Charleston's historic district holds one of the largest concentrations of pre-Civil War architecture in the United States, and the city has, in recent years, made real efforts to address the fuller history behind that preserved beauty, much of it built on the labour of enslaved people.
The Historic District
Rainbow Row, a strip of brightly-painted historic houses along East Bay Street, and the Battery, a promenade with views over Charleston Harbor, are the classic photo stops, but the quieter side streets of the French Quarter reward slower wandering.
The International African American Museum, opened in 2023 on the site of a former shipping wharf, provides essential context on Charleston's central role in the transatlantic slave trade, and is worth prioritising alongside the more traditional historic house tours.
Food and Plantations
Charleston's Lowcountry cuisine (shrimp and grits, she-crab soup, benne wafers) reflects Gullah Geechee culinary traditions, and the city's restaurant scene has become one of the most acclaimed in the American South.
Plantation sites outside the city, like Magnolia Plantation or McLeod Plantation, vary considerably in how directly they address the history of slavery, McLeod is specifically noted for centring the experiences of the enslaved people who lived and worked there.
Recommended Stay · Charleston · French Quarter
The Vendue
An art-filled boutique hotel in a converted historic warehouse, with a rooftop bar overlooking the harbour, walking distance to Rainbow Row and the Battery.
