I’m planning on plenty of time for the USS Yorktown (CV-10) and maybe Fort Sumter. What else is good to visit in the immediate Charleston area? (Probably on a Saturday)
We are going to explore Savannah the next day. Walk around the downtown and probably visit the Botanical Gardens. What else is good to visit in the immediate Savannah area? (Probably on a Sunday)
Thanks all.
The National Museum of the Mighty Eighth is worth checking out if you’re into military aviation.
Bonus, right off of rt95 by Savannah.
I’ll add that to the list of options.
What time of year? I’d see if there’s anything going on at Grayson Stadium, where the Bananas play baseball. It’s an awesome old historic stadium.
Winter actually.
I lived in Charleston, SC some years ago. There are all kinds of tourist destinations/museums/plantations so you need to pick what you like!
I loved just walking along the Battery and admiring the old, stately houses. Or paying a visit to the city market. The architecture of the market is worth a look.
We were there in September, and concur with the above. We took a boat tour of the harbor, and a horse-drawn carriage tour of the Battery neighborhood, and both were fun and informative. (Weather permitting, of course).
Can recommend Slightly North of Broad (SNOB), and Amen Street Fish & Raw Bar for your dining pleasure.
Though I haven’t visited in years, Charleston is one of my favorite cities in the world. If you don’t have a lot of time, wandering around the downtown Battery area is fun, for the beautiful houses and gardens. A couple are open for house tours, which are interesting and don’t take a lot of time. The old city market is indeed worth a visit. Though it was once known as the Old Slave Market, slaves were not actually sold there; it got that name because in antebellum times, slaves would be sent there to buy food from the butchers and grocery sellers that had stalls there. There is, however, a museum of the slave trade nearby at 6 Chalmers St that is one of the only known slave auction sites in the country.
A tip for visiting Fort Sumpter - ferries take visitors out every hour (IIRC). If there are to many people, or you just want more time to explore the fort, skip the ferry back and take the next one - that will give you a nice period when you have the place to yourself.
Since you seem to be interested in warships and the Civil War, you may want to visit the Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley, located in a museum in North Charleston.
Seconding the recommendation for a horse-drawn carriage tour of downtown.
Another food recommendation: Vickery’s Bar & Grille, on Shem Creek in Mount Pleasant. The food is good, if nothing spectacular; but the dockside patio has beautiful views of the Harbor and, at sunset, the shrimp boats returning home.
Coming down I-95 through Georgia? Detour slightly through Brunswick and have lunch/dinner at Barbara Jean’s restaurant and bar on St. Simon’s island. She crab soup to die for, cheesy potato soup, pumpkin bread, and the meatloaf is supoib. Chocolate Stuff for dessert. You’ll love it.
If you’re interested, I might suggest a quick read:
Last time I visited both, I didn’t put a foot wrong, but that didn’t stop tour guides in each city from giving me an earful about the other.
30 years ago, now, but I suspect there’s a fairly long shelf life, if only an undercurrent.
Speaking of “putting a foot wrong” – Charleston is a sprained ankle paradise. All the streets and sidewalks are very “rustic”.
I’ve visited both, and I have to say IMO Charleston’s better. Savannah has squares of gracious old homes, giant trees weeping with Spanish moss, and beautiful fountains and fences; but in between are streets of generic American city. Charleston also has its modern mundane parts, but the historic homes, gardens, churches and parks are all concentrated in a fairly large area around the Battery, so that you can easily wander all day without walking into the quotidian areas. Not to mention that Charleston has the incomparable scenic advantage of the harbor, where Savannah has only the river.
I’ll second this recommendation. I enjoyed the Yorktown but I have seen other aircraft carriers. The Hunley is an interesting story and since it was raised so recently there is a lot of interesting technology in the story as well.
I served on a carrier, now sadly scrap. The Yorktown is one I’ve wanted to visit for almost 2 decades. I’ve been to the Intrepid a few times of course.
The Hunley I don’t much care about. I’ve been on plenty of museum subs anyway. I’m well read on it.
We enjoyed our visit to Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, mostly for the strolling and flora.
We enjoyed even more Middleton Place, which is gorgeous and has good historical sites and buildings, with tours (and sheep!).
Grabbed some good BBQ at Poogan’s Smokehouse downtown in the French Quarter.
ETA: Sorry, I should have noted that those are all Charleston places.
Ooh, I looove the Yorktown and Patriot’s Point. You’re really going to get a kick out of it. Years ago, there was a WW2 destroyer, a WW2 sub, and an enormous nuclear powered civilian cargo ship.
I was in Charleston again last summer and it’s really charming. I did the Sumpter ferry tour for the first time since I was a kid and it’s fine. The cannon rounds still lodged in the brickwork are thought provoking. I thought the hour was enough time on the island.
If you are interested in Fort Sumter, Fort Moultrie on Sullivan’s Island is worth a visit. In Savannah, try dinner at A.lure or the Gray.