2 days in Charleston

Day by day

1. Day 1: The Battery and White Point Garden and Rainbow Row

   The Battery and White Point Garden, Rainbow Row, Nathaniel Russell House and Fort Sumter National Monument, then Upper King Street in the evening.

   1. Morning

      The Battery and White Point Garden

      Behind it, White Point Garden is a shaded park of live oaks, old cannons and a bandstand. It is the classic start or end of a historic-district walk.

   2. Late morning

      Rainbow Row

      They are private homes, so this is a look-from-the-pavement stop that fits into any walk between the Battery and Waterfront Park.

   3. Lunch

      Lunch: Shrimp and grits

      Restaurants across downtown and Shem Creek; look for menus naming stone-ground grits from Lowcountry mills.

   4. Afternoon

      Nathaniel Russell House

      Guided tours by the Historic Charleston Foundation cover both the family and the enslaved people who lived and worked on the property.

   5. Late afternoon

      Fort Sumter National Monument

      The only access is by concession ferry from Liberty Square downtown or from Patriots Point; the trip is about 30 minutes each way with roughly an hour on the island, where rangers explain the bombardment and the fort's later history.

   6. Evening

      Upper King Street

      The densest stretch of cocktail bars, breweries' taprooms and late kitchens, busiest on Friday and Saturday.

2. Day 2: Charleston City Market and Joe Riley Waterfront Park

   Charleston City Market, Joe Riley Waterfront Park, Old Slave Mart Museum and Gibbes Museum of Art, then East Bay Street and the Market in the evening.

   1. Morning

      Charleston City Market

      Inside are hundreds of vendors selling sweetgrass baskets made by Gullah artisans, local food products and souvenirs. Despite folklore, the market sold meat and produce, not enslaved people.

   2. Late morning

      Joe Riley Waterfront Park

      It links Rainbow Row with the Market area along a shaded promenade.

   3. Lunch

      Lunch: She-crab soup

      Seafood restaurants on East Bay Street and in the Market area; add the sherry yourself if it comes on the side.

   4. Afternoon

      Old Slave Mart Museum

      Today a small city-run museum explains Charleston's domestic slave trade through records, objects and personal stories.

   5. Late afternoon

      Gibbes Museum of Art

      The rotunda's stained-glass dome is worth a look in itself.

   6. Evening

      East Bay Street and the Market

      Hotel bars, rooftop terraces and long-running pubs within a short walk of the main hotels.

Before you go

• Fort Sumter National Monument: Ferries sell out on spring and summer weekends; reserve a departure time online in advance.

If it rains

• Swap in Aiken-Rhett House (Upper King): Spend time in the kitchen and slave quarters at the back; the self-guided audio tour is strongest there.
• Swap in International African American Museum (Ansonborough): Leave time for the African Ancestors Memorial Garden, where the outline of a slave ship is set into the ground beside the harbour.
• Swap in The Charleston Museum (Upper King): It faces the visitor centre on Meeting Street, so it is an easy first stop to get your bearings on a rainy morning.

Where to stay for this itinerary

Pace and daylight

The sights in this plan add up to roughly 8–9 hours of visiting over 2 days, before meals and getting between them. Daylight runs from about 10 hours in December to 14.3 hours in June, so in winter start early and keep museums for the afternoon.

Getting between stops: Walking. Walking is the best way to see the historic district, where the most rewarding streets — Church, Tradd, Legare and the alleys between them — are best explored on foot.

More or fewer days

• One day in Charleston
• 3 days in Charleston
• 5 days in Charleston

Questions travellers ask