3 to 4 Days in Charleston: Historic Peninsula, Fort Sumter, Plantations, Angel Oak & Beaches

This itinerary is designed so that Days 1 and 2 require no car on the Downtown Peninsula (walking north to south and using the Charleston Water Taxi), while Days 3 and 4 take a car across the rivers to historic gardens, the Angel Oak Tree, Shem Creek and the barrier-island beaches. Read our Water Taxi and parking garage guide before Day 1.

Day 1: 1804 City Market, French Quarter, Pineapple Fountain, Rainbow Row & The Battery

• Morning: start inside the 1804 Historic Charleston City Market to watch Gullah Geechee artisans weave sweetgrass baskets. Walk south into the French Quarter along cobblestone Chalmers Street (the 1712 Pink House and Old Slave Mart Museum), past Dock Street Theatre, the French Huguenot Church and St. Philip's Church, to the 'Four Corners of Law' (1752 St. Michael's Church).
• Midday: enjoy a courtyard lunch of She-Crab Soup and Shrimp & Grits at 82 Queen, Poogan's Porch or SNOB.
• Afternoon to Sunset: relax on the pier swings of Waterfront Park and see the Pineapple Fountain, then stroll south past the 13 pastel houses of Rainbow Row and Stoll's Alley to The Battery & White Point Garden. Finish with an evening Ghost Tour at the 1802 Old City Jail.

Day 2: Fort Sumter, the IAAM Museum, Historic Houses & King Street

• Morning: board the National Park ferry at Liberty Square out to Fort Sumter National Monument.
• Early Afternoon: next to the ferry dock at Gadsden's Wharf, explore the International African American Museum (IAAM) and its waterfront Tide Tribute pool.
• Late Afternoon: tour the spiral staircase of the 1808 Nathaniel Russell House and the preserved rooms of the 1820 Aiken-Rhett House, then walk King Street and the College of Charleston Cistern Yard before dinner at Leon's Oyster Shop, FIG or Husk.

Day 3 (and Day 4): Historic Gardens, Angel Oak, Shem Creek & Beaches

• Day 3: drive west to the 1741 gardens of Middleton Place (or Magnolia Plantation), then head south to Johns Island to see the 400-year-old Angel Oak Tree before sunset on Folly Beach.
• Day 4: ride the Charleston Water Taxi across the harbour to the USS Yorktown at Patriots Point, kayak with dolphins along Shem Creek, and visit Fort Moultrie and Poe's Tavern on Sullivan's Island.