Organized Tours

By Horse & Carriage -- Old South Carriage, 14 Anson St. (tel. 843/723-9712; www.oldsouthcarriagetours.com), offers narrated horse-drawn-carriage tours through the Historic District daily from 9am to dusk. A 1-hour carriage tour spans a distance of 2 1/2 miles, covering 30 blocks of the Historic District. The cost is $21 for adults and $13 for children 3 to 11.

By Mule Team -- Palmetto Carriage Tours, 40 N. Market St., at Guignard Street (tel. 843/723-8145; www.carriagetour.com), uses mule teams instead of the usual horse and carriage for its guided tours of Old Charleston. Tours originate at the Big Red Barn behind the Rainbow Market. The cost is $20 for adults and seniors and $12 for children 4 to 11. It operates daily from 9am to 5pm.

By Boat -- Spiritline Cruises, 360 Concord St., Ste. 201 (tel. 800/789-3678 or 843/722-2628; www.spiritlinecruises.com), offers a Harbor and Fort Sumter Tour by boat, departing daily from the City Marina and from the Patriots Point Maritime Museum. This is the only tour to stop at Fort Sumter, target of the opening shots of the Civil War. The fare is $16 for adults, $14.50 for seniors, $10 for children 6 to 11, and free for children 5 and under. The operator also has an interesting Charleston Harbor Tour, with daily departures from Patriots Point. The 2-hour cruise passes the Battery, Charleston Port, Castle Pinckney, Drum Island, Fort Sumter, and the aircraft carrier Yorktown, and sails under the Cooper River Bridge and on to other sights. Prices are the same as those for the Harbor and Fort Sumter Tour.

Walking Tours -- Charlestonians are proud to talk about the historical quirks of their city, and as such, several tour operators compete for your walking tour business. A well-recommended staple is Charleston Strolls (tel. 843/766-2080), which conducts a 2-hour walking tour every day beginning at 10am that touches on the salient points of the city's sometimes bloody history. Cost per person is $18, and advance reservations are a good idea.

Another well-recommended guided stroll through historic Charleston is the Charleston Tea Party Walking Tour (tel. 843/722-1779). It lasts 2 hours and costs $25 for adults and $10 for children 12 and under. Departing year-round Monday to Saturday at 9:30am and 2pm, tours originate at the Kings Courtyard Inn, 198 Kings St. The tour goes into a lot of nooks and crannies of Charleston, including secret courtyards and gardens. Finally, you get that promised tea. Reservations are required.

Tours of Charleston's 18th-century architecture in the original walled city begin at 10am and 2pm, and tours of 19th-century architecture along Meeting Street and the Battery begin at 2pm. Departures are from in front of the Meeting Street Inn, 173 Meeting St. Tours last 2 hours and are given every day but Tuesday and Sunday. The cost is $20 for adults, $6 for children 7 to 12, and free for children 6 and under. For reservations, call tel. 843/893-2327.