While Stella and her husband were exploring SLC and more of Utah, my husband and I also took a trip that weekend! We have some friends who moved to Charleston, South Carolina this past year and we’ve been saying we’d go visit them since they moved. With recent development that may impede on our ability to travel (read: an upcoming baby), we decided the time is now! So we booked a quick trip to see them and explore the city. They have two kids so we spent a fair amount of time lounging and playing with them, but we did get a little bit of sightseeing and a fair amount of eating in, too! Here are my top picks of everything we did/ate/saw:

Food and Drinks

• My favorite meal of the trip was at Home Team BBQ. We’d been craving barbecue since landing, and Home Team delivered just perfectly. I was a huge fan of their collared greens, and even more a fan of their ribs which is very impressive because ribs are not a go-to for me.
• Our friends picked us up from our downtown hotel one morning and we all met for breakfast at Callie’s Hot Little Biscuit on Market Street in the French Quarter. The biscuit sandwiches are something I will think about for a long time! I also discovered you can get the mix all over the country, so maybe I will try to replicate now that we’re home!
• We walked around The Market for a bit then headed down King Street for a stroll and ended up at Charleston Distilling Co. We opted for the tour, tasting, and cocktail option (though I, personally, abstained from all the drinking aspects) and spent a lovely hour among the distilling equipment.
• After our distillery tasting we headed to Brown Dog Deli for lunch and it was definitely a highlight. We all got different sandwiches, but traded bites and each one was flavorful and perfectly constructed. Also thoroughly enjoyed the sides of potato salad!
• On our first night in Charleston we did a little bit of bar hopping and ended up at the Cocktail Club (which is the sister bar of the downstairs restaurant The Macintosh, which you MUST go to for the bone marrow bread pudding if you’re in the area). I loved the vibe there with all of the original framing, exposed brick and beams, plus the bartenders were fantastic at recommendations and even made me a delicious mocktail to enjoy!
• Last but certainly not least, on our ball crawl evening we ended the night with dessert (for me!) and a drink (for my husband) at 5Church. At the end of Market Street, it inhabits a former church and they have for sure leaned into the theme in all the best ways.

Activities

• We stayed just off of Market Street for our first two nights in Charleston in a quaint little bed and breakfast. It was perfectly located to explore the shops in Charleston’s Historic City Market and get a lay of the downtown land.
• We started the first morning of our visit with a walking tour. We went with Charleston Footprints led by Michael, a seventh-generation Charlestonian! He was such a character and knew so many interesting “hidden” details about the city. The experience was just over two hours, but I was so impressed at how much he was able to pack into every minute! Would definitely recommend, even for locals to get a better or more in-depth taste of the history of the city.
• When our friends met us downtown for a day, we strolled along Waterfront Park at first to catch up. It was a beautiful day and the sweeping views of the Bay were a lovely backdrop to our chatting.
• This is not a thing I did on my most recent trip, but I had been to Charleston once before in high school, and did a Carriage Tour on that visit. It was during one of the warmer months, so getting to sit back and enjoy the view was definitely appreciated in the muggy southern heat. If you’re visiting in a cooler month (November through February, I’d say), I recommend a walking tour in its place, though.

Things we didn’t do but will go back for…

• I would have loved to walk around The Citadel, Charleston’s historic military college best known for its Moorish-inspired architecture, but alas, time did not allow.
• Probably the best-known historic attraction in Charleston, we opted not to visit Fort Sumter on this visit. The trip to get out there and back would have eaten too much into our time for other things (read: all the eating we had to get done!), but I can definitely see it topping the list of a return trip.
• I’ve heard great things about the Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum, and would love to schedule it into a future jaunt. I love visiting historic ships, and am constantly amazed at all the functions built into and in service of the men and women who crew them.
• Lowcountry Oyster Festival in January! I’m a huge oyster fan, and not being able to have any of them while visiting because I’m pregnant was such a disappointment! I would love to return for a January visit some year to partake in this festival!

Have you been to Charleston before? Any local Charlestonians have suggestions for things I missed? Let us know in the comments.