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Charleston and Kiawah Island Attractions
Sightseeing
Before sightseeing in Charleston, park your car. Trying to negotiate the narrow streets while sightseeing is difficult, and your visit will be much more interesting if you move at a leisurely pace. So, follow one of the TourBook's walking tours or take one of the guided carriage, bus, van or trolley tours. Fort Sumter Tours offers trips to Fort Sumter and cruises around the harbor. Other tour operators are listed below.
A good place to begin your exploration is at the Charleston Visitor Center, 375 Meeting St. "Forever Charleston", a multimedia presentation shown continuously at the center, provides an introduction to the city and its people. Self-guiding tour maps and brochures also are available.
Two of the most prominent features of the historic area are the two major architectural styles: the double house and the single house. The front doors of the double house face the street, with one room to each side. The typical single house is only one room wide with the narrow gable end turned toward the street. To one side is a door that opens onto a porch. Gardens or courtyards are beside or behind the house.
No one knows why there are so many single houses in Charleston, but there is speculation that the design might have been prompted by taxes levied according to how many feet of a house faced the street. Similar houses were built during the 18th and early 19th centuries in New Orleans for this reason.
Many of Charleston's old houses have solid shutters on the first floor windows and louvered shutters on the windows of the floors above. The solid shutters helped keep the noise and dirt from entering the early houses, which had walls that rose from the edge of the street.
Perhaps the most common sight in Charleston is not a thing, but a color. Charleston green, such an extremely dark shade that it is almost black, is seen on everything from shutters to front doors to piazza trim. The color is said to have been devised during Reconstruction, when only black paint was available in quantity. Residents mixed in a small amount of yellow pigment and were able to use colored paint.
Bus, Carriage and Van Tours
Motorized tours cater to weekend visitors seeking a quick overview of city architecture, culture and history or to those with plenty of time to explore Charleston's surroundings and historic plantations. Gray Line of Charleston offers several sightseeing options covering more than 100 points of interest including historic houses, Fort Sumter, the Battery and the Charleston Harbor. For information phone (800) 423-0444.
Sports and Recreation
While recreational facilities within the historic district of Charleston are limited, the surrounding area offers ample choices for the outdoors enthusiast. Nearby state and county parks and the Francis Marion National Forest provide a variety of activities such as picnicking, boating and hiking and are only a few minutes' to an hour's drive away. Camping is permitted at Givhans Ferry and Edisto Beach state parks.
The barrier islands that line the coast are the focus of much of Charleston's recreational activity. Once favored as a summer retreat from the threat of yellow fever, many of these islands now sport major resorts. Isle of Palms and Sullivan's Island, east of Charleston, and Edisto, Folly and Kiawah islands, south of the city, all have fine beaches for swimming, sailing and surfing.
The area is popular for both freshwater and saltwater fishing. Surf fishing is permitted on many beaches. Deep-sea fishing charters depart from Charleston City Marina. Some of the best fishing is in estuarine creeks. Bass, sheepshead, flounder and trout can be taken in fall and winter; crabbing is good in spring and summer. For information about fishing regulations write South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, Division of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries, P.O. Box 167, Columbia, SC 29202; phone (803) 734-3886.
Golf can be played at a number of 18-hole courses: Charleston Municipal Golf Course, (843) 795-6517, and Shadowmoss Golf Club, (843) 556-8251, in Charleston; Crooked Oaks and Ocean Winds, (843) 768-2529, on Seabrook Island; Turtle Point Golf Club, (843) 768-2121, on Kiawah Island; Patriots Point Golf Links, (843) 881-0042, in Mount Pleasant; and Wild Dunes, (843) 886-6000, on Isle of Palms.
Baseball fans can watch the Tampa Bay Devil Rays' minor league team, the Charleston Riverdogs, in action at Joseph P. Riley Jr. Park, 360 Fishburn St.; phone (843) 723-7241. Charleston also is home to the Charleston Battery soccer team, an A-League championship team that plays at Blackbaud Stadium, 1990 Daniel Island Dr.; phone (843) 971-4625.
For a quiet stroll in an urban setting, Charleston has several city parks, including White Point Gardens on The Battery, Waterfront Park along the Cooper River, and Colonial Lake at Broad and Rutledge streets. Many of the parks have trails for bicycling. Rentals are available at The Bicycle Shop at 280 Meeting St.; phone (843) 722-8168.
Performing Arts
Charleston's cultural heritage goes back a long way. By the late 1730s the city had a music society and the Dock Street Theatre, the first building in the Colonies designed solely for theatrical performances. Today the Footlight Players perform in Dock Street Theatre at Church and Queen streets. Opera in Charleston also is a tradition: The first opera performance in America was presented here in 1735. Two centuries later George Gershwin wrote the opera "Porgy and Bess" in Cabbage Row, immortalized as Catfish Row in DuBose Heyward's novel "Porgy."
Gaillard Municipal Auditorium and Exhibition Hall, 77 Calhoun St., is home to the Charleston Ballet Theatre and the Charleston Symphony Orchestra. For information phone (843) 723-7334. The 2,300-seat Performing Arts Center in the North Charleston Area Convention Center Complex, 5001 Coliseum Dr., offers concerts and a variety of theatrical productions; phone (843) 529-5000.
Shopping
It is not surprising that antiques are one of the biggest shopping attractions in Charleston, a city more than 300 years old. An abundance of antique shops, art galleries, boutiques and specialty stores can be found along King Street, including Saks Fifth Avenue. Shops and stores also can be found along nearby Broad, Church, E. Bay and Meeting streets.
Specialty shops, boutiques and open-sided buildings with vendor and artisan booths can be found along N. and S. Market streets behind Market Hall, 188 Meeting St. This area, known as The Old City Market, was deeded to the city by the owners, who specified that it always must remain a public market.
Reproductions of 18th- and 19th-century Charleston antiques are available at the Historic Charleston Foundation's shop at 105 Broad St. Royalties generated from the sales are used to further the foundation's restoration work.
Such major department stores as Belk, Dillard's, JCPenney and Parisian can be found in nearby shopping malls: Citadel Mall, US 17 and SR 7, and Northwoods Mall, I-26 at US 52.
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