PING:Charleston Dave

Hey, Clark!

Hmm, just off the top of my head...

Glad you're getting to visit Charleston. My primary advice would be to try to stay downtown, in the historic district. That lets you enjoy the architecture and such much more easily. We're basically a college town with a lot of history and tourism. College of Charleston, Medical Univ of SC, Art Institute, The Citadel, Charleston School of Law, and a branch of Trident Tech are all downtown. There are plenty of shops, bars and restaurants catering to the college crowd as well as higher-end stuff.

It's a little cheesey, but consider taking a horse-and-carriage ride. The horse does all the work and for $18-20 you get an hour's gently-paced exposure to the city. By city code all tour guides must be licensed, which requires both a written exam and a practical exam, so they all have to know what they're talking about. There are also a couple of culinary tours and walking tours emphasizing ghosts, wickedness, Southern Food, or whatever interests you. You might think also about renting bicycles, as downtown is compact and seeing it on bikes is great. Riding the Ravenel bridge (see Bente's pics) on a bike is great; it has a large pedestrian/bicycle lane.

The Saturday Farmer's Market in Marion Square is just about the most fun you can have with your clothes on. If you like culture we have plenty of live music and theater, so pick up Thursday's Post and Courier (major daily, has a Preview pullout section Thursdays) or the Charleston City Paper (alt weekly, comes out each Wednesday). There are half a dozen local theater groups, a major symphony, and several other arts organizations of note, plus plenty of pop and blues music that's more small-club based. Theatre 99 does very fun comedy shows W/F/Sat, with "Laugh for a Lincoln" shows Wednesday nights for $5.

Food tends to run high-end downtown, but there are exceptions. Check the listings in both papers I mentioned for some guidance. if you have questions about a particular restaurant, drop me a line. Favorite local specialties are she-crab soup, shrimp gumbo, and shrimp-and-grits. Benne wafers (honey and sesame seed cookie) are a great snack, and be sure to try boiled peanuts, preferably from Tony the Peanut Man. The best local souvenir is a hand-woven sweetgrass basket, sold in the Market and along Hwy 17 above Mt Pleasant.

If you want to see a plantation, there are several within driving distance. If your schedule has time for only one, Magnolia Plantation because of its riverfront location, gardens and rice plantation history is probably the best bet. There are plenty of "active" activities, such as surfing, kayaking, etc. Walking or biking the new bridge is a blast; amazing views as shown in Bente's pics above. It's the longest cable-stayed bridge in North America. Another one-of-a-kind option is visiting the Charleston Tea Plantation, now owned by Bigelow and the only working tea farm in North America.

We have several nearby beaches of varying personalities. If you want something memorable consider driving 30 minutes or so to see the Hunley (first submarine used in war, sank in Charleston Harbor, dedicated museum working on restoration) or up to Cypress Gardens (gorgeous swamp with walking trails and boat tours; part of The Patriot was filmed there). Good art, children's, and history museums are downtown. If you like military history, the WWII ship Yorktown is available for tours and of course you have Ft Sumter, where an attack (by Citadel cadets) launched the Civil War. There's also a center for Birds of Prey about 30-45 minutes from town. If you like really big trees, consider visiting the Angel Oak, a city park south of town near Kiawah Island featuring one tree with a trunk of 25-ft circumference and ground coverage of 17000 sq ft. If you enjoy baseball, Riley Park has the Riverdogs, a minor league affiliate of the Yankees and you can have a great seat in a stunning riverfront ballpark for under $10. Wintertime brings the Stingrays (minor league hockey, in North Charleston). We also have the Charleston Battery, a pro soccer team that plays in a beautiful stadium on Daniel Island.

Try to stay out of a car and on foot, bicycle, or carriage to see downtown. There's also a new outfit (City Slicker) that sells iPhone-based self-guided audio tours (they'll rent you an iPhone if you don't have one). If you like to wander I'd recommend that option over a formal escorted tour, although the escorted tours come in all imaginable varieties.

Must-see: Battery (harborfront neighborhood with beautiful homes), Waterfront Park, downtown historic district and architecture, view from rooftop bar atop Market Pavilion hotel

Meh: Visitor's Center, City Market (vendors selling crap off tables), any chain restaurant including Bubba Gump's (local food is so good and so unique that eating at a chain is inexcusable)

Must-taste: Pulled pork sandwich with Carolina mustard-based sauce (typically served as a sandwich with cole slaw), boiled peanuts, shrimp and grits, she-crab soup, benne wafers, truly fresh shrimp (shrimp boats around Shem Creek), Carolina cluster oysters

Military stuff: The Citadel, Hunley sub museum in North Charleston, Yorktown, Ft Sumter

Best cooking equipment stores: Coastal Cupboard (Mt Pleasant), Charleston Cooks on East Bay (also offer food demo or participation classes like Taste of Charleston within their all-Viking kitchen), Williams Sonoma, LeCreuset factory outlet, Ted's Butcher Block (not really for equipment, but a great place run by an Egger on East Bay St).

Antique shopping: Roumillat's (enormous West Ashley warehouse), Linda Page's Thieves Market (Mt Pleasant), Birlant's (King St antiques district)

Email me if you have specific questions, I hope this helps. Hard to recommend specific restaurants unless I know more about what you want. Splurge restaurants abound, we have half a dozen that have been nationally recognized (two James Beard nominees this year, with one winner), but there are also reasonably priced options, particularly if you get out of the peninsula tourist district.

Enjoy, and start making plans for your next visit.