South Carolina has historical charm in abundance. The Palmetto State may be well known for the sandy beaches along its 187 miles of Atlantic coastline, as well as for its more than 350 golf courses. But South Carolina also boasts numerous well-preserved historical districts, particularly in the cities of Charleston and Columbia, and plentiful antebellum architecture on its roughly 2,000 plantations. Of course, South Carolina’s history is also inseparable from its longstanding association with growing cotton, and from its corresponding association with the institution of slavery. But as with most of U.S. history, it’s important that we remember everything that occurred, both the aspects that we remain proud of and the parts that we would rather forget. Fortunately, there’s a lot more to South Carolina than cotton and plantations. So if you’re looking for cheap flights to someplace special, South Carolina could be the destination for you.
Tour of Charleston
Charleston is the largest city in South Carolina, and one of its most beautiful as well. For an overview of Charleston’s many historical delights, hop aboard the guided Charleston: 90-Minute Historic City Highlights Tour. The tour takes you to more than 100 of the city’s most iconic destinations. You’ll see historic plantations, antebellum homes, stately old churches, and various waterfront parks and bridges. One of the coolest stops is Charleston’s famous “Rainbow Row,” with its 13 historic town homes painted in dazzlingly bright colors. Other highlights include the Four Corners of Law, a crossroads of old-school governmental buildings, and the Battery, a seawall along the river built as an artillery battery before the American Revolutionary War. Tours depart every half-hour from the Charleston Visitor Center.
Main Street, Columbia
Columbia is the second-largest city in South Carolina, but you’ll find it no less steeped in historical significance and Southern charm. If you’re in town on a Saturday, try the Main Street Walking Tour. It’s a joint effort by Historic Columbia and the Columbia Museum of Art, and it’s an easy, breezy way to hit the highlights of the city’s main thoroughfare. Lasting about an hour, the tour will take you around theaters, museums, shopping malls, and other local landmarks that have existed since the 18th century. Many of these buildings are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, including the official South Carolina State House. Other hot spots include a whiskey bar, an old-fashioned ice cream shop, and the weekly outdoor Soda City Market.
Boone Hall
Of the more than 2,000 plantations in South Carolina, Boone Hall may be the most famous. It is perhaps best known for its impressive oak trees lining the drive up to the estate, called the Avenue of Oaks. The trees were planted in 1743 and form a natural arch that poses effortlessly for photographs. No wonder numerous films and television productions have used Boone Hall as a backdrop, including 2004’s The Notebook, the 1980s TV miniseries North and South, the long-running soap opera The Days of Our Lives, and Scarlett, the 1994 sequel to Gone With the Wind. Boone Hall is also one of the oldest continuously running plantations in America, growing and producing crops for over 320 years. Travelers should be sure to admire the antique roses that stretch back over 100 years in age in the gardens of the plantation. The grounds are also home to educational information on the lives of slaves on the plantation, a sobering reality seen emphasized by the slave cabins perched right next to the picturesque Avenue of the Oaks.
Ghosts of Charleston Tour
Charleston might be known for its lively daytime atmosphere, but it also comes alive at night… with spirits from the great beyond! The Ghosts of Charleston Tour will take you through the heart of this historic city and the many myths, legends, and scary stories that it’s accrued over the decades. You’ll explore all kinds of spooky scenery as a tour guide regales you with tales from the local bestseller The Ghosts of Charleston. The tour even offers exclusive access to the Unitarian Church Graveyard, a famously haunted destination filled with overgrown gardens in true “southern gothic” style. To fully immerse yourself in the ghostly experience, why not book a room in one of the nearby hotels and, if you’re in luck, you may just see an apparition of your own.
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Columbia’s Jewish Sites
Available as both a guided and self-guided tour, this excursion through Columbia’s Jewish Sites will help you understand the importance and prominence of Columbia’s Jewish community. Many Eastern European immigrants came to the city between 1880 and 1920, and after World War II, the city welcomed further integration in the form of displaced Holocaust survivors. Today, Columbia has a number of Jewish landmarks, including the House of Peace Synagogue, the Beth Shalom Cemetery, and the Hebrew Benevolent Society Cemetery. Other places of interest include historic homes and businesses owned by Jewish residents: Many of them are found in an old Jewish and African-American neighborhood established in the 1800s, but there are others scattered throughout Columbia as well. Consider this tour if you’re at all interested in the Jewish community and the way that it shaped South Carolina’s legacy.
Do you have a favorite destination in South Carolina? Let us know in the comments below!
