Things to Do in Charleston, SC - Charleston Attractions
Things to Do in Charleston
On the itinerary: Historic sightseeing and shopping at Charleston Market by day, haunted tours by night. If you’ve got more time: Day trips to Fort Sumter and Folly Beach.
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See what other travelers like to do, based on ratings and number of bookings.
Book these experiences for a close-up look at Charleston.
Historical Toursfromper adult$50
Historical Toursfromper adult$39
Crime Toursfromper adult$35
Historical Toursfromper adult$81
Historical Toursfromper adult$28
Historical Toursfromper adult$37
Food & Drinkfromper adult$99
Historical Toursfromper adult$26
Historical Toursfromper adult$44- fromper adult$40
Other Top Attractions around Charleston
*Likely to sell out: Based on Viator’s booking data and information from the provider from the past 30 days, it seems likely this experience will sell out through Viator, a Tripadvisor company.
What travelers are saying
- Meredith13 contributionsSuch a beautiful fountain and park. Great to take a short spot and get a photo with the pineapple fountain! It was clean and great on a sunny day.Written April 18, 2024This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
- Robin SBaltimore, Maryland35 contributionsThe grounds were stunning and it was a great example of southern plantation living. The Slave Experience lecture was fabulous. The speaker is so gifted - a great communicator and story teller. Middleton Place doesn't gloss over slavery - it tackles the topic head on with a realistic, accurate perspective. They acknowledge it as a dark part of our history that needs to be talked about.Written May 6, 2024This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
- borgeChicago, IL16 contributionsGreat bridge to walk and takin the sites of Charleston. There is plenty of parking and a nice park/playground to hang out at. There is a cafe and restrooms at the park/playground.Written April 8, 2024This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
- Ronnie SGreenville23 contributionsGreat tour starting with boat ride out into the bay to the fort. Got to walk around the fort by ourselves or with a ranger talking about history of fort. Really enjoyed visiting this piece of southern historyWritten April 6, 2024This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
- Navigate335568282448 contributionsBeautiful gardens and bridges. Lovely place to spend the day. Loved the tour. Had sandwiches at the cafe. Food was good.Written May 16, 2024This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
- RowerbabeSeattle, WA286 contributionsThis venue is such a hoot! Lots of audience participation and laughter. I highly recommend this theater for a change of pace and a more local feel in a great southern city. Very friendly staff and small but good menu of deserts and drinks.Written May 10, 2024This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
- Sam NPhiladelphia, PA23 contributionsA very nice visit to experience a piece of history. We really enjoyed learning about the history of the home. We recommend taking some time to visit.Written May 14, 2024This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
- Carol W4 contributionsThis home is frozen at 1850 hours or so, and no lipstick on her. So if you’re after Pretty and Polished, move along. We found it to be an interesting expository informing us “In Charleston’s earlier development, here’s what it was like for the upper 1%. Here’s what it was like to be owned by them,” complete with actual non-climate controlled surroundings. Yes, it helps to have an imagination. This family owned a rice plantation, several homes, 59 rental properties and over 800 slaves to keep it all operating. The house has survived a civil war, occupation, hurricanes, floods and personal tragedy, punctuated by great privilege and glittering parties.
As a severely hearing-impaired person, I so much appreciated the wifi-connected , professional audio guide with first-class features to rewind, stop, etc. THANK YOU.Written April 17, 2024This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews. - SKO B1 contributionThe site itself is in a nice setting, but there is not any furniture in the houses or the slave quarters. While the grounds are not as majestic as many of the plantations near New Orleans, this place is very close, and the grounds are nice. However...the tour was like an indoctrination into Orwel's 1984. Having said that, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND that you do it. It's free, and if you know your history (or want to read some below) it is literally like spending an hour with Baghdad Bob. Not to be missed! Let's get to it now...
The tour focused on the "enslaved" and had very little history of the "enslavers" - by design. Lots of fabricated facts and snide one off remarks about the "enslavers." Look, I realize that slavery was not our brightest moment, but let us keep to HISTORY and not re-write it. FACT: Out of just under 11M slaves from Africa, less than 400K were shipped to what is America. Why do I say "What is America?" Because the vast majority of those were shipped by the British. When the USA became a country, the Constitution specifically stated an end period to this abhorrent practice. BTW, Brazil imported 40% of all slaves. But, but but isn't it BAD what we did? Shouldn't we TALK about it? Yes! But factually! Not through a PRAVDA propaganda lens. When I pointed this out to a person showing us the "Slave Triangle" - showing no slaves going to South America, she replied, "That's because this is OUR history. US history." Well, OK, but it seems like it should be focused on the history of slavery, with us being a part, a very small part until the civil war, in fact. But OK. To those that don't know history it seems like all the enslaved came to the USA. And not Britain, but the U.S.A.
OK, some of the things we heard that make this plantation seem like crazy town (sorry but these are just too good to not mention):
- The enslaved themselves were the most valuable asset the enslavers had. Um, more valuable than the land or the yearly cash flow from the crops. I'm no historian, but if that is true, then why the next point.
- The enslaved were fed one pound of meat per week, along with one pound of rice. The enslaved didn't care if they starved to death, in fact the enslavers made more money - yes, MORE MONEY - because the slaves were insured. Now this is an interesting fact, notwithstanding this attitude would quickly decimate the insurance industry, and that is not how business is run. But OK, did some research and in fact yes, slaves were insured. Mostly high value slaves up North, like a blacksmith slave. According the the NY Times, the largest insurer by far was NY Life, who insured 508 slaves and incurred losses about equal to their policy revenues, about $230K in today's dollars. Hmmm our guide said that each payout was a hundred thousand dollars in today's dollars, and every enslaved (approximately 70) at the McLeod Plantation was insured. It sounds like someone read this NY Times article and just remembered a bunch of numbers.
- Virtually all bricks used in the USA - yes in the entire USA - before, oh, around 1880 or so are bricks built by the enslaved. Who had to dig up the clay from water up to their chest.
- Andrew Johnson, the POTUS who took over after Lincoln was assassinated, forgave all in the Confederacy they went up to Washington DC and signed a document stating they would not revolt against the US government. This was bad because it gave the landowners their land back instead of giving it to the enslaved. Even a cursory reading of history of civil wars will tell you that the way it was handled by the winning US side - the North - resulted in our country becoming one again. Not sure how the giving of land to the enslaved would have worked out legally or practically. Let me check out how things are going in Zimbabwe and Haiti...
- Enslaved dependents lived in the enslaved quarters throughout the 20th century, and in fact in the early 1970's living there they still could not send their kids to school and the only water they had was from a well. Of course, when the well broke nobody wanted to fix it for them so they had to walk to get water across the highway.
- The NYSE - yes, the New York Stock Exchange - got is start to profit off of the enslaved and is a fundamental part of white supremacy. I guess our guide isn't into Nvidia or Microsoft or GE stock.
- Enslavers never freed the enslaved. Never. Well, that is not what they tell you in Mt Vernon or Monticello, where we have been and history is not right out of PRAVDA.
Our tour guide was very animated, like an AI robot, or brainwashed press secretary, or maybe even one of the crazies in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest who really was a neurosurgeon.
Go take the tour, and enjoy the story. You might think about what our country will be like in 5 or 10 years if the kids hearing this story now believe it, instead of learning real history.Written April 22, 2024This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews. - AlexandraUnited States169 contributionsMy mom and I went to check out the market during our mother-daughter trip. It’s a beautiful market and it’s so nice that it is covered / indoors in case of bad weather. You can find a lot of unique handmade items here like jewelry, clothing, candles, and food. However, the prices were do expensive that we ended up buying a couple biscuits from Callies, walking through, and then leaving. We really wanted to support the vendors since they were all so nice, but simply couldn’t afford most items. If you’re looking for something extremely unique for a nice gift, this is a great place to go. If you’re looking for a deal, this might not be the place. It’s a great spot to kill time and explore the city, though!Written May 2, 2024This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
- IcicleCreekUnited States164 contributionsThe grounds (with self-guided tour) are beautiful and the visitor center was interesting. Our only complaint was with the house tour. The guidebooks and websites said the house tour was 45-50 minutes and the Drayton Hall website says it's one hour. However, the tour we were on lasted 90 minutes. That was too long for many on the tour. Our guide was knowledgeable and enjoyed sharing lots of details (and maybe hearing his own voice) but many in the group weren't looking for that level of detail. He didn't "read the room" very well. We also spent 20 minutes near the visitor center listening to background before going to the archeological site, then the house. This was helpful context, if a bit more than was needed, but there should be chairs for some people to sit.Written April 24, 2024This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
- NoraatcSudbury, MA38,220 contributionsMy favorite place in beautiful Charleston where one delight follows another: a long stretch of antebellum mansions on the Battery facing the marina. Every luxurious mansion has its one face and it was really hard to choose which one is the best. I found two of my own favorites standing next to each other: magnificent white mansion with lovely small garden (private residence) and Edmondston-Alston House. After a short walk in the White Point Gardens we turned back and this time we walked not along the marina but closer to the mansions to take a close at them.Written April 2, 2024This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
