This post is sponsored. All opinions are my own.
I was blessed with the opportunity to spend several weeks in the US visiting family and friends this past Christmas. Part of my trip home included a few days in Charleston, South Carolina. Charleston is one of the most picturesque cities in the United States, and it just so happens that my best friend lives there. Thanks to some cheap airfare that I found, I spent several days exploring the city, and visiting with her and her husband.
Visiting friends during the work week means that you end up with a lot of time to yourself. So what better way to spend time alone than exploring the city? Here are some of the things that I did and saw over a few days in Charleston.
Catch a sunrise
Monday morning, I caught a ride downtown with her husband Brian to get some good shots of the sunrise. It was absolutely breathtaking. I would definitely recommend an early rise one morning during your visit over a few days in Charleston.
The pineapple fountain is something you must see. Since my best friend lives in Charleston, I’ve seen this fountain before. However I never saw it with the sunrise. It was absolutely beautiful.
I was very thankful for the ride downtown. Charleston is definitely a city where you need a car.
Once the sun was up, it was time to play tourist. I spent my morning exploring different sites and museums in downtown Charleston.
The Old Slave Mart Museum
Slavery plays a big part in Charleston’s history. While topics like these aren’t fun to talk about, the people of Charleston would rather teach people about it than sweep it under the rug. I really have a lot of respect for how they do that in Charleston. After all, if we don’t learn from the atrocious acts of the past, we are doomed to repeat them.
This museum used to be an actual slave market. During this time hundreds of years ago, the city simply wanted to get the business of slave trading off of the streets because other cities were doing that. So they created this space where people were literally bought and sold.
The museum is two stories and has lots of information about the slave trade. Charleston unfortunately played a major role in the slave trade since it’s a southern city next to the water, making it easy for ships to come and go.
One of the things I found most interesting was a chart that showed how much a person was worth depending on their age and gender. Apparently men at the age of 19-20 were the most expensive. It was also just shocking and horrifying imaging a person being bought and sold.
Old Exchange and Provost Dungeon
This building is one of the most important buildings in Charleston history. It has severed many purposes over the last several centuries including a city hall, a post office and a military headquarters. It is now owned by the South Carolina State Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution.
After exploring the ground and second floor of the building, I explored the dungeon. They actually offer tours, which are included with the price of your ticket. During the revolutionary war, this space was converted into a prison by the British.
Gibbes Museum of Art
I wrapped up my morning of museums and touring with some art. This museum sits in the middle of the downtown area in an amazing building. It has a good mixture of both classic and modern art.
The Charleston Museum
After visiting the art museum, I had to return home to teach an online class. Such is the life of an online English teacher. When I have a free day, I leave my schedule open and sometimes people book me! It’s one way that I earn money from home!
After teaching my class, I returned to the downtown area and went to the Charleston Museum. Fun fact: The Charleston Museum is one of the oldest museums in the United States!
This museum was very information-heavy. So if you’re someone who enjoys reading about all sorts of different time periods, this is the place for you!
High Wire Distilling
After my visit to the museum, I walked about 10-15 minutes up the road to a local distillery. Everything that I did this day was within walking distance, which was great! I no longer have a car in the US anymore, so it was great to be able to play tourist without a vehicle.
This spot was probably my favorite of everything I visited during my time in Charleston. This distillery makes quality spirits of all kinds. Fun fact: they are Charleston’s first distillery since prohibition! That’s absolutely ridiculous! They basically make small batches of different spirits. So to get your hands on a bottle, sometimes that means you have to get on the list!
We were taken on a tour of the facility to learn how the spirits are distilled. They make gin, rum, whiskey and vodka. Then we had a little tasting of five of the spirits. My best friend and her husband met me here after work so we could enjoy it together.
The tour and tasting was only $5! They’re offered Monday-Saturday.
This was an Irish coffee. It was absolutely amazing.
Bulldog Tours
After trying some spirits, we headed back home for a quick dinner and then headed back out again! Bulldog Tours offers all sorts of interesting tours of Charleston including food tours, history tours and ghost tours. The one that we chose was about the dark side of Charleston. Kayleigh and I were looking for one that we could go on in the evening, and this one caught our attention.
This tour is not a ghost tour, but is listed under the ghost tour section of their website. It’s definitely very interesting. It’s basically a walking tour that takes you to spots where murders happened and places that used to be brothels.
Theatre 99 Improv
I ended my several days in Charleston with some improv comedy. I used to do improv as a hobby for about four years while living in my hometown of Cincinnati in the US. It’s something fun that definitely takes you out of your comfort zone. I totally recommend that everyone give it a try at least once in their life.
Theatre 99 is a spot where you can see all sorts of comedy shows. On Wednesdays, they have improv. They also offer classes, so you can try it out for yourself!
Shots around Charleston
The historic downtown of Charleston is absolutely beautiful. I was constantly amazed as I wandered around. Here are a few shots that I captured.
A note about transportation
The one thing I didn’t like about Charleston was the lack of quality public transportation. As mentioned above, I got rid of my car in the US several years ago since I’ve been in Spain for the past two and a half years. This can make parts of the US difficult. While my friends live right near a bus stop, the buses aren’t frequent. I did take them on my first day. It was a shame that there was only one an hour!
If you’re planning a visit to Charleston and you don’t have a car, I’d recommend booking accommodation in the center of the city. This way you can walk from place to place. If you want to go anywhere outside of the immediate downtown area, there’s also Uber.
Accommodation
As mentioned above, I’m lucky to have friends who live in Charleston! However if you’re not as lucky as I am, I would recommend looking at Hotels.com for your accommodation. If you book 10 nights through them, you get your 11th for free! That was how I basically got free accommodation when I went to Lanjarón, Spain.
Have you traveled to Charleston or South Carolina before? What sorts of things would you be interested in doing?
Explore Charleston provided me with a VIP pass that allowed us free entrance to all of these lovely activities. All opinions are my own.
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