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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
5.0 · 208
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Ten lists, one city. Each one written by the people who live here, and reshuffled every day by their votes.
The places locals actually book — from neighborhood lunch spots to tasting-menu nights.
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.
Cleaners, electricians, handymen — the ones who show up.
Tours, parks, gardens, plantations, water — what to do with a free afternoon.
Planners, venues, photographers, florists — the people who pull off a Charleston wedding.
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Boutiques, antiques, bookshops, art — Charleston's best storefronts.
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Charleston's serious art scene — galleries, dealers, and the rooms behind Spoleto.
Boat clubs, marinas, charters, sailing — Charleston on the water.
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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.
Neighborhood coffee shop and provisions spot on Rivers Avenue, North Charleston, with desserts and room for groups.
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.
Beach + dock bars, dive bars, cocktail rooms, live-music late nights.
The places that earn the golden hour — rooftops, dock bars, beach piers, and bridge walks.
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.
Home Team BBQ hits 20 years, Yous Guys closes on James Island, and Boone Hall Plantation moves toward nonprofit stewardship.
The week's biggest local story may be the quietest: Boone Hall Plantation, one of the most-visited historic sites in the country, is poised to transfer to nonprofit management — a structural shift that could reshape how the property handles its complicated history and future programming. Elsewhere, Yous Guys Sandwich Shop confirmed it's closing its James Island location, while a new colorful coffee shop, Harlow and Pearl, opened downtown and a locally owned wine shop, August Wines, planted itself on Savannah Highway in West Ashley.
Home Team BBQ is marking 20 years this week — reason enough to order smoked wings and a Game Changer at whichever of its four locations is closest to you. Mount Pleasant artisan Corey Alston earned a Guinness World Record for the largest sweetgrass basket ever made. And PURE Theatre has unveiled its 24th season lineup, a mix of new and recent work worth putting on the fall calendar now.
Boone Hall Plantation and Gardens is entering a new chapter as plans advance to place the historic Mount Pleasant property under foundation-led nonprofit management. The Post & Courier reports the transition is intended to preserve the site's long-term future and reshape how it engages with its full history.
Why it matters · One of the region's most-visited landmarks is changing hands — watch for shifts in programming and public access in the months ahead.
The popular James Island sandwich shop is shutting down, the Post & Courier confirmed this week. The closure comes as other activity stirs nearby — a new Odd Duck Market location and a pop-up tiki bar are both opening in the Charleston area.
Why it matters · James Island loses a neighborhood staple. If you hadn't made it over yet, you've officially run out of time.
Charleston City Paper this week celebrated Home Team BBQ's 20th anniversary — a milestone for one of the city's most durable restaurant brands, now operating across four Lowcountry locations from Sullivan's Island to Mount Pleasant.
Why it matters · Two decades in the Charleston restaurant business is a genuine achievement. Get in and order the Game Changer.
A College of Charleston graduate opened August Wines on Savannah Highway this week, stocking the shelves with lesser-known reds, whites, rosé, and sparkling wines sourced from small producers around the world. The Post & Courier reports it's West Ashley's newest locally owned wine shop.
Why it matters · West Ashley now has a neighborhood wine shop worth browsing — particularly if you're bored with the same labels at the grocery store.
Artisan Corey Alston of Mount Pleasant has been added to the Guinness Book of World Records for weaving the world's largest sweetgrass basket, dubbed "Big Percy," Charleston City Paper reported this week.
Why it matters · Sweetgrass basketry is one of the Lowcountry's most significant living craft traditions — a world record keeps it squarely in the public eye.
Harlow and Pearl, a colorful coffee shop with a pre-existing social media following, has opened in Charleston. The Post & Courier notes it's the latest entrant in a competitive local coffee market — expect a visually distinct space and a lineup designed to photograph well.
Why it matters · Whether the aesthetic is your speed or not, a new independent café is always worth a first visit to see if the coffee justifies the color palette.
PURE Theatre has laid out its 24th season, which Charleston City Paper describes as including a churchified mockumentary, a female-forward drama, and an Austin-baked comedy — a lineup that leans into contemporary writing rather than repertory chestnuts.
Why it matters · PURE remains one of Charleston's most consistent venues for new work. Get tickets before the run sells out in an intimate house.
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.
