My wife and I will be making a one day trip to Charleston in Mid September while we are staying in Myrtle Beach. I am looking for recomendations on directions, parking, casual lunch spots, and touristy things to do. We would like to see the historic areas and would like to take a horsedrawn carriage ride (any info on specific companies and where they originate appreciated). I would be grateful for any and all other recommendations!
Advice for Day Trip
Directions are simple from Myrtle. 17 South all the way to Charleston. Get off of 17 on the Meeting St. exit and turn left...you are now in downtown...most of the tourist area is 3 miles or so down from the bridge.
I normally recommend Palmetto Carriage because they are a couple bucks cheaper...the route is the most important thing with these tours and that is regulated by the city via a bizarre lottery system that neither you nor the carriage company have any control over...the city%26#39;s logic I believe is 2 fold...1. regulate the number of carriages on particular streets and 2. Make those of us in the industry explain the goofy system.
The carriage rides leave from the corner of Anson St. and South Market...they leave every 20 minutes or so from 9ish am to 4ish pm every day.
For lunch I would recommend Tristan, Magnolias, or Slightly North of Broad...none of these are totally casual...but for lunch you could probably get away with casual attire. Magnolias and SNOB are lowcountry cuisine...Tristan is rather eclectic, but has the best hamburgers in town in my opinion.
Parking is interesting downtown. If you are going to be downtown all day find a parking garage, pay the money and move on. There are plenty of meters...most of which have 2 hour time limits...you will be ticketed if you stay longer than 2 hours even if you continue to feed the meter...see my previous anti-government comments. For proximity to the market area I would recommend the parking garage at the corner of Cumberland and Church St. When you exit Meeting from 17S and turn left follow that down to Cumerland...1st light after Market St...and take a left...parking garage is immediately on your left.
Advice for Day Trip
For lunch, I%26#39;ve heard good things about Joseph%26#39;s - 鈥itysearch.com/profile/9139517/charleston_s鈥?/a>
Never been there myself, though.
As for touristy things to do, this page of to-do%26#39;s might help: http://piytravel.com/pages/s.piy?t=usscch
Seeing the main historic area (downtown Charleston) is pretty easy. The Old Market, to Waterfront Park, to Battery and back to the market covers a big chunk of it. We did it all on foot with no issue. But do try to get out and see a plantation.
Have fun!
I ';second'; the recommendation of Joseph%26#39;s, which is our absolute favorite lunch spot in Charleston. You will always see lots of locals coming by from their offices for lunch.
Joseph%26#39;s is in the historic district, on Meeting Street, very close to the corner with Queen Street. The place is VERY casual. If you like oysters, try the oyster po%26#39; boy, which is loaded with oysters. Everything is good, and the prices are incredibly low.
Man, now I%26#39;m _really_ kicking myself for not getting around to eating there when we visited. Guess we gotta%26#39; go back!
My recommendation to you is...spend more than one day in Charleston! lol There is so much to do there, Ive been a few times and usually its only for weekend trips. I STILL havent seen and done everything! Magnolia Plantation and Boone Hall were my favorite plantations. The Aquarium is running a package deal so u can do the aquarium, Ft Sumter, Imax...or there is a carriage/ harbor tour package through Spiritline. I liked Myrtle Beach for 2 days but then I got bored, cuz its just a lil too commercial for me. Charleston has history and so much more to do!
There is a passport discount package that is available at the Visitors Center. It is wonderful for seeing many of the sites at a discount.
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