A trip to Charleston, South Carolina has been in the works for some time, but honestly, I wasn't in a hurry. I fell in LOVE with Savannah, GA last year, and because of that, I knew I'd compare every city in the south to it.
So how did Charleston compare? Read on!
I knew I'd want to visit Charleston during a time of year that had mild weather. I feel like when weather makes one miserable (too hot or too cold), it plays a major factor in trip enjoyability. Trust me. We visited one of the most beautiful cities in the entire world -Venice, Italy- during the height of summer. The mornings were nice, but once noon hit we were utterly miserable, searching for any square inch of shade to rest. Gorgeous, yes! Enjoyable? Not so much.
Master's week in Augusta was upon us, meaning two things: The kids would be on spring break, and anyone who lives here and who isn't working the tournament knows better than to stick around town. Traffic becomes insane, lines at stores are long. The Augusta population seemingly doubles. We picked the beginning of the spring break week to head to SC, with a return planned for Wednesday after some bumming around at an outlet mall on the way back (which is not talked about here).
I was told by others that we'd need a week to cover most of what Charleston has to offer, but our family didn't find this to be true for quite a few reasons that I'll explain later.
Day One:
I did plan out my own walking tour, as I usually do. I love reading other blogger's tips and tricks, but have always felt the need to customize my own interests. I even planned out parking. I am one of those people who hates unknown parking situations. Gives me high anxiety in unfamiliar places. With all of that in mind, we parked at the City Market garage on Cumberland. Btw, it has some neat views of the city from the top.
From there, we went straight to Charleston City Market. I actually thought it'd be like a typical flea market, with dollar store junk, but it had some really neat stuff sold by local artisans. I could've spent longer there ogling, but it was crowded inside. We did buy a few things there! Some themed hand-crafted voodoo dolls, souvenir magnets, and something else that escapes me at the moment.
After the market, we went straight to Brandy Melville, by request of my teen daughters. I had never been in this particular store before, but it reminded me of a brighter Abercrombie & Fitch from back in the 90s. Too many crops tops for my liking, though. We grabbed some burgers at Five Guys near by for lunch, then began our stroll down King Street. King Street is admittedly neato. I was more excited about the architecture of the buildings than any store along the street.
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| Caught off-guard at Brandy |
If you follow King St all the way south (or technically, southeast), you'll smack into White Point Garden, which was the plan! The park is a cute little resting area with oak trees and green space, but not a garden in the traditional sense if you're looking for one. I was not. We hit the sidewalk against the water, curving around to 'The Battery'. The Battery is really just the sea wall promenade. There were statues and sculptures of random people and what appeared to be Greek gods (maybe?), but the highlight is seeing the sea front estates along the street, including the famous Palmer Home, or 'Instagram pink house' of Charleston.
Walking from there, we passed Rainbow Row and headed to the pineapple fountain at the waterfront park. There were hoards of people seeking a photo op at the time, so we quickly snagged our opportunity then went onward to what's probably my favorite street in Charleston: Church Street
If you follow my Euro travels, you know churches are my thing. I'm not religious in any way, but there's something about the care of design that has always intrigued me about old cathedrals, basilicas, and churches. And...I am a huge cemetery nut. Church Street definitely satisfied both of these needs for me! Unfortunately, the cemeteries were locked, but I could still creep my telephoto lens through the fence.
Saint Phillips Church probably has the coolest little cemeteries belonging to a church that I have ever seen. They are exactly as one would envision a deep south cemetery to look like; oozing in Spanish moss, cracked headstones, and a spooky void of light from the surrounding large oaks and their thick foliage. This church was built in 1836, and you guessed it: The graveyards belonging to it have very notable South Carolinians buried in it.
The French Huguenot Church -just yards away from Saint Phillips- is super cute. It reminds me of a few of the churches we saw in the South of France, and with good reason, as it's name foreshadows. The church was originally erected by French Calvinist refugees back in the 1680s, long before the U.S. was a country. Fun fact: thought there was a time period where the church was used as an event space instead of a religious ground, the church conducts an annual Easter service in the French language, committing to it's roots.
Note: I also encountered a beautiful little cemetery on a side street earlier on our walk from the city market to Brandy Melville; off of Hassel Street. It's not a major throughfare for sightseeing, like at all, but it was a nice hidden gem if cemeteries are your jam.
After seeing Church Street, we headed to the car, and then to our hotel. Once we checked in, we still had some daylight to kill. My daughters begged to visit the beach, even though that was our entire plan for day two. However, sand runs in my veins. Born near Long Beach, CA, and having spent much of my childhood in the area (Huntington, Seal, Long Beach, Newport), I'll take any opportunity that I can to be near the water.
We drove to Folly Beach, walked the newly rebuilt pier, and put our toes in the water. When the sun started to creep beyond the horizon, we strolled Center Street for no good reason at all before heading back to Charleston. I will say Folly Beach has the most awesome public pier I have stepped foot upon. Might be because it is new? But it's wider than most, has lots of benches, and even tables to eat a picnic at, if you desired. Very clean!
Day Two:
Folly Beach Day, and then Charleston in reverse
Because I had already figured out my beach parking situation the evening before, that took lots of guess work out of where to park.
We walked the little tourist strip on Center Street in the daylight before grabbing our beach gear from the car. The shore was totally different from the evening before, as expected. Families, teens, beach umbrellas, coolers, toys, everywhere. The tide was much lower. We settled on a spot and got to lounging.
Last year we took a trip to Florida, where one daughter learned the harshness of UV rays. She didn't take heed to our constant nagging of applying sunblock, missing a whole day and a half of Universal parks because of severe sun poisoning. Thankfully, she listened this time. But our other two daughters? Not so much. They thought they were 'tanning'. My good people, you can explain in layman's terms or scientific terms the importance of sunblock and how it works to a teen, but they just don't care. I wasn't surprised when those two left the beach later looking like dried out lobsters.
After a couple of hours, we were all sun-logged in some fashion. We said goodbye to Folly around 4pm, headed to the hotel and took rounds of showers. There was still daylight left, and one thing we don't enjoy doing is sitting in a hotel staring at a tv when we can do it at home. With dinner time approaching anyway, we headed back to downtown Charleston, though it wasn't in the plans. This time around, I parked in the St Phillip Street Garage, as we were headed to Chipotle on King Street.
This is where downtown got much more interesting to me. Shops here close around 7pm on weekdays, leaving the streets pretty empty of pedestrians and cars. Who knew? I felt better equip to take in my surroundings than be rushed in a walking hoard of folks trying to beat the crosswalk timers. After dinner, we decided to meander around again. First stop was another hidden gem that I did not see coming: Urban Outfitters. No, not the retail part of it, the actual building! The outside is covered in scaffolding now (April 2023), so I didn't know what was lurking behind it...
We dipped in just before closing and I am SO glad I did. Surprise! The store is set in an old theater, adorned with bas-relief carvings of cherubs and tons of neoclassical charm. Even old chandeliers are lit, dazzling above overpriced booty shorts. I loved every second of being there, and honestly, I did not look at one piece of merchandise. I was memorized by the building itself. The balcony now serves as the clearance section. Even if you're not a fan of the retailer, it's still worth a stop in.
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| The stage now serves as the dressing rooms |
*FUN FACT! I spent the majority of my teen years in Tempe, AZ where one of the few first leases outside of the flagship store for Urban Outfitters was back in 1995. YES! Urban is that old, actually older. I am nearly 40 now, but remember shopping at my local Urban as a middle-school brat, and last I visited, the location is the same! UO and I have a LONG relationship. That being said, the Charleston Urban is the most gorgeous I have ever laid eyes upon. Sorry, Tempe.
I eventually had to leave as the store was closing, but we slowly shuffled to the fancy Target for aloe gel, later cutting towards the Pineapple fountain. Got a few better pictures as no one was around, then we went to the public pier nearby, as we didn't do it the day before. It ended up being a beautiful evening, and a prefect goodbye to Charleston.
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| T'was a must |
So, Charleston or Savannah?
Savannah wins, hands down, if you are looking for more nooks and crannies to explore, and more of a vacation vibe. I feel as if downtown Savannah has more room to roam, whereas downtown Charleston is more concentrated. This is likely because it is, as the square miles do measure differently. I also like that Savannah has tons of beautiful little squares that capture your attention with fountains, greenery, and a sense of calm between sites and residential areas. In Charleston, when you hit a dense residential area, that's just it. Nothing more, nor less. River Street in Savannah is also one-of-a-kind. But if shopping and retail is more important to you, you'd likely prefer Charleston. Though, I don't travel to shop. I travel to explore.
Why I don't think it's necessary for my family to need a week in Charleston? I have several reasons. Aquariums, museums, old forts, and all of the above we have done a million times over, and they have started to all look the same. I say it often, but I know I am -we are- travel jaded when it comes to some touristy sites or activities. I blame our three year European tour and our vast amount of North American travels. Now-a-days, my "wow" is generally something so off-guard and unexpected, like the Urban Outfitters building. It has to genuinely must surprise me at this point.
We also live about 2 hours and 45 minutes away from Charleston, and aren't planning to leave the south anytime soon. With that said, we can always easily return.
There is so much in South Carolina to explore that we haven't touched yet! We will be returning sooner than later, as my son will be graduating Basic Training at Fort Jackson in June, and our summer family vacation is ironically planned in South Carolina as well! But if I am being honest with y'all, I can visit SC any time, as it's ten minutes from my house. Augusta, GA is literally a bridge across the river from South Carolina :-)
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