Charleston, SC

[chagtown]

My husband and I are leaving tomorrow morning for Charleston :)! Any suggestions for stuff to do or places to eat??

Thanks!

[wine_o_girlie]

Charleston is wonderful! We love it. We just walked all over the place and soaked in the ambiance. Do take a carriage tour to hear some of the history. We walked along the Battery almost every morning and it was beautiful. We loved Charleston Cooks, a gourmet food store where you can take cooking classes (www.charlestoncooks.com). I took a class there and loved it.

Here's a message board devoted to Charleston dining - http://www.charlestonfoodcompany.com/home.php

We love food/wine and our favorites were:

Hominy Grill - not in the "historic", touristy part of Charleston (it's near the Ashley River on Rutledge Ave). Off the beaten path but it is amazing. I had the best french toast of my life there and my husband had amazing shrimp and grits. It is a very small place and you will have to wait but it is sooooo good and such a find. It is unbelievably cheap also (like $10/entree for brunch) and the owner/chef has been featured in Southern Living several times. We absolutely loved it.

McCrady's - fantastic wine bar/restaurant ( http://www.mccradysrestaurant.com). We had a champagne flight with a lobster and brie "grilled cheese". Fabulous. We were only in the wine bar section but have heard the food in the restaurant in fabulous also.

Cypress - very close to McGrady's. Amazing wall of wine. Great food and atmosphere.

Chalreston Grill - very pricey but so worth it (www.charlestongrill.com). In a gorgeous hotel and has live jazz almost every night I think. I would definitely dress up if you go here.

We also went to S.N.O.B. and it was good but not great. Same with Hank's - cool place and decent seafood but not that special and the service wasn't the best. Wanted to try Basil (Thai), Jestine's for breakfast, and Rue de Jean for mussels but didn't make it. I guess we will have to go back! Please, please be anti-chain in Charleston, there is way too much great dining to miss out on.

We hit Kaminsky's for late night dessert and I loved the concept of it but didn't think the desserts were anything special. Not bad but just not phenomenal.

[MES in Chicago]

My husband and I are planning a short getaway to Charleston when we visit my parents in Hilton Head over Christmas. We will either be staying 1 or 2 nights and this will be our only vacation of the year. I want to do lots of fun stuff so keep the ideas coming!

[Ebaskio]

I agree....stay away from chain restaurants.......but that is true anywhere you go. Charleston Grill is one of my faves.

[rosa727]

We stayed in an AWESOME hotel when we went. I'm not sure if anyone is looking for suggestions in that area, but it is called the French Quarter Inn. It overlooks the market and is just really elegant yet relaxing. Included in your room price is a nice continental breakfast, a wine and cheese hour every day, cookies and milk in the evening, a coffee bar all day. It was really beautiful and historic and exactly the type of place that you want to stay when you go to Charleston.

As far as restaurants, we went to Poogan's Porch for lunch and really liked it. It is in a really cute Charleston house.

We also went to S.N.O.B. and liked it quite a bit. The atmosphere was nice and we really liked our food.

I know Sticky Fingers is a small chain, but it started in Charleston and it is SO good that I would consider going there if you want great barbecue.

As far as sites, we went to Magnolia Plantation and the Audobon Swamp Garden and that was SO cool. It was even raining when we went and we still had a great time. We loved the gardens. We saw gators everywhere and all sorts of beautiful flowers and trees.

I also thought the carriage ride through the historic district was a lot more fun than I expected.

The Market Pavilion was really nice for drinks at night - there is a rooftop outdoor bar that is by their beautiful pool which is all lit up at night.

We also like the Rooftop at the Vendue for lunch and for drinks. We went there several times.

Have fun! I am so jealous - I can't wait to return!

[amyintn]

Go to Bowen's Island for the best oysters in town. It looks like a dump but you'll be pleasantly surprised. DH's aunt is a restaurant reviewer for a paper in Charleston and this is her top pick.

[mom_to_zoe]

Does anyone have any more recommendations for Charleston? Places to stay and eat, things to do? DH and I are thinking about doing a long weekend in Charleston next spring as our first trip away from our daughter (who, yes, was two in September -- I'm a little slow on this one).

[rosa727]

Just because I love pictures, I thought I would post a few from Magnolia Plantation, the one I mentioned that was great:

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d610b3127cce9393cb0141fa00000016108ActXLdqzZt_

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d610b3127cce9393b5e1c01500000016108ActXLdqzZt_

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d610b3127cce9393b1bc417a00000015108ActXLdqzZt_

The gardens are just amazing and huge!

As far as activities, we also really liked shopping on King Street, taking a ghost tour through the cemeteries at night, and going on the carriage tour. The Market was also fun, even though it is touristy.

[GeekGirl]

Oooh, Charleston...yummy! My FH and I are eloping to Charleston in the spring. I can't wait!!:D

[ktdelsur]

I lived in Charleston for two years and it feels like home to me. We hope to be able to move back after DH is done with grad school.

Please feel free to email me at ktdelsur at yahoo dot com and i'll be happy to give you tons of detail depending on what you are interesting in doing.

Ditto on Bowen's Island, or The Wreck in Mt Pleasant - both hole-in-the-wall establishments but YUMMY seafood.

[Reebs]

Hi. I was wondering if any of your wonderful ladies live in Charleston or have been there and can recommend a great place to stay. I'm not exactly sure when we'd be going, maybe February.

I'd like to maybe stay at a nice bed and breakfast, but not one that is really old and smells like moth balls (sorry, but bad memories). Definitely an updated one, but with the old charm.

Thanks in advance for any help!! R :D

[MrsD108]

My Best Friend lives there so give me until tonight if no one else responds and I will ask her.

[Reebs]

Thanks MrsD108. I would greatly appreciate any advice/recommendations. Especially from a "local"!!

[Sully130]

I live in Charleston and think it's a great place to visit. Two options for B&Bs are Two Meeting Street Inn (twomeetingstreet.com) and the Battery Carriage House Inn (www.batterycarriagehouse.com).

We stayed at the Harborview Inn the night of our wedding and it was great (newer hotel though). Also the nearby Vendue Inn is popular and centrally located. I'm sure there are others that are great that other people can recommend. I've never had the opportunity to stay anywhere but the Harborview and the Lodge Alley Inn (which was also fine).

You really can't go wrong (for the most part) with lodging on the peninsula of Charleston. It's a tourist town so I doubt you are going to find many outdated moth ball rooms.

I did want to caution you about a particular weekend in February. February 17-19 is the annual Southeastern Wildlife Exposition (www.sewe.com). It's a fabulous event, but MANY people come for it. Hotel rooms will be more expensive and I'm sure many hotels are already booked for it. So unless you really want to attend that event, I would not suggest coming that weekend.

That and the Spoleto Festival (late May to mid-June) are the busiest weekends of the year, by far, I would be willing to bet.

Charleston is a great place. I hope you come and enjoy your stay!

[Reebs]

Sully, thanks so much for the recommendations. I'll look them up right now.

I have ALWAYS wanted to go to Charleston. It looks so beautiful and I can see it being very romantic. My Dad has been several times on business trips and raves about.

DH wanted to do a long weekend and had suggested the FL keys, but I am going to veto it for Charleston. He'll agree though.

What's the weather like in the beginning of Feb.?

Again, thanks so much! R :)

[wine_o_girlie]

Reebs,

Here's what I posted in a previous CC thread about Charleston. Have fun! -

Charleston is wonderful! We love it. We just walked all over the place and soaked in the ambiance. Do take a carriage tour to hear some of the history. We walked along the Battery almost every morning and it was beautiful. We loved Charleston Cooks, a gourmet food store where you can take cooking classes (www.charlestoncooks.com). I took a class there and loved it.

Here's a message board devoted to Charleston dining - http://www.charlestonfoodcompany.com/home.php

We love food/wine and our favorites were:

Hominy Grill - not in the "historic", touristy part of Charleston (it's near the Ashley River on Rutledge Ave). Off the beaten path but it is amazing. I had the best french toast of my life there and my husband had amazing shrimp and grits. It is a very small place and you will have to wait but it is sooooo good and such a find. It is unbelievably cheap also (like $10/entree for brunch) and the owner/chef has been featured in Southern Living several times. We absolutely loved it.

McCrady's - fantastic wine bar/restaurant ( http://www.mccradysrestaurant.com). We had a champagne flight with a lobster and brie "grilled cheese". Fabulous. We were only in the wine bar section but have heard the food in the restaurant in fabulous also.

Cypress - very close to McGrady's. Amazing wall of wine. Great food and atmosphere.

Chalreston Grill - very pricey but so worth it (www.charlestongrill.com). In a gorgeous hotel and has live jazz almost every night I think. I would definitely dress up if you go here.

We also went to S.N.O.B. and it was good but not great. Same with Hank's - cool place and decent seafood but not that special and the service wasn't the best. Wanted to try Basil (Thai), Jestine's for breakfast, and Rue de Jean for mussels but didn't make it. I guess we will have to go back! Please, please be anti-chain in Charleston, there is way too much great dining to miss out on.

We hit Kaminsky's for late night dessert and I loved the concept of it but didn't think the desserts were anything special. Not bad but just not phenomenal.

[mortiz]

I live in Charleston as well and it is a great place. I haven't stayed at any B&Bs but we did stay at the Vendue Inn for our wedding night and it was great. We had our wedding reception there as well. We loved the charleston feel of it. Beautiful hard wood floors, and an updated "old" look to it. Very nice. There are really nice B&Bs on the battery, which is pretty much my favorite area of down town. I really don't think you can go wrong, Charleston is a beautiful city and there are a ton of updated historic B&Bs. Good luck.

[tbell]

We honeymooned in Charleston and stayed at Two Meeting Street (I think the website was previously listed.) It was the most enjoyable experience and we can't stop raving about it!

If you want a nicer restaurant, we ate at the Peninsula Grill for my birthday (2 days after the wedding.) It was really nice (read: fancy) and they have a famous coconut cake that is to die for (DH got it... I got the Death by Chocolate thing which was equally awesome).

Anyway, just thought I would chime in! Enjoy your stay, we had a fabulous time!

[rosa727]

Hey Reebs! We went to Charleston for my Bday last summer and stayed at the French Quarter Inn. It was fabulous - right near the old market (you can get rooms with views). It is convenient to everything. Included in the price of your room you get a nice continental breakfast, cookies and milk at night, wine and cheese every day at 4PM, and a bunch of other stuff. It is really elegant. We LOVED Charleston and are considering returning for our anniversary this summer. I think it is ranked #1 or 2 on tripadvisor.com. That's a great place to look at reviews of hotels.

[mortiz]

We honeymooned in Charleston and stayed at Two Meeting Street (I think the website was previously listed.) It was the most enjoyable experience and we can't stop raving about it!

If you want a nicer restaurant, we ate at the Peninsula Grill for my birthday (2 days after the wedding.) It was really nice (read: fancy) and they have a famous coconut cake that is to die for (DH got it... I got the Death by Chocolate thing which was equally awesome).

Anyway, just thought I would chime in! Enjoy your stay, we had a fabulous time!

tbell, You are so right about the Peninsula Grill. That is my DH's favorite place. I actually got him a peice of the coconut cake for his wedding gift. That is the only thing he wanted on our wedding day and there was going to be no way to get there, so I brought it to him. ;)

[melones]

I second the French Quarter Inn...its a great location, wonderful rooms, they offer you champagne at check in...loved that and they have a "pillow menu" where you can call and specify from a menu of different pillows. There was always tea and coffee on every floor...i just loved it there and would stay again.

[Reebs]

Thank you so much ladies. You guys are great. I saw the French Quarter Inn and thought it was de-vine!!

I'm not sure where we are going. DH now wants to do the Bahamas or Anquilla. Who knows with this kid, he is always up in the air.

But please, keep the recommendations coming, because I am going to Charleston one day, with or without my DH!!

[laurenc]

I am going to Charleston for an interview the first weekend of January. DH is coming along, and he will need to keep himself occupied (museums, tours, etc.) while I do my thing (8am-3pm). After I'm done, we'll need a place to grab some dinner. Any suggestions from those in the know? :)

[Bee]

We vacationed in Charleston this summer. I'd see if he can get down to the market area. There is ton to do down there, if not just people watch. We took a tour (on a bus) which was fun, and might be something he could do if the weather is chilly. It was a quick way to learn about the city & there are lots of neat facts that he could later share with you.
There are many great restaurants, but my favorite was Slightly North of Broad (SNOB I think they call it), and it was fabulous. We also went to a little bar called The Blind Tiger (I think, it was something Tiger!) and it had the neatest little courtyard out back with niches, fountains, pretty lights. We just stumbled on it, but it was really neat. I want to say it was on Queen St. - w/in walking distance of the Market & SNOB.
Have fun - you'll love it.

Oh, also, if he's into military stuff, he might be able to get a Citadel tour?

[akacharlotte]

Blind Tiger is a nice little pub. It is on Broad Street. I can't remember the cross street but they sold T-shirts that said, "We separate Church and State."

The market is great. The shopping is fun although some stuff is touristy tacky.

SNOB is very nice albeit pricey. Depending on what you want to spend for dinner you have a lot of options. Wild Wings is a bar/restaurant that caters mostly to the college crowd. I love Garibaldi's and Poogan's Porch. Southend Brew Pub is also great(Meeting Street). I also love the Vendue Inn. They have a great restaurant and a rooftop bar. Might be a little chilly in Jan. There are tons of restaurants within the downtown area. Depending on where you are staying everything is within walking distance.

I highly recommend a carriage tour. The tour guides are most knowledgeable and it is fun. The battery is very nice for strolling and the homes are beautiful.

There is a dessert place next to T-Bonz on Market that is too die for.

Have fun. Charleston is a beautiful city!

[mb1197]

I did a search and found a few ideas, but would like to ask for more. I am planning a trip for DH and I to go to Charleston, SC in September for our wedding anniversary. I would like to stay 3 nights and go after labor day since the prices will most likely be lower. My dates are flexible and I don't care if it's a weekend or during the week. Could you ladies help me out and give me some tips on where to stay, where to dine and what to do while there?

TIA!

[Sandie78]

DH and I went to Charleston for our honeymoon. We stayed in a condo on the Isle of Palms. There is a nice resort there called Wild Dunes.

[Bee]

We went for a few days last summer & stayed at the Doubletree. The location was great, right on Market St. and I remember the price was pretty good for that area.
We took a bus tour our first day which was fabulous. There were many things pointed out to us on the tour that we wouldn't have noticed or appreciated otherwise. Then the following day we walked around and took pictures of all the things we had seen on the tour. We ate at Slightly North of Broad (SNOB) which is highly recommended almost anywhere you look. We also went to this bar called the Blind Tiger (I think). It had a really neat courtyard in the back with fountains. There's a hotel with a rooftop bar & pool that was also neat - good for views & pictures of the city.
Hope that helps...!
~B

[mb1197]

Thanks for the information!:) I saw the Doubletree online and was wondering how that was since the prices are reasonable there.

Keep the suggestions coming!:D

[thedoorchick]

Bumping this 'cause we'll be in Charleston in a few weeks (for our 5 year anniversary, yay!).

We're staying downtown in the historic district - Will we need a car? I'm thinking we can just take cabs to/from the airport and walk everywhere.

Any suggestions for restaurants or things to see that aren't already mentioned, or any recent reviews? DH is a photography buff so any suggestions about areas of town or attractions that would be interesting to photograph would be appreciated as well.

[rosa727]

The historic district is so much fun! We have stayed there and never used our car (we drive to Charleston). Everything is very close - mostly walkable.

As far as photography, there are so many beautiful churches and homes to photograph. The Battery is the area with the most beautiful homes. There are also many plantations in the area with beautiful gardens and grounds. We really like Magnolia Plantation and the Audobon Swamp Park, which is next door.

I would take a carriage ride tour - I thought it was really worth it - very interesting and we got to see a lot.

As far as restaurants, I really like Hank's Seafood too - a nice place, but not stuffy. Very good food!

Have fun - Charleston is my favorite city, so I am jealous!

[ambula704]

What are your favorite places to stay? We are thinking maybe do 3 days in the historic area, 3 days on the beach. So I am looking for recommendations for both!

[rosa727]

My recommendations are:

for the historic area:

French Quarter Inn - AWESOME place! It has been on the top 10 list for best hotel in the US on tripadvisor for 2 years now!

http://www.fqicharleston.com/

For the beach:

Wild Dunes (the inn). We stayed there last year and loved it so much that we have rented a house there for this summer. It is on Isle of Palms, about a 20 minute drive from downtown Charleston.

www.wilddunes.com

[greenbunny]

Battery Carriage House Inn -- romantic and beautiful, smack in the historic district. Only downside: crappy breakfast. Cold cereal in a tear-open plastic box, muffins, etc.

Ashley Inn -- lovely rooms, but uptown near the schools and rather noisy. However, the breakfasts are worth it. Amazing hot meals served downstairs in the dining room. (So you eat with the other guests. If you're looking for seclusion, this won't do.) Note: Even if you don't stay here, stop by if you're in the area and check out their restaurant book. They have a photo album with menus and pictures from most of the well-known/well-reviewed restaurants.

Food: most people seem to recommend SNOB (Slightly North of Broad), but that wasn't our first pick. SNOB was good, but not nearly as good as the Charleston Grill. The food there was insane. It's great for atmosphere, too--live jazz on weekend nights, booths for couples looking out at the band. If we'd had unlimited funds, we would have eaten there every night. The Toucan Reef sucked, plain and simple. It was almost empty on a Saturday night, and they were out of the fish I wanted and subbed a cheaper one with no comp. Blah food. Hank's was good for a casual meal. Wear short sleeves if you go there, most of the food is a "dig your hands in" experience.

I'm into photography, and the historic district was far and away the best for architecture. If you're more into nature, Magnolia Plantation and Angel Oak are two must-sees. Angel Oak is a little hard to find, but worth it. You'll need a car to see both those places, since anything outside the touristy area is over one of the bridges.

ETA: Forgot to mention Boone Hall! If you're a photo buff you have to visit "the most photographed plantation in the US". There have been several movies filmed there. The house was a lot smaller inside than it looked, but the avenue of oaks was gorgeous. You cannot take a bad picture there.

[framboise]

DH & I went to Charleston last year to visit my brother who was stationed there in the military. We were there for a long weekend & LOVED it! I can't recommend our hotel, because it was sub-par (a particularly disappointing Holiday Inn was all that was left at a reasonable price by the time we booked) and not in the best location. If you're staying in the historic area, the only thing you'd need a car for would be to / from the airport or if you wanted to visit any of the outlying areas like the plantations or across the Cooper River Bridge. All of that is accessible by taxi so not having a car is very do-able too.

We felt like Charleston was very "entrepreneur-friendly" as there weren't too many chains right within the city. There were so many one-of-a-kind shops and restaurants that you could just walk around until you found something wonderful.

I'd say that our top activity was the carriage tour followed by Magnolia Plantation (http://www.magnoliaplantation.com/), Fort Sumter (http://www.nps.gov/fosu/) boat tour / Patriots Point (http://www.patriotspoint.org/content.asp?catID=3641&parentID=3222) (because my brother is stationed on an aircraft carrier so it was cool to see what that life is like, but it would also be great for any military buffs) and just wondering around being drawn in by anything that caught our eyes!

[melones]

I second the suggestion of the French Quarter Inn. DH and i have been to Charleston many times and after staying at a number of hotels this one is perfect for us in terms of location, small hotel but not too small and lots of amenities like teas and coffee always out, breakfast, wine and cheese in the evening, champagne upon check in and a pillow menu in your room where you can request one of at least 6 different pillow options. Love it!

If you are only planning to stay in Charleston proper i think you could get by with walking, cabs and rickshaws.

[thedoorchick]

Pillow menu? Now that I've never seen!

We leave tomorrow, and I have a nice list of things to see and do (and eat!)

To see & do:

- Fort Sumter
- Walking tour
- Carriage tour?
- Shopping - King Street, City Market
- Boone Hall

To eat:

- Jestine's
- Hominy Grill
- The Wreck
- Charleston Grill
- Hank's
- Peninsula Grill (maybe just for dessert)
- Sticky Fingers

I'll report back after the weekend and probably share some pics.

[ambula704]

Bump...we are leaving for our Charleston trip (1st anniversary!) in 3 weeks, I am looking for recommendations of anything romantic to do!

Also, what is your favorite restaurant and why??

[framboise]

Is there anything that you're already planning on doing or are you just winging it so far? What's the final decision on how long you'll be there?

[ambula704]

Well right now we are going to Myrtle Beach for 4 days and then Charleston for 3. We want to do a carriage ride, maybe a ghost tour, visit Magnolia plantation and historic places, stuff like that. I also want to go shopping at the market.

Hope that helps!

[rosa727]

ambula: Sounds like you are planning some very similar things to what we did on my birthday trip to Charleston! Magnolia Plantation was awesome, especially the grounds, which should be amazing at this time of year. The Audobon Swamp Park is basically attached (you can get a discount on admission to both), and I thought it was really cool. There are gators everywhere and cool birds and stuff.

I was afraid the carriage ride would be cheesy, but it was really nice and very interesting (they tell you a lot about the history of everything).

The Market is really fun and you will be steps away since you are staying at the French Quarter Inn.

Have fun!

[wine_o_girlie]

Ambula - I agree with Rosa about things to do. I also liked the Charleston Cooks store and took a great cooking class there.

Food - If you will have a car you should go to Hominy Grill - it's not downtown, it's in the Ashley River district. We loved that place and it's been written up in Southern Living a ton. It is not fancy and not touristy since it isn't downtown but the food is amazing and the location is cute. We also loved Charleston Grill for drinks/jazz - it's very fancy and elegant. We also really liked McCrady's Wine Bar. We had a champagne flight and appetizers there (lobster and brie "grilled cheese" OMG). Hank's was good, not fabulous for a seafood platter. SNOB was good but not top notch.

Have fun, we loved Charleston!

[LauraPerg]

Hey girls, my whole family is going to be in Charleston late next week (this includes a 5 yo, 4 yo, and a 6 mo). Are any of these recommendations for food good/not good for kids, other than the obvious ones like SNOB and the Charleston Grill? We are from Chattanooga and have a Sticky Fingers, so we'll skip that even though it would be family friendly. Any other places that we should definitley go or definitely avoid?

TIA!

ETA: We are only going to be there 3 nights/4 days, so we are limited to just few meals while we are there (we'll probably eat both lunches and dinners out though).

[calliope_muses]

We honeymooned in Charleston and absolutely fell in love with the city. We stayed in the Holiday Inn Riverview (http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/h/d/hi/1/en/hotel/chsrv?rpb=hotel&crUrl=/h/d/hi/1/en/availsearch&ias=y) on the Ashley River. We thought it was fun - it's a round hotel with a restaurant/lounge on top floor. Not the best food in the world, but the view was nice.

A couple of places we visited and really like that I didn't see mentioned:

Middleton Place Plantation (http://www.middletonplace.org/)

The original house was burned during the Civil War, but the remaining grounds and garden are gorgeous. There is another small house to tour, working examples of plantation life, and a nice restaurant on site. Be prepared though - there are alligator warnings along the garden paths since the property backs up to the Ashley River. We saw a baby alligator when we were walking down by the water and decided we should head back toward the main gardens - we figured where there's a baby there's sure to be a mama!


South Carolina Aquarium (http://www.scaquarium.org/) and Aquarium Wharf (http://www.aquariumwharf.com/)

The aquarium is in a nice area w/ shops, restaurants, etc. The Ft. Sumter tours leave from the same area too.

We had a really good meal of she-crab soup and fresh fish at a little hole-in-the wall place I can't remember the name of now. It was on the way to Folly Beach though. I'll dig through our honeymoon stuff and see if I can find the name of it.

[DaNiGaToR]

Hi ladies! FI and I are looking to go to Charleston for four nights for our HM in November. I think we are looking to stay at the Harbourview Inn (which I believe is the sister hotel to the French Quarter Inn) in one of the historic rooms. Anyone had any experience with this hotel/area? I know it's a bit further from the historic district, but def. within walking distance.

This is a great thread that I'm sure I'll be visiting again in a few months as we get closer!

[heather 8^)]

Bumping this up for more recommendations. DH and I are headed to Charleston this weekend for a fun get-away, and we're bringing along our 20-month old DD, so the romantic weekend suggestions are out.

Please please please, suggestions on what to do and places to eat with an energetic toddler? She's pretty good in public, but we definitely need restaurants with a higher decibel level. We're staying at the Embassy Suites by the airport and have a car, so we can go wherever. Are the plantations/historic homes ok if we carry her? I imagine the gardens would be fine... how do they look this time of year? Museums? Neat places to look around?

Thanks!

[heather 8^)]

*bump*

Anybody?

[wine_o_girlie]

Heather - I would highly recommend Hominy Grill for breakfast, lunch, or dinner - definitely a loud place with lots of families. The only problem is that it's a busy place so you might want to go to dinner earlier rather than later (which you probably would anyway with a 20 month old). Hank's was good for seafood and would be fine for a toddler.

Charleston is extremely walkable and that's what we did most of the time - just wandered around. The Battery is gorgeous for a morning walk. Your daughter might enjoy a horse drawn carriage ride. It was a great way to see the city and learn some history. There's also several fountains and she would probably have fun getting a bit wet in those. We didn't go to the Audobon Swamp Park but it might be good for a toddler. I believe there is also an Aquarium in Charleston.

Are you taking a stroller? The gardens around the mansions would be great for her. The flowers are in bloom this time of year (at least they were when we were there a couple of years ago) and everything was pretty. HTH, have fun, Charleston was wonderful. :)

[heather 8^)]

Thanks for the tips! We came back two days ago, but we had an awesome time and are already collecting ideas for our next trip out there. I'll post what we did for anybody else looking for family-friendly tips:

Day 1: We parked at the visitor's center and walked around the Market. We stopped in at the Aiken-Rhett House and did the audio tour there: that was great because DD could be noisy but we could make sure we weren't in the room with other people, so she didn't disturb them. Then we took a carriage ride (DD loved all the horses!) and grabbed lunch at Hyman's. Hymans was not too busy, but it's very laid-back: the kid's menu items came out right away, and they also brought a coloring placemat and a box of crayons and gave DD a coupon for free ice cream downstairs. Then we went the the battery and enjoyed walking around there.

Day 2: We went to the Drayton House, which was both a hit and a miss. We had to beg out of the guided tour because DD was being too noisy, so we let her run around the gorgeous grounds for a while and then rejoined a later tour. We also toured the gardens and got some great pictures. We ate at Sticky Fingers: great food, nice coloring book for DD, but she was a bit of a pickle so we got the food to go.

Day 3: Charles Towne Landing was fantastic. We all enjoyed the museum and the grounds, the mini-zoo, and the history walk. This is a great place to go with kids.

Notes for other parents: It is gorgeous to walk around downtown, but the sidewalks are uneven and hard for young toddlers to walk on. (DD refused to ride in the stroller and scored some scraped knees.) The historic homes seem kid-friendly (we called ahead of tiem to make sure it was ok to bring DD), but the audio tours are way better than guided tours with chatty kids. Also, depending on the age of your kids, you have to park your stroller and may get stuck carrying/holding them the whole time since they really can't touch anything, so be sure to bring a baby carrier if you have one.