardens in the south and Waterfront Park, featuring a walk-through fountain, in the north opposite many fine restaurants. Glimpses of secret gardens and spectacular views of the harbour can be seen along cobblestone alleys.

The Charleston Museum in Meeting Street contains pre-Colonial exhibits, including dug-out canoes in the Native American gallery, and skeletons of prehistoric animals in the Natural History gallery.

The Gibbes Museum of Art, west of the Waterfront, exhibits landscape paintings and portraits of South Carolinians.

South Carolina Aquarium overlooks the harbour and is home to diverse indigenous creatures from the Appalachian rivers, black water swamps, salt marshes and coral reefs.

Take a tour of three plantation mansions, a short way up the Ashley River. Middleton Place, built in 1755, is the most impressive overlooking the nation’s oldest landscaped garden. Nearby Drayton Hall, built in 1738 in Georgian Palladium-style, has been restored to its original glory with no plumbing or electricity. Magnolia Plantation, whose mansion is less grand than the former two, makes up for this with its acres of stunning formal gardens along the riverfront. Stroll down the pathways that lead to the lush and serene Audubon Swamp Gardens.