Charleston has a present soaked in the past: the houses, the characters, the southern drawls, and the faux-paddle wheel steamers churning down the Charleston River.

If you’re looking to have a good old-fashioned Christmas this year, and want to experience some home away from home, Charleston is the perfect place to drink some eggnog spiked with bourbon and experience old world charm.

Where to Stay:

The extravagant houses are one of the main draws of the city, and today many of the old mansions have been converted into inns and bed and breakfasts for tourists.

With views of the Charleston Harbour, 1848 Palmer Home, an 18,000-square-foot mansion known as the Pink Palace, is a quirky bed and breakfast.

The 21 rooms at Wentworth Mansion each come equipped with their own fireplace.  The hotel—originally an opulent private residence—is a pristine example of America’s Gilded Age.

If You’re Looking for Fun:

The Holiday Festival of Lights is one of the southeast’s most cherished holiday festivals.  In James Island Country Park, experience more than 600 light displays.  From November 11th – January 1st, Charleston invites you to go for a stroll down luminescent Enchanted Walking Trails, take a tour on the festival train, and discover the magic of the holidays.

If You’re Looking for History:

The Charleston Foot-Print Walking Tour is available year-round, and an esteemed tour guide will walk you through traditions and heritage, hidden crannies and harbor vistas, churches, cemeteries, Civil War and Revolutionary war sites, cobblestone streets, brilliant architecture, and more!

Fun for the Family:

Around the holidays choirs sing spirituals at Drayton Hall Plantation, one of the oldest surviving colonial houses in America.  It is the only plantation on the Ashley River to survive intact, and
house tours are available year round.

 

-Arianna Schioldager