Charleston

On lower Meeting Street, the circa-1808 Nathaniel Russell House has the most impressive curved staircase I’ve ever seen. — Travel + Leisure

Sharks, sea turtles, wading birds, otters, and seahorses are some of the stars of the conservation-focused displays. — Travel + Leisure

With its roots dating back to the 1680’s, Magnolia Plantation was one of the first ancestral homes of the Draytons, a prominent Lowcountry plantation family. — Condé Nast Traveler

The spaces are some of the best preserved in the United States, and offer invaluable insight into the lives of the enslaved in antebellum Charleston. — Condé Nast Traveler

The Charleston City Market is home to more than 50 sweetgrass basket weavers who demonstrate their hand-weaving techniques daily. — Afar Magazine

Stop in for this annual Charleston tradition. — Where

Circa 1738, Drayton Hall is the oldest unrestored plantation house in America still open to the public, and it's the nation’s earliest example of fully executed Palladian architecture. — Where

No visit to Charleston is complete without a tour of this famous fort, where Confederate soldiers fired the first shot of the Civil War on April 12, 1861. — Concierge

The grounds are stunning and very much worth visiting The first floor of the plantation house is elegantly furnished and open to the public. — Frommer's

This is a place to spend time disappearing into the shrubbery, stumbling upon statuary, tiptoeing past sunbathing alligators, and learning about both stewardship and slavery. — Condé Nast Traveler

Climb aboard the USS Yorktown aircraft carrier—which contains the Congressional Medal of Honor Museum—as well as the submarine USS Clamagore and the destroyer USS Laffey. — Fodor's

Recently renovated, The Gibbes houses a premier collection of fine art—principally American works with a Charleston or Southern connection. — Where

The museum tells the stories of the African-Americans who passed through its gates and their contributions to American society and culture. Open M-Sa 9 am-5 pm. — Where

Built in 1803, this home is a premier example of Adam-style, or Federal, architecture. — Where

Built by the British in 1771 as an Exchange and Customs House, this Palladian-style building was where South Carolina Patriots ratified the US Constitution in 1788. — Michelin Guide

The largest, most ostentatious, fascinating, and plain over-the-top mansion in Charleston was built in 1876 for successful entrepreneur George Walton Williams. — Frommer's

Across the street from the visitor center, America's first museum was founded in 1773. — Michelin Guide

You’ll get a dose of history and nature on a visit to this over-600-acre park on the site of the original Charleston settlement, where English explorers landed in 1670. — Travel + Leisure