3 days in Charleston

My husband and I are getting away for 3 days without kids for the first time in years. We have our hotel in the historic district - now please advise on what are don%26#39;t miss things for sight seeing.

3 days in Charleston

Please read through some of the recent Charleston posts and you will find answers to general ';what to see/do'; questions (carriage rides, plantations, etc.). Then, if you have specifics about your particular interests, please give us more information.

Here is a great link to get you started...

www.charlestoncvb.com

Enjoy!

3 days in Charleston

Also - when will you be here? There are many not-to-be-missed festivals.

Also check out ';Things to Do'; - many good links.

I have been reading the various posts, but it seems like I am more confused than ever. Bulldog ghost and graveyard tours are raved about by some people and completely slammed by others, there doesn%26#39;t seem to be any consensus on carriage rides, or if I only do 1 plantation should it be Boone or Magnolia? I won%26#39;t hold anyone responsible for their recommendations, but there%26#39;s a lot of conflicting information on the boards, and I%26#39;d like to hear from some people who went on a fabulous tour and would highly recommend it over anything else. I%26#39;ve never been to Charleston, and I%26#39;d like a chance to fall in love with the city as so many others already have. I%26#39;m a huge history buff, so even though I have read Fort Sumter was ';disappointing'; I%26#39;m afraid I still have to go for that one. Any advice is helpful, as I am overwhelmed by the variety of information.

We%26#39;ll be there the first week of April.

If you can only do one plantation, choose Middleton Place for the combination of historic home, gardens, historical accuracy, tours and displays, nice on-site restaurant for lunch.

As to ghost tours ...

Bulldog has become extremely popular, so their tours are often packed with too many people, IMHO. The only Bulldog tour I have taken was the ';Old Jail'; tour. The guide was excellent, extremely well informed on social history and a good story teller. I do not recommend the old jail tour for you because the old jail was, for obvious reasons, located outside the elegant residential areas. The old jail tour will not guide you through the beautiful gas-lit streets.

I suggest that you look through the various online offerings for ghost tours, or speak with the rep at the CVB visitors center. Choose based on the information in the website or discussion.

Another pointer - If a company suggests a minimum age for participants, that may suggest that the tour is more appropriate for adults who are interested in the history and lore of the city, rather than in ';spooky stories';.

I agree that if you can only do one plantation, Middleton Place would be my choice.

If you are really a history buff, Fort Sumter is very interesting. If you are not, it is a big brick compound on a very small island with a great boat ride. Everyone has their own interest and likes.

I will also be in Charleston for 3 nights and 2 days in late March before driving east to visit a relative. Is there really enough to do to fill 2 full days in Charleston? Yes I am serious.

Charleston has the largest concentration of easily-accessed cultural activities, probably in the whole U.S. In a few short easy-to-walk blocks you can visit the insides of homes built in the 1700%26#39;s and go to a modern museum or watch dolphins in the river or take a cruise under an ultra-modern suspension bridge to a Civil War fort. You can walk on cobblestone streets laid with stone ballast from ships that frequented the area hundreds of years ago and know that where you%26#39;re standing might have been marshland at that tiime. You can dine in restaurants whose chefs have won the highest national acclaim or sip locally-made brews in a brewpub. You%26#39;re minutes from the only Tea-making facility in the whole U.S. and on the way you can stop and see one of the oldest living things known to man. You can visit places that George Washington would be familar with and eat a southern ';supper'; on the porch of an old home turned restaurant. Make a scavenger hunt to take photos of the works of a Smithsonian contributor whose artistry adorns private homes and churches around the city. Spend time in the garden with a city in it (that line I think is borrowed from the Historic Society%26#39;s brochure). Visit a city where people don%26#39;t brag about the age of their homes unless the first two digits of their build date are 17 or 18, and where the city planning and zoning does everything they can to make sure the city looks the same in 150 years as it did 150 years ago. In just a few minutes drive you can visit the country%26#39;s oldest continuously operated plantation during the morning and have lunch near a beautiful beach and swim in the warmest water with the softest sandy bottom. I could go on AND ON, but seriously two days is going to want you coming back for more!

And which way is east from Charleston?

LOL! Obviously I meant we were going west -- unless there are some islands to explore.

Sorry