Charleston Area Local Attractions

Gibbes Museum of Art

Opened in 1905, the Gibbes Museum of Art houses a nationally significant collection of American and European paintings reflecting Charleston's past and present. From portraits and landscapes of the Colonial South to the era of Porgy and Bess and the preservation of America's most beautiful city, visitors come face to face with Charleston's history. Each year, the Gibbes presents dozens of quality exhibits by artist of regional, national, or international stature.

Charleston Museum

The Charleston Museum, founded in 1773, is the first and oldest museum in America. The museum exhibits the largest silver collection in Charleston, early crafts and historic relics. Additionally there is an interactive “Discover Me” room for children to learn and play. Since 1773, the Charleston Museum has collected and preserved artifacts pertaining to the cultural and natural history of the Low Country. Visitors of all ages will be transported back through time, viewing everything from ancient fossils and an enormous whale skeleton to elegant costumes and Charleston silver. The museum also is noted for its exhibits on African-American history, crafts and slavery. Celebrate history and enjoy the eclectic array of Charleston's most cherished treasures.

Calhoun Mansion

An architectural treasure, this 1876 Victorian showplace is complete with period furnishings, including a few original pieces. The antiques decorating the house were brought from all over the world. There are porcelain-and-etched-glass gas chandeliers; cherry, oak, and walnut woodwork. A freestanding spiral staircase reflects the hull of a ship it is one of the many remarkable features of this house.

Cypress Gardens

This swamp garden was used as a freshwater reserve for a rice plantation, and was then given to the city in 1963. Today, the giant cypress trees draped with Spanish moss provide an unforgettable setting for flat-bottom boats that glide among their knobby roots. Enjoy a walk through the butterfly house. Follow the footpaths in the garden and enjoy the abundance of azaleas, camellias, daffodils, and other colorful blooms. Visitors share the swamp with alligators, woodpeckers, wood ducks, otters, barred owls, and other species. The gardens are worth a visit at any time of year.

Edmondston-Alston House

The house was built by Charles Edmondston in 1825 on High Battery, an elegant section of Charleston, It was one of the earliest dwellings constructed in the city in the late Federalist style. Charles Alston, a Low Country rice planter, bought it from Edmondston who modified it in Greek Revival style. The house has remained in the Alston family, which opened the first two floors to visitors. Inside are heirloom furnishings, silver, books and paintings. A house worth visiting for its rich history.

Fort Sumter National Monument

It was here that the first shot of the Civil War was fired on April 12, 1861. Confederate forces launched a 34-hour bombardment of the fort. Union forces eventually surrendered, and the Rebels occupied federal ground that became a symbol of Southern resistance. This action, however, led to a declaration of war in Washington. Amazingly, Confederate troops held onto Sumter for nearly 4 years, although it was almost continually bombarded by the Union. When evacuation finally came, the fort was nothing but a heap of rubble. Fort Sumter became a National Monument in 1948.

Heyward-Washington House

In a district of Charleston called Cabbage Row, this 1772 house was built by Daniel Heyward, called "the rice king,". It was also the home of Daniel’s son, Thomas Heyward, Jr., a signer of the Declaration of Independence. President George Washington stayed down here in 1791. Many of the pieces in the house are the work of Thomas Elfe, one of America's most famous cabinetmakers. The restored 18th-century kitchen is the only historic kitchen in the city that is open to the public. The kitchen stands behind the main house, along with the servants' quarters and the garden. It was recognized as a National Historic Landmark in 1978.

Joseph Manigault House

This 1803 Adams-style residence, a National Historic Landmark, was a wealthy rice planter's home. Designed by architect Gabriel Manigault for his brother, Joseph, this three-story brick town-house is an exceptional example of Adam-style, or Federal, architecture. The Manigaults descended from French Huguenots who came to America to escape persecution in Europe. Joseph owned plantations, sat in the state legislature, and was a trustee of the College of Charleston. Gabriel, who owned plantations and commercial investments, is credited with designing Charleston’s City Hall and the South Carolina Society Hall. The house features a curving central staircase and an outstanding collection of Charlestonian, American, English, and French period furnishings.

Nathaniel Russell House

Another fine example of Federal architecture, this 1808 house was completed by Nathaniel Russell, one of Charleston's richest merchants. It is celebrated architecturally for its "free-flying" staircase, spiraling unsupported for three floors. The staircase's elliptical shape is repeated throughout the house. The interiors of the house are decorated with period pieces, especially the elegant music room with its golden harp and neoclassical-style sofa.

Old Exchange & Provost Dungeon

One of America’s most historically significant colonial buildings in the United States. Completed in 1771 during Charles Town’s Golden Age, this building quickly became the commercial, political and social center of the most prosperous of Britain’s thirteen American colonies. Then it served as a prison during the American Revolution. In 1873, the building became City Hall. It holds a large collection of antique chairs, supplied by the local Daughters of the American Revolution, each of whom brought a chair here from home in 1921. A “must see” when visiting Charleston.

The Citadel

The Citadel was established in 1842 as an arsenal and a refuge for whites in the event of a slave uprising. In 1861, the Corps of Cadets were made part of the military organization of the state and were known as The Battalion of State Cadets. The Citadel ceased operation as a college when Union troops entered Charleston and occupied the site. It reopened again in 1882 with an enrollment of 185 cadets The Citadel had outgrown its campus on Marion Square, despite numerous building additions, and could accommodate only 325 students. In 1918, the City of Charleston gave the State of South Carolina one hundred seventy six acres on the banks of the Ashley River for a new campus. In 1922 the college moved to its current location.

Today, the picturesque campus contains twenty-four major buildings. There is an enrollment of approximately 1,900 cadets and nineteen degree programs are offered. Women were admitted into the Corps of Cadets in 1996. The College of Graduate and Professional Studies offers, during the evening and summer, coeducational undergraduate and graduate degree programs. The U.S. News & World Report has ranked The Citadel among the best colleges in the region in their surveys of "America's Best Colleges."

Palmetto Islands County Park

Next to Boone Hall plantation, the Palmetto Islands County Park is a nature-oriented, 943 acre park designed for family and groups use. It offers more organized fun in the form of a big toy playground, mile-long canoe trails, picnic sites, an observation tower, a water playground, toddler slides, marsh boardwalks, and plenty of jogging trails and bicycle paths. Bordering Boone Hall Creek are public fishing and boating docks.

Aiken-Rhett House

Built in 1818 then expanded and remodeled by Gov. William Aiken Jr., this palatial town residence showcases city life in antebellum Charleston. Aiken and his wife traveled to Europe and bought magnificent crystal and bronze chandeliers, classical sculptures and paintings to furnish the house. Many of these objects still remain. The intact work yard is one of the nation's most complete and compelling examples of African-American urban life. Original outbuildings include the kitchens, slave quarters, stables, privies and cattle sheds.

Avery Research Center

This beautifully restored site of Avery School (c.1865) is now a research center to document and preserve the history and cultural heritage of Lowcountry African-Americans. Nearly 100 manuscripts and photograph collections are archived here, and the center sponsors lectures, films and exhibits related to African culture, civil rights and African-American history. A restored c. 19th-century classroom provides a look at African-American education from 1865 to 1954.

Denmark Vesey's House & Marker

Born into slavery in the Virgin Islands, Vesey purchased his freedom from his Charleston slave holder and settled into life as a carpenter on Bull Street. In 1821 Vesey home was the meeting place to organize what is considered the most extensive black insurrection in American history, involving thousands of free and enslaved blacks in the Charleston area. Set for July 12, 1822, word of the plot leaked out and Vesey and 36 others were hanged for their roles. The house is a National Historic Landmark.

Dock Street Theatre

The first theatre in the colonies, Dock Street opened in 1736 and was lost in the fire of 1740. The Planters Hotel opened on the site in 1809 and thrived until the 1860s, when it was damaged during the war and left derelict. The preservation of the hotel in the mid 1930s included a reconstructed theatre. The theatre has been in constant use since 1937 and is a major venue for Spoleto Festival USA each spring. Pre-booked tours are arranged when possible. Charleston Stage Company is South Carolina's largest professional theatre company and resides at the historic Dock Street Theatre. Charleston Stage offers popular Broadway musicals, award winning dramas and world premiere original works. Find out more about Charleston Stage at www.charlestonstage.com. Many other production companies perform at the Dock Street Theatre.

Eliza's House

This 19th-century two-family Freedman's cabin is on the grounds of Middleton Place, a National Historic Landmark and a carefully preserved 18th-century plantation. The plantation includes America's oldest landscaped gardens and a Colonial period stableyard, which are open for tours.

Historic Charleston Foundation Preservation Center

Shop features a film and exhibits that showcase Charleston's architectural history. A gift shop contains an extensive selection of books on Charleston culture, architecture and history. A separate shop with 18th- and 19th-century Charleston reproduction furniture and gifts is at 105 Broad St..

Old Powder Magazine

The only public building remaining in North or South Carolina from the period of the Lord Proprietors and the old public building (c. 1713) in the city of Charleston. The building was used to store munitions for the city's defense against repeated onslaughts from marauding Spanish naval vessels based in St. Augustine. Although replaced by a newer magazine in 1748, it continued to serve its purpose into the American Revolution. Restored to its mid-19th century appearance, the magazine is open as a National Historic Landmark with exhibits on early Colonial Charleston. The historic Charleston Foundation offers an exciting audio tour of this historic property.

Patriots Point Naval and Maritime Museum

Located on historic Charleston Harbor, Patriots Point is home to USS YORKTOWN, the Fighting Lady. The first USS YORKTOWN sank at the battle of Midway on June 7, 1942. Onboard the decks of this famous World War II aircraft carrier, you can relive a momentous time in America's history. The Fighting Lady contains all the evidence of her past; one can see, touch, feel and smell the past, where young Americans fought and died to turn the fortunes of war in the Pacific.

Moored next to her is USS LAFFEY, a World War II destroyer. LAFFEY survived the onslaught of Japanese kamikaze attacks while off Okinawa as Radar Picket Station #1 on April 16, 1945. She became known as "the ship that wouldn't die."

Also moored alongside are the United States Coast Guard cutter INGHAM, which fought in the convoy battles of the North Atlantic and sank a German U-boat; and the diesel attack submarine USS CLAMAGORE.

Onboard YORKTOWN are dozens of displays devoted to maritime and naval history, the Congressional Medal of Honor Society's museum and headquarters, and more than two dozen historic military aircraft are on exhibit. Ashore is a full-size Navy Advance Tactical Support Base from the Vietnam era, and our gift shop.

Slave Mart Museum

The Old Slave Mart, located on one of Charleston’s few remaining cobblestone street, is the only known building used as a slave auction gallery. The last auctions at this market were in 1863. Presentations here narrate the African-American experience in Charleston and the SC Lowcountry from their arrival in 1670 to the modern Civil Rights movement. Permanent exhibits explore the African sources from which African American culture emerged, the middle passage, Caribbean influences on America, slavery, emancipation, reconstruction, arts, cuisine and the movement towards civil rights.

South Carolina Aquarium

In the Aquarium visitors can explore Southern aquatic life in an attraction filled with thousands of creatures and plants in astonishing habitats. The brand new attraction is a 93,000-square-foot aquarium featuring a two-story Great Ocean Tank Exhibition. Contained within are some 800 animals, including sharks, sea turtles and stingrays. Every afternoon the aquarium offers a dolphin program, where bottle-nosed dolphins can be viewed from an open-air terrace. An interesting exhibit is the replicate of a blackwater swamp, with atmospheric fog, a spongy floor, and twinkling lights.

St. Johannes Lutheran Church

Built in 1841, this church is known for its simplistic beauty and stained glass. It's been called an architectural gem in the heart of Ansonborough. Well known Charleston architect E. B. White designed the Greek Revival sanctuary. In 1872, the congregation of mostly German speaking people moved to the present sanctuary of St. Matthews Lutheran Church on Marion Square, but many returned to the Ansonborough location to found St. Johannes in 1878. German was the language of the congregation until 1910.

St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church & Graveyard

It was established in 1789, the oldest Roman Catholic church in South Carolina. Also it is the mother church of the dioceses of South Carolina, North Carolina and Georgia. The church ceiling was hand-painted by Caesare Porte in Rome, Italy. The present building, replacing an earlier one which was destroyed by fire in 1838, was completed in 1839. The graveyard contains names that are predominantly Irish, French, Spanish and Scot. Among the more famous names is the Marquis de Grasse, a French naval commander who engaged British forces at Yorktown during the American Revolution.

St. Philip's Graveyard

Buried here are revolutionaries, politicians, confederates and artists. Among them are Col. William Rhett, known as the "Scourge of the Pirates," charged with bringing the murderous Blackbeard and Stede Bonnet to justice. Gen. Moultrie, the great defender of Charleston against the British, is here. Edward Rutledge, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, Charles Pinckney, a signer of the Constitution, and John C. Calhoun, a US senator and vice president of the US also are interred here.

Thomas Elfe House

This pre-Revolutionary War period Georgian-style single house is a Charleston treasure that, for the past several years, has been open to the public. It was built by Thomas Elfe, one of America’s most prolific and acclaimed cabinetmakers. The quality of the woodwork is rare. China cabinets and closets are artfully worked into each chimney alcove. Finely cut cornice moldings encircle each room with beautiful simplicity. While this is still a private home, the fact that its first owner was a major contributor to the art and lifestyle of Colonial Charleston keeps it interesting today. It is a showplace for 18th- and 19th-century furnishings.

Thomas Miller's House

Thomas Miller was the first president of South Carolina State University. He served in both houses of the state legislature and in the US Congress. He successfully petitioned for a law prohibiting white teachers in black schools. His home was built in 1860.