Great design. Great food. Great folks. If you’re fixin’ to visit Charles-ton, South Carolina, a pedestrian-friendly city nestled between two rivers, you’re in for quite a treat.
This is one seductive town. Horse-drawn carriages still loll along streets with pristine, pastel-painted antebellum mansions trimmed with lacy ironwork. That the architecture—Colonial, Federal, Georgian, Italianate, Victorian—has survived despite the damage inflicted by wars, hurricanes, fires and the earthquake of 1886 is a testament to the tough-as-nails character of this proper belle, which oozes Southern hospitality.
Charleston has antique-filled bed-and-breakfasts aplenty, but if you prefer luxury, check into Belmond Charleston Place, an eight-story landmark hotel smack in the historic district that looks like a modern French château, replete with a grand Georgian-style double staircase and show stopping glass chandelier in the entry. All 434 rooms and 43 suites are spacious and beautifully appointed. (We’re talking lots of muted gray-blues and greens with Chippendale-style furnishings, original artwork and Carrara marble.) Those facing south offer panoramic views of the historic City Market. And the service is award-winning—expect to feel like a lord or lady of the manor.
On a recent trip, three friends and I chose a two-bedroom suite so we could be together for nightly sips and gabfests. The hotel also offers Club Level, featuring a private concierge plus an array of culinary offerings, including complimentary continental breakfast, afternoon tea, evening cocktails and hors d’oeuvres and after-dinner cordials and dessert.
We decided to indulge in spa treatments (all in the name of togetherness, of course). I chose a deep-tissue massage, and Stacy did my body good. Two of my friends went for the signature facials and were very pleased with Katie and Heather. Another friend opted for a mani-pedi and bragged about the foot massage she enjoyed.
It’s hard to drag yourself from the hotel, but Charleston is made for walking—the better to take in the architectural wonders of the city. And except in summer, daytime temperatures are mostly comfortable, hover-ing in the 60-to-80-degree range, so you can enjoy all the sights. It’s easy to daydream about what life was like 150 years ago as you weave through residential streets, admiring majestic antebellum homes with wonderful wraparound porches and carefully tended, dew-kissed azaleas. Window-shopping for pastel-colored grande dames on Rainbow Row in the French Quarter is a great way to ensure postcard-worthy pictures. And the nearby Battery has some of the city’s most expensive homes overlooking where the Ashley and Cooper rivers meet.
You’ll want to tour at least one of Charleston’s many open-to-visitors homes. The ornate, Federal-style 1808 Nathaniel Russell House on Meeting Street, for instance, features an elaborate, three-story cantilevered staircase (though it’s no longer considered stable enough to climb). Homeowner Russell, shunned by neighbors for being a Rhode Island merchant, let his bride keep a separate bank account—the pair had an early prenuptial agreement.
Your meanderings may also take you through one of the many old grave-yards around the city. We walked among the tombstones and monuments at St. Philip’s Episcopal Church, speaking in reverential whispers, wonder-ing how so many young people met their demise. The mood was lifted by the sounds of the rhythmic clopping of a horse, whose carriage conveyed tourists like us. Somehow what we’d dismiss as cheesy anywhere else seemed natural here, and we signed up for a ride. We’re glad we did. These rides are actually tours; there are four different routes, drawn at random when your carriage approaches what appears to be central dispatch. Ours was Route One, which our guide, Jennifer, assured us was the best. As she navigated our horse, Loretta, through the narrow streets we learned a lot about the city’s history.
Speaking of history, a visit to Charleston is a perfect excuse to visit a nearby antebellum plantation. We chose Middleton Place. Built in 1755 in the Colonial style, it was the home of Arthur Middleton, a signer of the Declaration of Independence. This National Historic Landmark spans 65 acres and is an easy 16-mile drive from downtown. (Our driver, Salam, agreed to come back for us.) It’s home to America’s oldest landscaped gardens and features twin lakes. You’ll likely see alligators, bald eagles and otters as you walk among the azaleas, magnolias and camel- lias. Plus you can visit blacksmith and cooper work- shops and take a house tour of the Inn at Middleton Place with its impressive furnishings and portraits.
If it’s neoclassicism you’re after, head to the Patrick O’Donnell House on King Street. Built in the mid–19th century, the three-and-a-half-story Italianate home is notable for its soaring columns, balustrade-lined porches and ornate cornices.
That’s not to say contemporary design doesn’t exist in Charleston. In between the city’s colorful facades you’ll find 21st-century architecture—one needs only to look at the soaring, Modernist South Carolina Aquarium to see its influence.
If you’re looking for home accessories—or just about everything else—Charleston is a delight
for shoppers. The old City Market covers four city blocks near the corner of Bay and Market streets, offering souvenirs and intriguing sweetgrass baskets woven by the Gullah people, descendants of enslaved Africans who settled on South Carolina’s barrier islands. (Note: The baskets aren’t low- priced!) King Street is the city’s major retailing thoroughfare; you’ll find stores selling fine clothing, jewelry and furniture, and as befits Charleston’s rep for gracious living there are noteworthy high-end art galleries too.
Did I say “gracious living”? This small city punches way above its weight in restaurant cuisine. Gourmands abound, debating everything from the proper consistency of creamy grits to where to get the best fried chicken. Chances are you will be engaging in acts of gluttony, feasting on the likes of chicken stew, pork hash, hush puppies, pecan pie, banana pudding and more.
Among the star chefs, Michelle Weaver of Charleston Grill at Belmond Charleston Place serves up highbrow takes on low-country fare. Shemixes classics and nouvelle cooking, unifying them with intense flavors, such as seared flounder and shrimp with butter grits, sherry-country ham gravy and tomato-basil salad. The seasonal menu has four categories: Pure, Southern, Cosmopolitan and Lush, and you can mix and match from among them to create the perfect meal. Or do as our waiter, Andrew, sug- gested: Give yourself over to the chef and sommelier and enjoy a six-course tasting menu from which you’ll savor every morsel.
Then settle in for a nightcap—mint julep or Southern mule, anyone?— while you listen to live jazz, performed every night of the week. Just as Mem- phis and New Orleans have their own sounds, Charleston jazz has a churchy, gospel feel no doubt due in part to the city’s more than 180 churches. (They don’t call this “the Holy City” for nothing.) Besides taking in the tunes, Charleston Grill is a great place to people-watch: You’ll spy Charlestonians in their element—old Southern moneyed types and Gullah painters alike.
It’s almost impossible to choose just one favorite restaurant. Besides the Charleston Grill, we loved the seafood and grits at Magnolia’s, another of the downtown darlings. Poogan’s Porch was great too. Husk and McCrady’s are on many visitors’ must-eat lists. For an informal “home cookin’ ” lunch try Jestine’s Kitchen, named for an African-American/Native American woman who died in 1997 at age 112. And the list goes on.
By the end of your trip you’ll be well sated in mind and body, and only too happy to comply with the refrain: “Y’all come back now.”