Attractions in Charleston

Edmondston-Alston House
21 E. Battery
843-722-7171
Hours: Tues.-Sat. 10-4:30, Sun.-Mon. 1:30-4:30
Admission charged.
Featuring spectacular views of Charleston Harbor, this imposing home was built in 1825 in late-Federal style and was transformed into a Greek revival structure during the 1840s. It is tastefully furnished with antiques, portraits, prints, silver and fine china.

French Protestant (Huguenot) Church
110 Church St.
843-722-4385
Hours: Weekdays 10-12:30 and 2-4
Admission: Donations welcome
This church is the only one in the country still using the original French Huguenot liturgy.

Heyward-Washington House
87 Church St.
843-722-0354
Hours: Mon.-Sat. 10-5, Sun. 1-5
Admission charged.
Built in 1772, this home was the backdrop for DuBose Heyward's book Porgy, which was the basis for the beloved folk opera "Porgy and Bess". The neighborhood, known as Cabbage Row, is central to Charleston's African-American history. President George Washington stayed in the house during his 1791 visit. It is filled with fine period furnishings and its restored 18th-century kitchen is the only one in Charleston open to visitors.

Joseph Manigault Mansion
350 Meeting St.
843-723-2926
Hours: Mon.-Sat. 10-5, Sun. 1-5
Admission charged.
A National Historic Landmark and an outstanding example of neoclassical architecture, this home was designed in 1803 and is noted for its carved-wood mantels and elaborate plaster work. Some furnishings are British and French but most are Charleston antiques.

Market Hall
88 Meeting St.
843-723-1541
Saturday noon-4, Sunday 1-4
Admission charged.
Built in 1841 and modeled after the Temple of Nike in Athens, this imposing landmark building includes the Confederate Museum, where the Daughters of the Confederacy preserve and display flags, uniforms, swords and other Civil War memorabilia.

Old Powder Magazine
79 Cumberland St.
843-805-6730
Hours: Mon.-Sat. 10-5, Sun. 2-5
Admission charged.
This structure was built in 1713 and used during the Revolutionary War. It is now a museum with costumes, armor, and other artifacts from 18th-century Charleston, all described during an interesting audiovisual tour.

Boone Hall Plantation
1235 Long Point Rd., off U.S. 17N
843-884-4371
Hours: Apr.-Labor Day, Mon.-Sat. 8:30-6:30, Sun. 1-5; Labor Day-Mar., Mon.-Sat. 9-5, Sun. 1-4 Admission charged. This working plantation is found at the end of one of the South's most majestic avenues of oaks, and was the model for the grounds of Tara in "Gone With the Wind." You can tour the first floor of the classic columned mansion, which was built in 1935 incorporating woodwork and flooring from the original house; however, the primary attraction is the grounds featuring formal azalea and camellia gardens.

With the opening of a downtown retail shop, Boone Hall on Wentworth provides the only plantation tour available from downtown Charleston. Shuttles to Boone Hall Plantation & Gardens leave daily from a convenient location: Intersection of King & Wentworth Streets.
Live Theater is also available at Boone Hall.  “Exploring the Gullah Culture” and “Life in the South” are available twice a day, Monday – Saturday at no additional charge.

Local produce and Lowcountry products abound at Boone Hall Farms, a local roadside market located on Highway 17, across from Boone Hall Plantation. U-Pick fields with in-season produce are open to the public throughout the year.

Fort Moultrie
W. Middle St., Sullivan's Island
843-883-3123
Hours: Daily 9-5
Admission: Free
At this site Colonel William Moultrie's South Carolinians repelled a British assault in one of the first Patriot victories of the Revolutionary War. A 20-minute film tells the history of the fort.

Museum on the Common
217 Lucas St.
843-849-9000
Hours: Mon.-Sat. 11-4
Admission: Free
This small museum has an outdoor maritime museum and a Hurricane Hugo exhibit that documents the 1989 storm damage through video and photos.

Patriots Point
Foot of Cooper River Bridges
843-884-2727
Hours: Labor Day-Mar., daily 9-6:30; Apr.-Labor Day, daily 9-7:30
Admission charged.
Tours are offered on all of the vessels located here at the world's largest naval and maritime museum. Visitors may tour the aircraft carrier Yorktown, the World War II submarine Clamagore, the destroyer Laffey, the nuclear merchant ship Savannah, and the cutter Ingham.

Palmetto Islands County Park
U.S. 17N, 1/2 mile past Snee Farm, turn left onto Long Point Rd.
843-884-0832
Hours: Apr. and Sept.-Oct., daily 9-6; May-Aug., daily 9-7; Nov.-Feb., daily 10-5; Mar., daily 10-6 Located across from Boone Hall Plantation, the park features a Big Toy playground, 2-acre pond, paved trails, an observation tower, marsh boardwalks and a "water island."