1. Notable threads
2. Sights to visit
   1. Beaches
   2. Museums
   3. Historic sites
   4. Parks
   5. Plantations
   6. Parking Downtown
3. Places to: Drink
   1. Bars & Pubs
   2. Breweries
   3. Retail stores
   4. Wine
   5. Coffee
4. Places to: Eat
   1. Charleston (downtown)
   2. North Charleston
   3. Mount Pleasant
   4. Sullivan's Island
   5. Isle of Palms
   6. Other
   7. Markets
5. Places to: Stay/live
   1. Hotels
   2. Neighborhoods
6. Other
   1. Music Venues
   2. Sports
   3. User Groups
   4. News
   5. Haunted areas
7. Interesting facts about Charleston

r/Charleston FAQ

= highly recommended

Common abbreviations: Charleston/downtown: CHS, North Charleston: NCHS, Mount Pleasant: MP, West Ashley: WA, James Island: JI, Folly Beach: FB, Isle of Palms: IOP, Sullivan's Island: SI

Notable threads

• Charleston "Jargon" - area nicknames, pronunciation, etc.
• Best cell phone service in the area
• Thrift/junk shop roundup
• Auto mechanic recommendations

Sights to visit

• Angel Oak Tree JI - 1,500+ year old tree, said to be the oldest living thing east of the Mississippi River.
• Charleston Waterfront Park / Yelp - tip: check out the City Gallery right by the Pineapple Fountain, entrance is free, it has clean restrooms, and most important: A/C so you can cool off in the summer!
• South Carolina Aquarium CHS
• Mount Pleasant Pier - Right by fishing, playground, picnic area
• Charleston Water Taxi - ferry service, dolphin watch, sightseeing cruises
• SCIWay - good source of info

Maps:

• r/Charleston Google Map - includes most of the places mentioned below
• Charleston Beer - various places in the area for craft beer fans
• Charleston WiFi - places with free wifi

Beaches

• Folly Beach County Park
• Isle of Palms County Park
• Kiawah Beachwalker Park
• Sullivan's Island
• What Lowcountry beach is best for you? - Charleston City Paper article

Museums

• Charleston Museum CHS / Yelp - America's First Museum, founded in 1773.

Special deals

• Be A Tourist - Locals only, 28 attractions for $20, month of Jan only.
• Museum Mile Weekend - Annual event. Sep 23-25, 2011 (visit 13 sites for $25)

Historic sites

• Charlest Towne Landing State Historic Site
• Colonial Dorchester State Historic Site
• Fort Sumter Wikipedia - Charleston harbor, boats depart from Fort Sumter Visitor Education Center (downtown), or from Patriots Point (MP)
• Fort Moultrie (Wikipedia) - Sullivan's Island
• Friend of the Hunley NCHS / Wikipedia
• Old Exchange & Provost Dungeon CHS
• Patriots Point MP - USS Yorktown, USS Clamagore (submarine), museum
• Powder Magazine - 1713 gunpowder magazine and museum. It is the oldest surviving public building in South Carolina.
• The Battery and Rainbow Row, strip of homes along the harbor that date back to the early 1600's.
• American Classic Tea is grown at the Charleston Tea Plantation on Wadmalaw Island, the only tea farm in the United States.
• The Old Exchange and Provost CHS - built in 1767. The building features a dungeon which held various signers of the Declaration of Independence and hosted events for George Washington in 1791 and the ratification of the U.S. Constitution in 1788.

Parks

• Wannamaker Park NCHS - Playgrounds, dog park, trails, picnic area, waterpark
• Cypress Gardens Worth it just for the swamp boat ride
• Edisto Beach State Park
• Brittlebank Park & Fishing Pier
• Charles Towne Landing - State historic site
• Hampton Park
• Waterfront Park - CHS
• Riverfront Park - NCHS
• White Point Gardens or "Battery Park" - CHS
• More...

Plantations

• Middleton Place (Summerville, Hwy 61)
• Magnolia Plantation (CHS, Hwy 61)
• Drayton Hall (CHS, Hwy 61)
• Botany Bay Plantation (Edisto Beach) The boneyard is awesome

Parking Downtown

• Downtown Parking Interactive Map - with pricing & more info
• Downtown Parking Garage Locations (pdf)

Places to: Drink

Bars & Pubs

(Beer fans should check out the Charleston Beer map)

• The Griffon CHS - good beer selection, +fish & chips
• Closed For Business CHS / Yelp Best beer selection, 42 taps
• Madra Rua Irish Pub NCHS
• The Mill NCHS
• Burn's Alley Neighborhood Bar CHS
• Recovery Room CHS / Yelp
• The Gin Joint CHS
• Liberty Taproom
• House of Brews MP / Yelp - this place in literally in a house!
• Oak Barrel Taproom
• Upper Deck
• Blind Tiger (CHS)
• Social Wine Bar (CHS)
• Big John's Tavern (CHS)
• Mellow Mushroom
• Market Street Saloon
• Henry's
• Fuel

Breweries

• Brewvival NCHS - Best craft beer festival the southeast has to offer! (Feb 25th, 2012)
• COAST Brewery NCHS - Tours/tastings are every Thurs (4-7pm) and Sat (11-2pm)
• Holy City Brewery NCHS - Tours/tastings are Mon/Tues 4-6pm, Wed/Thurs/Fri 4-7pm
• Palmetto Brewery CHS - They occasionally do tours (skip)
• Westbrook Brewery MP - Tours/tastings are Thurs (4-7pm), Fri (4-7pm) and Sat (12-4pm)

Retail stores

• Charleston Beer Exchange CHS - #1 craft beer retailer in the U.S., Huge selection of bottled beer, growler fills, special events including "rare beer tuesdays"
• House of Brews MP / Yelp
• Total Wine WA - best prices
• Bottles MP - locally owned, good prices/selection
• Wine Awhile
• Piggly Wiggly, MP
• Whole Foods, MP
• TAPS Brews Summerville - Good selection of bottled beer, growler fills, a bit expensive

Wine

• Bin 152 CHS / Yelp

Coffee

• Hope and Union CHS / Yelp
• Kudu CHS / Yelp
• City Lights CHS / Yelp
• Baked CHS
• Kronic JI / Yelp
• Muddy Waters WA

Places to: Eat

(this needs better organization...)

Charleston (downtown)

• The Griffon / Yelp - good beer selection, best fish & chips in the city
• D'Allesandro's Pizza / Yelp
• Poogan's Porch / Yelp
• The Tattooed Moose / Yelp - good beer selection, awesome Duck Club sandwich
• Santi's / reviews - Good Mexican food & drinks
• Husk $$$ / Yelp - if you have the money to spend, spend it here
• Five Loaves / Yelp
• FIG $$$ / Yelp - if you have the money to spend, spend it here
• Fleet Landing / Yelp
• Moe's Downtown - There's also a Crosstown location (714 Rutledge Ave), great burgers
• Ted's Butcherblock CHS / Yelp

• Virginia's
• Blossom Cafe
• Hank's
• Fat Hen
• Cru Cafe
• Cypress

North Charleston

• EVO Pizza / Yelp - good beer selection incl. local beer, two words: Pork Trifecta, specials are always good
• Sesame Burgers and Beer / yelp - good beer selection, great burgers

Mount Pleasant

• Jacob's Kitchen MP

Sullivan's Island

• Poe's Tavern SI - Great burgers, good beer selection

Isle of Palms

• Morgan Creek Grill - rumor has it a redditor works here :)

Other

Breakfast

• Early Bird Diner WA / Yelp

Boiled peanuts

• Timbo's Hot Boiled Peanuts - found on Ashley River Road (Highway 61)

Sorta touristy (unless you're into that sorta thing)

• Jestine's Kitchen
• Hominy Grill

Markets

Farmers' Markets

• Charleston Farmers' Market - Marion Square (Saturday from 8am-2pm)
• Mount Pleasant Farmers' Market - 645 Coleman Boulevard (April-October)
• Summerville Farmers' Market - first Saturday in April and runs through the last Saturday before Thanksgiving (hours are 8:00 AM - 1:00 PM)

Ethnic Markets

• H&L Asian Market - 5300 Rivers Ave #1, NCHS
• Saigon Supermarket - 7671 Northwoods Blvd, NCHS
• Lucky Oriental Market - 5341 Dorchester Road, NCHS
• Chunga's Grocery - 7860 Dorchester Road, NCHS
• The Spice & Tea Exchange - 170-A Church Street, CHS
• La Nortena Carnicerias - 6275 Rivers Ave, NCHS

Places to: Stay/live

Hotels

• NotSo Hostel CHS / Yelp, TripAdvisor
• Best Western King Charles Inn CHS
• Aloft Charleston Airport NCHS / Yelp
• Hyatt Place / Yelp

Neighborhoods

• Local neighborhood pages
• Charleston Subdivisions - some good info here (despite the blinky icons)
• Avondale (map) - WA
• Wegener Terrace - CHS

Other

Music Venues

• Music Farm CHS
• Pour House WA
• Wind Jammer IOP
• Tin Roof WA
• North Charleston Coliseum NCHS
• Hometeam BBQ SI/CHS
• Village Tavern MP
• Charleston Music Hall CHS
• Awendaw Green

Sports

• Charleston RiverDogs - Minor league baseball (Owner Bill Murray has been known to attend games...)
• Charleston Battery - Soccer
• Stingrays - Hockey
• Charleston Sports & Social Club
• Park Circle Disk Golf
• Palmetto Guard Airsoft
• Paintball Charleston

User Groups

• Linx User Group
• Drupal User Group
• Ruby User Group
• SharePoint User Group
• SQL User Group
• VMWare User Group
• Wordpress User Group
• Alt.NET
• Java User Group
• JavScript User Group

News

• TheDigitel.com - [events page]
• Charleston City Paper - [events page]
• Post & Courier
• West Of - focusing on WA
• Charleston Regional Business Journal
• Charleston Magazine

Haunted areas

Charleston (and surrounding areas) are some of the most haunted in America, due to it's history of Revolutionary/Civil War, slavery, etc.

• Folly Beach (more)
• Poogan's Porch (story)
• http://theshadowlands.net/places/southcarolina.htm
• http://crazyhorsesghost.hubpages.com/hub/Haunted-Charleston-South-Carolina
• Boo Hag

Interesting facts about Charleston

• The first opera performed in the Americas was performed in Charleston on February 18, 1735.
• The first public museum in the Americas was the Charleston Museum, founded in 1773.
• The first shot of the Civil War was fired in Charleston, South Carolina in 1861.
• The first city in America to have a chamber of commerce in (1773), public library (1743), a museum (1773), prescription drug store (1780), woman newspaper editor and publisher (Mrs. Elizabeth Timothy, 1739), theater (Dock Street Theatre, 1736), a fire insurance company (1736), and a historic preservation society in (1931).