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The historic city of Savannah rises from the surrounding swampy landscape, boasting antebellum architecture, a dose of down-to-earthness and a dark humorous charm unlike anywhere else. With one of the largest historic districts in all of the US, visitors can get a unique insight into the history of the country in one of the many museums and art galleries. The unique culture of this city is what brings people back time and time again, and visitors are sure to be dazzled by its authentic charm.

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Climate

Film and television

Parts of Forrest Gump were shot in Chippewa Square, Savannah.

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As the largest and oldest city in the state of South Carolina, Charleston lives up to its slogan of ‘everything you’ve heard is true’. A city set on the peninsula between the two rivers of Ashley and Cooper, its cobblestone streets filled with historical buildings and churches, Charleston is the perfect mix of old and new. The city’s quaint downtown offers picturesque scenery, a wealth of cultural offerings and enchantingly beautiful nature, all with the classic friendliness and warmth of the famed Southern hospitality.

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History

Charles Towne, as it was first called, was established in 1670 by Anthony Ashley Cooper on the west bank of the Ashley River, Charles Towne Landing, a few miles northwest of the present downtown. By 1680, the settlement had grown and moved to its present peninsular location.

Around 1690, the English colonists erected a fortification wall around the small settlement to aid in its defense. The wall sheltered the area, in the present French Quarter, from Cumberland St. south to Water St., from Meeting St. east to East Bay St. The wall was destroyed around 1720. Cobblestone lanes and one building remain from this colonial English Walled Town: the Powder Magazine, where the town's supply of gunpowder was stored. Remnants of the colonial wall were found beneath the Old Exchange Building.

Luckily, Charleston was re-captured in the Civil War without much property damaged, and it was the first city in the U.S. to pass a historical preservation ordinance. Thus, much of the beautiful architecture, from early Colonial, Georgian, Federal, Greek Revival, and Italianate to Victorian, remains for future generations to see and enjoy.

Charleston is also known as the Holy City due to the numerous church steeples, which dot the city's low-rise skyline, and the fact that it was one of the few places in the original 13 colonies to provide religious tolerance to the French Huguenots and to Jews.

Charleston is in general a laid-back, but sophisticated, city and has an old-South feel, just like its neighbor, Savannah. Most people in Charleston are helpful when approached in a polite manner. If a traveler speaks little English, Charlestonians are still generally willing to help as best they can. It is advisable, however, to at least learn a few key English phrases, and perhaps carry a traveler's phrasebook.

Visitor information

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