Charleston in High Summer

Low country cuisine is unique to this area, and if you love shrimp, seafood, and sauces, you won't want to quit eating while you're in town. The variety of restaurants is large enough that you won't have to. If your budget permits, be sure to give yourself a night at one of Charleston's many premier dining places--we chose 82 Queen. (An alternative strategy is to visit these places at lunchtime.)

The tour to Fort Sumter is worth it. In 1861, the Civil War probably could have started anywhere, but it erupted here in Charleston Harbor. The 2.5 hour boat trip and tour of the Fort does a good job of reconnecting you with this crucial piece of American history.

Make sure you get inside several of the historic home-museums. We toured the Edmonston-Alston house, right on the Battery, and except for the lovely gloss our guide put on slavery, enjoyed it. But I thought the best was the Aiken-Rhett House.

Quick Tips:
Be sure to stay in the 'historic district', near the south end of the peninsula formed by the Ashley and Cooper Rivers. The closest you get to the southeast edge, the more you're in this part of town.

This city is made to explore by walking. Find a walking tour--from a guidebook, from a concierge, from your own planning--and take off. Be sure to walk along the Battery at the most eastern and southern edge. The view on one side is Charleston Harbor, and to the other are some of the city's oldest and most historic homes.

Outside of town, it's worth heading up the Ashley River Road to see one or more of the three historic plantations. They're all a little different--for example, Drayton Hall focuses on the architecture of the Hall itself, and Middleton Place has exceptionally large and beautiful gardens. You'll need to get your car out of storage for this.

For , the Charleston Heritage Passport (available only at the Visitor Center, 55 Meeting St.) gives you a significant discount on admission to the places you're probably planning to see anyways (including two of the plantations, which are about twice the cost of touring the homes). It includes several historic homes (the Manigault, Washington, Aiken-Rhett, Russell, and Edmonston-Alston houses), two museums (the Gibbes Museum of Art and the Charleston Museum), and two of the plantations northwest of the city along the Ashley River Road (Middleton Place and Drayton Hall). Even if you don't get to all of them (I believe we made it to five or six), you'll still save money. It's also good for a year, in case you don't reach them all on one visit (but only one visit per site). Visiting these places is an essential part of what Charleston is all about.

South Carolina's most famous beaches are at Myrtle Beach and Hilton Head Island. We spent one night at Hilton Head after Charleston, and while the beach is beautiful (even with a hurricane on the way), the exclusivity of the island's development turned me off. On a previous trip, we headed to the northeast side of the harbor, and out through Mt. Pleasant to Sullivan's Island, watching dolphins in the Inland Waterway nearly all along the way. I liked that area a lot better.

Best Way To Get Around:
On foot, without a doubt. The streets of Charleston are the closest I've come in this country to London's road maze. With few exceptions, roads are narrow, and parking is very hard to come by. When you arrive in the historic district, park your car and don't get back in until you're ready to leave.

One exception is if you're headed to Liberty Square, the National Park Service visitor center and dock for the boat to Fort Sumter. This is on the east side, a little north of the rest of town, and there's parking (including a garage) here. Good thing, too, because the walk is a little long.

A Bluegreen Vacation Resort, we stayed here through our timeshare ownership. It's in a wonderful location, right in the middle of historic Charleston, close to the harbor, and perfectly situated for exploring the city on foot. The rooms are in a complex of older buildings, all terrific renovations that kept many of the original brick walls, wooden floors, and other features while creating modern and comfortable rooms decorated in a style consistent with Charleston's 18th-century English origins.

Ours was very spacious, with high ceilings and a columnar brick fireplace through the middle of the room that nicely divided the bedroom from the large living room. The walls appeared to be original brick, and the wide-plank pine floors and oriental rugs were beautiful. I haven't been in a lodging with a living area so large, nicely appointed, and essentially feeling like someone's home. The sleeping area was off the street, a nice piece of planning that made the evenings a little quieter. The buildings are clustered around an inner courtyard and fountain, which is nicely lit at night.

We spent 3 nights here and were sorry to leave. Charleston itself was a large part of this--but so was Lodge Alley. The staff was friendly, especially the concierge, who was a big help in selecting things to do and places to eat during our stay. In-room coffee is provided, as well as nightly sherry and turndown service (with cookies!). I will stay here the next time I come to Charleston--and wish I'd stayed here on my previous trip.

A large beach-side resort, the Westin itself didn't leave me dissatisfied. The hotel meets the usual high Westin standards, with nicely appointed rooms, a Heavenly Bed, and (in our case) a balcony with a sliver's view of the ocean. (I wasn't expecting more; I booked it through Hotwire for about $125, half of rack rate.)

I discovered that I don't really care for places of this scale, and I really don't like Hilton Head. We spent 1 night here in between Charleston and Savannah, and I think both of us would have been happy to spend more time in the car that day, one more night in either city, skipping Hilton Head.

The island itself is a maze of private compounds: the "plantations," as they're called, are the result of carefully planned development by the large hotel corporations, which (kid of the '60s that I am) somehow brought "Westworld" to mind. Some of them don't even allow you to drive in without paying $5. Ironically, the rest of this part of the Low Country includes some of South Carolina's poorest citizens (which we did learn something about at the community center and local artists' store at the mall).

The beach itself (the original attraction) is gorgeous, and we spent a somewhat breezy and cloudy late afternoon and early evening walking to the island's northern point and back. That was the best highlight of our stay: walking the beach as the gray ocean was riled up by the front edges of Hurricane Charley.

But I feel no need to come back to this place. If you do, you'll find the Westin a good place to stay.

Our original plan was to select one of Charleston's many excellent restaurants for a high-end dinner and find other options for the rest of stay. We abandoned that plan after eating here. Specializing in excellent presentations of South Carolina's unique Low Country cuisine, 82 Queen gave us one of the best dining experiences we've ever had. Calm, elegant, and graceful, 82 Queen appears to full of Charleston residents.

We were seated at a white wicker-like table in a beautifully lush and shaded courtyard. The service was excellent, and making selections for each course was difficult. They're famous for the She-Crab Soup, but the Southern Barbeque Shrimp with Grits was also delicious. My wife passed on a salad, but I'm glad I didn't: the spinach salad with roasted pecans, fresh brie, and raspberry vinaigrette was delicious. I had the Lowcountry Shrimp and Crawfish Jambalaya, served with red rice.

Food, wine, service, and setting added up to a wonderful evening. We shared a creme brulee and sipped coffee as the sun gradually set, bringing a close to a great night. It's hard to go wrong picking a restaurant in this city, but if you're stumped, come here--you'll be glad you did.

P.S. They're also open for lunch, with a very similar (but less expensive) menu.

There's so much good dining in Charleston that a few days visit will only let you experience a small fraction of the huge variety of good places to eat. When lunch time came 'round, we found lots of reasonably priced places to have a good meal, thus saving our dining dollars for dinner.

Noisy Oyster (24 N. Market St., (843) 743-0044): Right on the northeast corner of Bay and Market, this place serves traditional seafood sandwiches, fried seafood, etc. There are no windows, and at the booths on the exterior it's like being on the street (which is a good thing here). We popped in here immediately after arriving to grab a quick lunch before beginning a walking tour. What you see here is what you get. They have two other locations in the area, including one out in Mt. Pleasant.

Saffron (333 E. Bay St., (843) 722-5588): Recommended by several guidebooks, we weren't that impressed. A combination restaurant/bakery/store, the restaurant seemed the poorest of your options here. The bread was good, but otherwise, the sandwiches were unexceptional. Ehhh.

Joseph's (129 Meeting St., (843) 958-8500): The best of the three. Located near the Gibbes Museum of Art, it seems be a neighborhood favorite. Family-owned, and open for breakfast and lunch only, we joined lots of locals of all types dropping in near noon. The sandwiches were inventive and delicious. I had a B.S.T., blackened salmon, lettuce, and tomato with dill aioli on sourdough that gave other more expensive meals a run for "best thing I ate in Charleston." My wife's "Perfect Grilled Cheese" was evidently that--no tasting allowed. It looked like two different cheddars on sourdough with basil and plum tomatoes, though. Be sure to visit this place with someone who shares.

For breakfast, there was an Atlanta Bread Company near the Market (32 N. Market) that was open early enough to accommodate us. But Baker's Cafe (214 N. King, (843) 577-2694) is a real treat. A bakery and a breakfast/lunch hangout, with its own cast of regulars, it's the only thing moving on the main shopping street in town before 9am. The pastries, the coffee, and the omelets are worth returning for. The menu says "Best Breakfast in Charleston;" I see no reason to disagree.

But if anyone can challenge that, it's got to be the Hominy Grill (207 Rutledge, (843) 937-0930). A little farther north and east (but not much more) than most tourists probably get, it's that apparently contradictory "nationally acclaimed neighborhood restaurant." But it's the real deal--we had breakfast here on our last morning in Charleston, along with residents from the Medical Center, folks headed to work, and those that were just headed back home. Focusing on traditional Southern cooking that they're not afraid to update, it just sounded like a good place for breakfast (although they're open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner). It was--the whole-wheat blueberry pancakes were scrumptious. Be prepared to wait, though--reservations are only accepted for dinner, and it's popular. Deservedly so.

A long-standing Charleston landmark, Hyman's is a wonder in self-promotion. Somehow it comes off being fun: the T-shirts everywhere, the coupons for free crab dip all over town, the free umbrellas if it's raining, the million autographed photos from the famous and formerly famous who've eaten there, the business-card sized lists of good advice (one of which is still in my wallet, actually).

The building is a multistory maze that makes you glad you're being escorted to your table. You can order nearly anything that lives in the ocean and have it fried, grilled, baked, blackened, or dusted in confectioner's sugar. The kitchen must be an amazing place, because the service is fast and the food hot.

I'd been here on my first visit to Charleston and wanted to go back. I think twice is enough.

S.N.O.B., says the sign. It's your first tip-off that this restaurant, "A Maverick Southern Kitchen," is aiming for a bit of fun along with its first-class dining. Having previously abandoned our plan to spend high dollar for only one meal in Charleston, this was our first choice for our last night in town. The wide-open kitchen and the executive chef in a multicolored baseball cap with a handlebar moustache support that first impression.

But there's no doubt that they take the cooking seriously. The "maverick" idea comes out in the way traditional Low Country cuisine is used as a launching pad for all kinds of interesting combinations: crab cakes, but over a saute of corn, okra, squash, and grape tomatoes, for example.

There also seems to be some attention to providing good food to those with smaller appetites and/or smaller wallets: the menu features small and large plates, and the wine list has a nice selection of half bottles.

Top to bottom, this was an excellent experience.

Europeans settled this area in the late 17th century and quickly began to establish large plantations along the Ashley River, whose rich land was the source of wealth. Several of these compounds have been preserved, and it's hard to understand life in this area without visiting them. The three major ones are all fairly close together on Ashley River Road (State Road 61), about 40 minutes northwest of central Charleston: Drayton Hall, Magnolia Place, and Middleton Place. If you purchase the Heritage Passport, it includes admission to Drayton Hall and the gardens at Middleton (normally $25 each or so).

It's well worth the drive out here. You may wish to avoid heavy traffic times (you're cutting through the edge of the Charleston urban area), but exploring these buildings and the grounds is both aesthetically and historically pleasing.

You reach Drayton Hall first: built in 1736, it remained in the family for 200 years before being turned over to the National Trust for Historic Preservation. During those years, very little was done to update it, change it, or even paint it, so it remains an amazing example of what these buildings actually looked like in their day. The Georgian architecture is wonderful, and the site along the Ashley is pleasant, with lots of aquatic life at the river's edge. Admission to Drayton Hall includes a guided tour, which added immensely to our visit. The docents appear to be all volunteers, but ours was extremely knowledgeable and (usually) pleasantly opinionated.

This area was hit hard by Hurricane Hugo in 1988, and there's an interesting photo album of how that affected Charleston and this site in particular. The century-old trees, whose crowns met over the Ashley River Road, giving it a cathedral-like feel, were largely wiped out by the winds. You can sense that absence as you make your away along the river to Middleton Place.

The large attraction here is the gardens, an intricate and careful 18th-century design. Fountains, sculptured ponds, carefully laid out viewpoints--it's a smaller colonial version of Versailles. There's also a "living history" area where all the work that slaves and servants did to make these places run is demonstrated: weaving, candlemaking, blacksmithing, cooking, etc. The house is not included on your Heritage Passport ticket but can be toured for an additional charge (we passed--there was plenty else to do here).

We spent a very pleasant afternoon at these two places and came away understanding life in this time and location a lot better.

Right off the harbor, this is a great place to have a drink or a meal. We sat outdoors at the edge of the large patio, enjoyed the late afternoon, and watched the sun set. The bar and restaurant take up the whole roof of this sizable building, and the restaurant has both indoor and outdoor seating. There's live music nightly, too. It was a great place to unwind after a day of walking all over town. We just ordered appetizers to complement our draft beers, but they were good.

The view is unmatched. Charleston must have an ordinance limiting the height of construction, and only church steeples poke up above you here. You can see the whole expanse of the harbor, the Battery, and out to Fort Sumter. It's worth the cost of a drink just to see the city from here.

It's farther out here than I expected: Charleston Harbor is large, and Fort Sumter sits at its very entrance, a half-hour boat ride from Liberty Square on the northeast side of central Charleston. Admission to the Fort is free, but the ride is $13. The visitor center at Liberty Square contains some excellent exhibits on the origins of the Civil War, as well as how the idea of liberty has evolved throughout American history. This center itself is worth an hour before leaving. The tour gives you about an hour at the fort and arrives back at the dock after a short but enjoyable tour of the harbor. It lasts a little over 2 hours in all.

The fort was subjected to the bombardment that opened the Civil War, after the Union commander evacuated his troops to the island and refused to surrender. Eventually he capitulated, and the fort remained in Confederate hands for nearly the remainder of the war. A lone breach in Federal control of the coast, it was heavily bombarded by Union troops attempting to complete the blockade of the Confederacy. Despite heavy damage, Fort Sumter fell only when Sherman and his army arrived in February 1865 following the fall of Savannah.

Some of the damage is still visible, but the structure is largely intact: the site remained important through the end of the 19th century as a link in the US coastline defense, and extensive rebuilding took place. Rangers lead tours through the facility and there's a museum housed inside the fort as well. An hour here is a little short, but not by much. Combined with the boat ride, it's a trip worth taking and provides a real contrast to the antebellum period represented in much of Charleston's historic houses.