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Things To DoDowntownEditor's Pick
USS Yorktown Ghost Tour
Why we picked it
“Nighttime ghost tour aboard the decommissioned WWII carrier docked across the harbor in Mount Pleasant.”
4.9Beloved1,593 ratings
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The honest list of what's worth your time — restaurants, bars, beaches, hidden gems.
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Where Charleston starts its day. Roasters, neighborhood cafes, and the laptop-friendly ones.
Cocktail rooms, beer patios, and late-night spots worth crossing town for.
Sand, surf, and the Lowcountry coast — ranked by the people who use them every weekend.
Public, resort, and private — Charleston's best courses ranked by the locals who play them.
Where to live, where to walk, where to eat dinner — the city by the streets that shape it.
Studios, gyms, and the outdoor routes Charleston actually uses.
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Tours, parks, gardens, plantations, water — what to do with a free afternoon.
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Boutique, historic, beachfront — where to stay when you're in town.
Boutiques, antiques, bookshops, art — Charleston's best storefronts.
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Charleston's serious art scene — galleries, dealers, and the rooms behind Spoleto.
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Four places we keep coming back to — chosen by Charleston regulars, refreshed weekly, never by an algorithm.
“Nighttime ghost tour aboard the decommissioned WWII carrier docked across the harbor in Mount Pleasant.”
4.9Beloved1,593 ratings
Threaded through this week's Monday Briefing and Social Pulse — the places Charleston is actually moving toward.
Gourmet market & cafe offering a range of eats, including sandwiches, salads & pastries.
Concerts, oyster roasts, markets, and the rest — at the places you already know. See the full calendar →
Editorial collections — the trails, itineraries, and short lists Charleston regulars actually keep on their phone.
Every Michelin Star, Bib Gourmand, and Recommended restaurant in Charleston — from the 2025 inaugural American South guide.
What locals are actually booking
Cold dozens, hot half-shells, and the bars that earn the line — the canonical Charleston oyster guide.
The places that earn the golden hour — rooftops, dock bars, beach piers, and bridge walks.
Beach + dock bars, dive bars, cocktail rooms, live-music late nights.
Eight rooms designed for the second drink.
The roasters and cafes Charleston actually frequents
The most romantic restaurants in Charleston — Michelin Stars, candlelit corners, oceanfront sunsets, the rooms locals book when the night is supposed to mean something.
A new restaurant nears opening in the old Gingerline space, king tides threaten downtown streets, and Air Canada quietly exits Charleston for good.
A busy week on the food and civic fronts: a Caribbean-trained ownership group is nearing the finish line at the former Gingerline address on Meeting Street, while Caviar & Bananas added another location to its downtown footprint. On the infrastructure side, king tides were forecast to flood Charleston streets Sunday through Tuesday, and Mayor Cogswell convened a working session on saving neglected historic buildings after a recent church demolition drew community outcry. Air Canada's exit from Charleston International, meanwhile, is part of a sweeping North American pullback tied to declining Canadian travel to the U.S.
For eating and drinking: keep an eye on the Gingerline space for an imminent opening, and Caviar & Bananas' new site is worth locating if you haven't yet. Anyone worried about Tuesday morning's commute should check tide charts before heading downtown. And if you haven't been to the IAAM's 'They Lived' exhibit since it opened during Homecoming, it remains the most substantive new museum offering in the city right now.
A new restaurant from owners who previously cooked in the Caribbean is nearing its debut inside the downtown address that housed Gingerline and, before that, Ruth's Chris Steak House. The Post & Courier reported the opening is imminent but did not confirm a precise date.
Why it matters · One of downtown's more prominent vacant dining rooms is finally getting a tenant. Watch this space — literally.
The Post & Courier reported that king tides are expected to inundate Charleston and other Lowcountry areas beginning Sunday, with the worst flooding anticipated during morning high tides over three consecutive days.
Why it matters · Check tide charts before heading downtown Monday and Tuesday morning. Low-lying streets near the Battery and Harleston Village will be the first to go.
City leaders, preservationists, and Mayor William Cogswell met October 23rd to discuss concrete mechanisms for saving neglected historic structures, spurred by a recent church demolition that the Post & Courier reports left the surrounding community feeling blindsided.
Why it matters · The outcome of these talks will shape what tools the city has — and how fast it can use them — the next time a neglected building heads toward the wrecking ball.
Air Canada is cutting its Charleston International service as part of a sweeping reduction of U.S. routes, driven by a measurable drop in Canadian travel south of the border. The Post & Courier obtained data showing just how sharply that slowdown is hitting regional airports.
Why it matters · If you had a Toronto connection in your travel plans, it's time to rebook. Broader implications for international seat capacity at CHS are worth watching.
Charleston International Airport will gain a second nonstop flight to California when United Airlines launches its new San Francisco route, the Charleston City Paper reported Thursday. The addition also opens connections onward to Pacific destinations.
Why it matters · A direct shot to SFO is overdue. Book early — inaugural routes on new corridors tend to price competitively before demand catches up.
The gourmet market and café added another site this week, per the Post & Courier's Thursday briefing. The growing local brand now operates multiple Peninsula-area addresses.
Why it matters · Worth knowing if your nearest location has been inconvenient — check which neighborhood the new outpost lands in before making the trip.
Alex Sanders — legislator, appellate judge, president of the College of Charleston, and arguably the Lowcountry's finest raconteur — died this week. The Charleston City Paper remembered him as someone whose gift for a story rivaled six decades of genuine public service.
Why it matters · Sanders shaped Charleston's legal and academic culture across generations. His passing closes a particular chapter of Palmetto State civic life.
Downtown's dessert bars and Vivian Howard's biscuit counter compete for the weekend crowd, while West Ashley's wing-and-margarita circuit holds its own and Isle of Palms kitchens remind everyone summer resort season is fully underway.
The 12-layer Ultimate Coconut Cake at Benne's by Peninsula Grill has become a destination order — people are finishing dinner elsewhere and walking over specifically for a slice, citing Oprah's endorsement unprompted. The Coconut Cake Martini is now treated as a near-mandatory pairing, and the Chocolate Ganache Layer Cake is pulling second orders from anyone not on the coconut train. Weekend bar waits are accepted as part of the deal. Meanwhile, Bakehouse Charleston is running a parallel dessert conversation downtown around its salted caramel brownie and a pumpkin s'mores bar with a Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively co-sign that customers bring up without being asked.
The country ham, apple preserves, and white cheddar biscuit at Handy and Hot is the specific order people name when they tell others to go, but the potlicker stew with soft-boiled egg and tomato relish is what's earning the most surprised praise from anyone who wanders past the pastry case. The grab-and-go format gets consistent love; the price point gets flagged alongside it. Howard's name is what drives the first visit — the hand pies are what drive the second.
Stones Throw Tavern's $0.50 Monday wing night — backed by a homemade blue cheese dressing that gets described as 'garlicky and divine' — has locked in a West Ashley regular crowd that treats it as a standing weekly appointment. The BLT and loaded fries are the secondary orders; the heavy pours are the reason people stay. Across the neighborhood, Agaves Cantina West Ashley is running its own loyalty loop: one regular reports eating there eight out of ten times they go out, with the Quesadilla Jaliscos and original-mix margarita as the standing order. Service slows during peak hours — both spots are worth timing.
Coastal Crust at Wild Dunes is getting called out by name for its fig and prosciutto pizza — finished with bleu cheese and hot honey — and the meatball appetizer is earning 'best I've ever had' on its own. The insider tip circulating: order your pie well done to get the char the wood-fired oven is built for. Over at Hudson's Market, the Red Apron chef-curated dinner option keeps surprising people who assumed it was strictly a grab-and-go, while the breakfast sandwich and quiche crowd has already established its morning routine. Resort pricing is accepted as a given at both spots.
