Charleston > Reviews > Charleston South Carolina

Author's product rating:   

Value for Money
Shopping
Nightlife
Ease of getting around
Family Friendly

Advantages:	Interesting and beautiful place to visit
Disadvantages:	none

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Charleston is on the coast of South Carolina. It is a town which is dominated by it’s past and almost everything seems to be perfectly preserved.
The downtown area is compact with narrow streets which are easy to navigate. We took a horse-drawn tour of the city to give us a feel for the place and I can highly recommend this. This covers all the major historic sites, gave us some background information on some of the previous inhabitants and also gave us tips on places to eat,shop etc. We were then able to explore ourselves and go back to some of the areas covered on the tour for a closer look. Many of the preserved houses are open to the public.
For anyone visiting Charleston a trip to the market is a must. This was once a slave market but is now home to a colourful market selling everything from fruit, souvenirs and baskets hand-crafted by the local “basket-ladies” (however although it is fascinating to watch them weaving the baskets you are not allowed to photograph them!)
Although there is much to keep you busy in Charleston the area surrounding it has lots to offer. There are a number of old plantation estates which have been preserved and are open to the public. We visited Boone Hall, about 8 miles out of Charleston. For those of you who remember a TV programme from the 1980’s called ‘North and South’ this was filmed at Boone Hall. Here you can take a tour of the first floor of the mansion, visit the extensive gardens and grounds and also see the original slave quarters – quite a chilling site!