Charleston, South Carolina…there are not enough words to describe how amazing this city is. And I experienced this one solo (first ever solo trip)! The people in Charleston and the south in general really are the nicest humans. I came alone but was not alone for most of the trip. I will preface that I didn’t have a car on this adventure, so keep in mind that there are many things to do within a 30 minute drive which I did not get to do including several beaches and plantations.

BUT please keep reading for my top recommendations for Charleston!

Favorite Restaurants:

• Le Farfalle is a delicious, and affordable Italian restaurant in downtown Charleston. I met another solo lady traveler and we decided to grab dinner here as the locals recommended it. The best dish we had was the Fideos, mmmm, my mouth is watering remembering this flavor explosion.

• Page’s Okra Grill is southern cooking at its finest and is located in Mount Pleasant, about 20 minutes from Charleston. I met a few ladies the night before who had cars so they graciously picked me up at my AirBNB and took me here because it was so highly recommended. We all got mind blowing dishes, don’t think you can go wrong with anything but I will say that before here, I did not enjoy grits. BUT they had pimento cheese grits, holy yummy! Pimento cheese in everything is common down here but especially grits.

• Millers All Day covers all of your food bases. I discovered this walking and melting around downtown in insane heat and it met all of my liquid and food needs. I recommend the B.E.C. sandwich and any drink the bartender recommends!

• D’Allesandro’s Pizza is pretty comparable to pizza in Italy. I had recently went to Italy before Charleston and this was the closest pizza I have ever found, especially the In Bianco one because I don’t enjoy red sauce.

• Peace Pie is an example of a successful ice cream sandwich and pie baby. Ice cream sandwiches are filled with a variety of delectable pies. Being in the south, I felt obligated to try a pie in the southern family. The pecan pie did NOT disappoint.

• The Blind Tiger Pub is a fun environment with yummy food and drinks. The Truffle Duck is phenomenal!

• Glazed Gourmet Doughnuts are the perfect start to every day with at least 12 different varieties of eggs and coffee drinks to match. My selection was a PB&J donut; zero regrets about that decision.

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Best Bars:

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• Vintage Lounge is a swanky, low-key restaurant during the day/early night but then turns into a fun, weekend bar. The night we went out it was packed with 20-40s aged adults and a band that took song requests. The drinks are fabulous and offer a wide variety for the champagne mixers to light beers.

• The Vendue is a rooftop bar that overlooks Charleston and you can see the water from it. There was a lot of interesting people to talk to when I went and the drinks were so yummy! This bar is at the top of the The Vendue hotel.

• The Griffon is the ultimate dive bar complete with dollar bills covering every inch of the ceiling. This was my personal fave.

• The Belmont gets packed early but it’s got my favorite kind of old-timey, prohibition bar feels with some phenomenal cocktails!

• The Cocktail Club has a fun rooftop bar with beautiful brick walls and hip crowd.

Best Things to Do:

• The Charleston City Market is a must-see. It is a line of shops and food that stretches down a whole street of downtown Charleston. I found so many goodies here, including some jewelry that I have gotten multiple compliments on.

• The Edmonston-Alston House is one of the many, many historical houses to visit while in Charleston. I heard from a tour guide that this one is a must-see and I worked with someone whose heritage was Alston! The first shot of the Civil War was ordered from the rooftop of this house among other crazy facts.

• Walk along The Battery, Waterfront Park and White Point Garden. These are along the water, near beautiful, historical houses, and trees.

• Nathaniel Russell House holds an architecturally amazing staircase that you will have to see to believe. It is so intriguing to see how the elite classes lived in young times of America’s history. This house also has amazing gardens that hold many photo opportunities for the creative.

• Horse drawn carriage are touristy but absolutely must-dos! You learn so much about the history of the city and get to relax and take in the beauty of it all. I don’t necessary recommend the one that I took, Carolina Polo and Carriage Co. but there are so many better options to choose from. They all start near the Charleston City Market. You can get tickets ahead of time or when you get there, you can get them from a carriage itself.

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Charleston was SUCH a cute city that I cannot wait to go back to with girlfriends and my husband.

I hope you found this information helpful when planning your next trip to Charleston and if you’ve already been there, please leave your favorites in the comments!

Thank you for reading!