We find ourselves returning to Charleston, SC for a weekend visit a couple of times a year. No matter how many times I visit, I always enjoy taking a stroll in the early morning hours with my camera.
We park the car once we arrive, walking to our destinations and dinner. Charleston is a foodie’s paradise and we enjoy touring with our taste buds and attempt to walk off some of the calories we consume!
I enjoy peeking through the wrought iron gates
to admire the stately homes and
occasionally getting a glimpse of a garden. . .
If you enjoy history, antebellum homes, and great food,
you’ll be charmed by the hospitality
and Southern flavor of Charleston!
I would suggest visiting when both the humidity
and temps are not in the 90s though. . .
Despite the heat, I’m always amazed at the
flowers thriving in the window boxes. . .
Especially since I look like a wilted flower
within 30 minutes of my arrival :)
I hope you enjoy the scenery in the comfort of your air conditioning! This post is photo heavy, alas I have no restraint with the camera or at the table when I visit there :)
Charleston is known as The Holy City, due to the numerous church steeples that can be seen rising above the otherwise low-rise skyline.
You can stroll along and enjoy a visit
to Charleston in December here.
Thank you for your visit!
Sharing with: Between Naps on the Porch
Charleston, SC and Savannah, Ga. are two of our favorite cities to visit. Spring time is breathtaking with all the flowers, as your pictures shows but we’ve been to both in Dec. and it’s still beautiful!
We drive to Florida each year and do one sleepover along the way. We usually stop in Savannah, Ga because the hotel we stay at has an underground ” secure” valet only garage.( our car is loaded and we can’t park it in an open lot) We always wanted to stop in Charlestown, SC but can’t find the same parking accommodations. Do you know of a place with a valet secure lot? Thanks We’d love to stop there. Your pics are amazing.
Hi Judee, Most of the big hotels like Charleston Place have valet. There is also a public lot on Hasell St that’s in a good location and has an attendant that I would feel secure leaving my car there. Here’s a guide I found for parking with rates and those that are manned: http://www.charleston-sc.gov/index.aspx?NID=1025
Such a beautiful way to begin the day! Absolutely wonderful photos of my favorite city! Thank you!
Beautiful, thanks for the early morning tour. I’ve never been to Charlestown, but it’s on my bucket list. Your photos made my desire to go even stronger.
Just pristeen! The architect and gardens, window boxes, just breath taking. Went to Savanah, Geogia two years ago for St. Patrick’s day. Scenery a lot like it. Need to go there next. 🌴🌺
I’ve never been to Charleston for a visit, but I know I’d love it through your pics of the shutters, wrought iron and window boxes. The one window box with the vine going up the shutters was my favorite. Window boxes just speak to me! Thanks for the tour, Mary. xo
well, Mary, I think I have found my rival for a Charleston addiction… LOL…my favorite town and I will never tire of her beauty… or your beautiful photos!
Stunningly beautiful photographs! Thanks for sharing. Where do you stay when visiting lovely Charleston? Recommended restaurants?
Hi Barbara, We’ve stayed at Jasmine House, Vendue Inn, Planters Inn, and Charleston Place. Favorite restaurants are FIG, McCrady’s, Cypress, The Macintosh, The Grocery, Rue De Jean, Hominy Grill, Magnolia’s, SNOB’s. LOTS of great restaurants!
I loved Charleston! I just returned from a vacation there! You must try the cheese grits and swordfish at AW Shucks and the chocolate pudding at Hominy!
Having lived in the south since 1984 seven of those years in Hilton Head.
Living there gave us the opportunity to visit Charleston and Savannah alot.
Love both cities, but for pure beauty nothing rivals Charleston. You are right about going when it is not 90 and very humid. The garden tour in the fall is one of my favorite times to go. Enjoy!!!
Mary, I just started my day looking at your photos of Charleston. The wrought iron and window boxes are two of my favorite things there. I hate to say it but, we haven’t been to Charleston in years. I could spend a long time there, except in Summer.
Thanks for taking so many gorgeous photos.
Love, love, love. I know it is hot and steamy in the summer, but I can take a trip to Charleston most anytime. I sure enjoyed your pictures! I think I took some of the same homes and gates when I was there last!
Absolutely beautiful. I also love to “smell” Charleston’s gardens as everyone seems to plant the Confederate jasmine. The scent is wonderful.
Mary, Charleston has been on our list to visit for so long but we seem to get as far as Williamsburg and then run out of time before we need to be back home. I love it when you take us on a virtual tour there and I can feel the morning sunshine in the light in some of your photos. I don’t know what is the most intriguing–the flowers, wrought iron, or the architectural elements on the buildings! Just gorgeous! I can’t wait to visit. Linda
p.s. thanks for your encouragement ~ it’s just the cooking that is so stressful for me! My cooking is good enough to eat, but lacks so much in picturesque quality :) !
NEVER too picture heavy when Charleston is involved! :)
What are some of your favorite places to eat?
Wow. Utterly beautiful. So European with the wrought iron and window boxes but the plants seem lusher. My children are on their way from Sacramento California, to drop my granddaughter at Uof Alabama. Today it is Atlanta, tomorrow Charleston. They are looking to relocate to the south. (My daughter lived on Lake Norman for awhile.) Meg has Beaufort SC stuck in her head I am afraid of the humidity, spoiled Cali girl, but Holy Moly, humidity can be stellar for the flowers! Your so very talented lady!
Mary, I never tire of seeing the gardens and architecture of Charleston. We have visited a few times, and it is a destination to which I’d like to return. I read The Invention of Wings earlier in the summer. If you like historical fiction, I recommend this book.
Thanks for the little visit to Charleston. ;-)
When my husband came back from Vietnam, his ship was stationed in Charleston. I moved there and we were married by a magistrate in an old downtown office. We lived there for 6 months and being young newlyweds, spent alot of time just walking around just looking and dreaming of living in one of the old beautiful homes!! What a beautiful city that brings back beautiful memories!! We did go on a splurge to a beautiful restaurant that was downtown in a gorgeous converted old church….wonder if it still there??
I love the way you can just walk right up to the front door from the street with some of these houses. It reminds me of the houses in London. Flats, I guess I should say. Anyway, it’s cool.
ALL of these pictures are cool, but I really love the one of the line of lights on the side of a building! Really artistic!!! The flower boxes are beautiful, too. We have a Colonial-style home, so I don’t think they’d look too good here, but I still love them. I’m going to compromise and get 3 of them to hang off the back deck next year.
All the wrought iron is just heaven!!! And I love all those shutters, too!
If you are not a fan of heat + humidity, avoid the Kansas City area at all costs. We are currently under a heat advisory with temperatures dancing around 100 degrees and humidity levels in the 80s. It’s simply unbearable. I got done with all of my grocery shopping and other errands yesterday in anticipation of the return of this heat. It’s just crazy! Our AC bill is going to be astronomical again this month!!! :-(
One of my favorite places in the world…when we lived in SC we could make countless day trips throughout the year…Spoleto time was my favorite, but I was game to visit any time…
Loved walking the streets and looking at houses…One in particular on Tradd always fascinated me and I would always wonder about the stories the house could tell…
Loved walking in the gardens at the Battery…and never missed visiting the “little dancing girl” fountain…
My husband and I just got back from South Carolina, but we were in Columbia, attending my youngest son’s graduation from Basic Combat Training at Ft. Jackson. I’m so sorry that we ran out of time and couldn’t see Charleston. It looks beautiful! We got a few glimpses of antebellum houses and actually toured the Hampton-Preston house in Columbia. We also visited the Columbia Museum of Art and that alone was worth the trip. What is the name of that tree with the pink flowers? They can be found all over the place, but no one could tell me what they are called!
Hi Maria, It’s a Crepe (or Crape) Myrtle :)
Just simply incredible. Love it!!
Charleston is definitely one of my favorite places because of the beauty of the gardens, courtyards, and the fabulous gates!…I am definitely a “peeping Tom” when it comes to peeking in those grand courtyards…planning on going to Bluffton soon..
A VISUAL DELIGHT!! On my bucket/wish list!!! franki
Mary, your mosaic should become the next tourist poster for Charleston! Your photos of my favorite city are stunning! I hope you don’t mind me pinning them to my South Carolina board on Pinterest! :) I wonder if you’ve ever ventured over to the Old Village in Mt. Pleasant?
It was one of my great disappointments this winter when our car was being repaired in Charleston but we did not get to stay there a few days and take it in. I definitely want to go back and stay a few days. I will never tire of your pictures. GORGEOUS images, Mary. Have a wonderful weekend. PS, do I have to check the box that says to notify me of new posts via e-mail EACH time I visit????
Beautiful….Breathtaking!!!!!!!!!!!! Love your pictures. Thanks for sharing!
I love going to Charleston with you Mary, you always capture the city’s magic in your photos~the window boxes are insanely beautiful, but Charleston in the summer is challenging for sure! All the architectural elements are what makes everything so charming and I love the way your camera finds and highlights them~so many restaurants, you are lucky to be able to visit often and enjoy them~
Jenna
Beautiful pictures of a charismatic southern city. Having lived in SC for 14 years, we were guilty of not going on enough weekend trips to Charleston because is was “right there.” Living in western NC now, which we love with the beautiful mountains all around us, Charleston & Savannah are 6-8 hours away and it’s been too long since we’ve been to either. We enjoyed #2 Meeting Street on several Charleston visits. Would you share where you stay on your visits? Thank you for this Morning Walk Tour of a South Carolina gem.
Thank you for this beautiful post! Charleston & Savannah have been on my bucket list for some time now. It is finally becoming a reality this October and I am beyond ecstatic. This Canadian gal can’t wait to visit the south!
Beautiful!
~Mary~
Thanks for shari ng your lovely pictures. All the window boxes are beautiful, they all must have a gardener ,:) wish I did !!
Paula
IN
love what catches your eye!
Gorgeous photos. Love all the flower boxes. Can’t wait to visit there sometime.
Fabulous photos, Mary!!! Thanks for taking time to snap those for us…love all the ironwork and window boxes that you captured. Did you eat some shrimp and grits?
Ah—your pictures are beautiful, and almost convey the earthy scent of the boxwood and bit of the smells of moss and shady heat. Love this, one of my favorite places.