Founded in 1670 Charleston, South Carolina is a city steeped in American history both good and bad. It's one of those places you can walk around on your own and enjoy the sites but if you really want to learn about the city, you need to take a guided tour.
We did both.
We started the day off wandering around, part of which involved just trying to find parking!
We lucked into a convenient parking space as we visited the Charleston City Market. This place is a long stretch of indoor shopping fun. Established in the early 1800s, the buildings go on for three city blocks down.
With both the Museum at Market Hall on top and the market itself below, this is a fabulous entrance.
So many options but we settled for purchasing a Star Wars bow tie and suspenders for the grandson then moved on.
This is where our parking luck was not so great but we eventually found a spot within easy walking distance of what we came to see. Specifically, we were looking for one of Charleston's most iconic sites, Rainbow Row.
Home construction along this block dates back to the mid 1700s but the buildings weren't painted in their charming array of pastel colors until the 1930s. It's pretty neat to see.
Among other interesting sites our meandering led us to was a pineapple fountain...
...and one of the cooler alley type roads we've seen.
As we didn't study up on the city before visiting, we knew we would be missing some points of interest so we opted to take a carriage tour later in the day.
One fascinating fact about the carriage tour is you don't know where you will be going until you pass the city run station that tells them which route to take. It's a way to keep the horse drawn carriages spread throughout the multiple historic districts instead of cluttering up one particular section.
We were seated in the front row so we had the best view.
Smiling and ready to learn!
And learn we did.
Before the civil war, Charleston was one of the wealthiest cities in the eastern US. Which helps explain some of the amazing architecture in the historic districts. It also has some insane laws in place to keep those historical building exteriors intact.
Along our drive we saw the only active French Huguenot church in the US...
...the old Charleston Jail...
...and so many cool buildings.
One day is not enough time to take in even part of the sites. Fortunately, we'll be back here in a few months to continue our site seeing.
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