We have a group of 7 ladies heading to Charleston for three nights at the end of May. We will be staying in the historic district. We're looking for fun dining and drinking options that won't br
We have a group of 7 ladies heading to Charleston for three nights at the end of May. We will be staying in the historic district. We're looking for fun dining and drinking options that won't break the bank. Any suggestions?
Oh, wow! What a nice time to go, but you may want to be sure you book your rooms way ahead. See my post below regarding the Internationally recognized Spoleto Festival which will be in Charleston the last week of May and first 12 days of June. I gave all of the info in that post. There is entertainment day and night during that time period and it is 'the best' of every thing. It sounds like your dates are pretty well set, but if you decide to go earlier, there's a Greek Festival which is in early May.
If you haven't been to Charleston before, you'll want to see the Battery, Edmondston-Alston House and perhaps Fort Sumter. Of course you'll want some photos of Rainbow Row. There are some nice walking tours of Charleston and you are directed to places where various movies were filmed. You can even get a guide to point things out if you choose. If you prefer, or if someone has mobility problems, there are the carriage tours which are always fun. They aren't too expensive. I think they generally run around $20 bucks for a tour. There are at least three of the companies doing carriage tours.
If you like ghost, there are the famous ghost tours. One of them includes the 'old jail' in the tour. Again, I think they run around $20.
There's no shortage of bars. One that is a favorite is Moe's Crosstown Tavern, another is A.C's Bar and Grill, and there are many others. Tommy Condon's Irish pub serves dinner until 10:00 or so and then there is the slow-pour and the Irish songs.
Hopefully that will get you started on a great weekend.
There are tons of mid-priced restaurant options downtown. Try Husk, FIG, Fleet Landing, Rue de Jean, Coast, Gaulart et Michel (Fast and French on Broad St), Pane e Vino, Fish, Basil (Thai), Sermet's Corner -- to name a few! 32 Queen is a bit touristy, but very pretty -- I took a group of ladies there a few years ago and they were very impressed. If you want to splurge on a special night out: High Cotton is our favorite, Slightly North of Broad, McCrady's, Penninsula Grill are all excellent and the chefs are renowned.
I had a great visit to Charleston in 2010. Among other things, I really enjoyed a "pub crawl" through http://pubtourcharleston.com/. Especially, if you can book it the first night of your visit, it will be a delightful introduction to Charleston night life. As a single female traveler, it was a very comfortable way for me to hit the pubs. It includes several appetizers to share and lots of history tidbits too. Our tour guide, a youngish native Charlestonian, was charming, fun, and informative. You'll visit 4-5 pubs and walk by many others so you can pick your favorites for other, longer visits.
If other tours are on your horizon, I attended a couple through the historical society and really enjoyed those. I was also fortunate to be visiting when a great garden tour was available. Unless your group is very young and athletic, leave the high heels at home, Charleston requires lots of walking over cobblestones and other very irregular surfaces. Not part of the Pub scene, is a delightful Cafe, who's name I simply cannot recall, with the BEST fried green tomatoes. It is on the same side of the street and near the Gibbes Art Museum, on a diagonal across the Street from the historical society-maybe a person's name? Worth seeking out for lunch...the historical society guide steered me to it, so perhaps someone there can help you find it too.
My friend and I visited Charleston in Sept 2011. Our first night there we did a dinner cruise. Not too expensive and the food was wonderful. So was the scenery. WE also ate and Wild Wings down by Old City Market. Food there was very good as well.
If you are looking at other things, don't forget to check out the Old City Market. We really had an enjoyable time there. We did one of the carriage tours. Visited the Battery, and Fort Sumpter.
Whatever you and your friends decide to do, I do believe you will have a wonderful time. Wish I could join you
We love Jestines Kitchen which might be the place the lady above was trying to remember. The fried green tomatoes are great! We also enjoyed the museums, the Aiken House tour and the Magnolia Plantation....we were very lucky to be there when the azaleas were in bloom. Be sure to walk the lovely neighborhoods by the harbor. You've never seen such beautiful old homes.
While it's not a budget restaurant, if you choose to splurge either this time or some other time, Husk Restaurant has been receiving some prestigious awards lately. Also, if you're one of those people that never learned to eat Grits, go to Poogan's Porch. I can't imagine coming away from their Shrimp and Grits saying that.
The Old City Market (Meeting and Market Sts.) has a lot of 'things' though most aren't expensive items. It's sort of a 'must see' type thing though. They are more souvenir type things. I don't know if you are thinking of that or department store or malls, etc. but that is one option. You'll hear a lot of myths about this being an old slave market, but I understand that one of the stipulations for the land to be donated to the city was that no slaves were ever to be sold here.
King Street is the main shopping thoroughfare in the area. There are quite a few national name stores close to each other making it convenient. A 'real shopper' could spend a weekend shopping there.There are some retail outlets there too. There are three distinct areas of shopping. Lower King Street is mostly top-of the line antique stores and most are closed Sundays. Middle King Street is where you'll find upscale name brand outlets such as Banana Republic and some excellent shoe stores, etc. Then, upper King is (North of Calhoun) is where you'll find some some house wares shops which are mostly locally owned. Shop 'till you trop' is the motto here.
