What to do in a Weekend in Charleston, South Carolina

We just got back from our fun spring break trip a couple of weeks ago. We went to North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina and then drove into Charleston for just a couple of days after that. It makes for a perfect road trip to see two different places at once like that. So I thought it would be fun to share what to do in a weekend in Charleston with you guys.

That way, if you are planning a trip here too, you can plan and prepare! I will show you some of the best things to do as well as the best places to eat so you can include everything you want to do in just a weekend trip.

It is entirely possible to enjoy Charleston in just two days! I know that seems super short, but that is exactly what we did! Now, granted, we have been there several times before already, so we kind of know where all our favorite spots are. however, we did try some new things out on this trip too!

And if you’re staying for a long weekend, or a week long trip, be sure to check out my post on Things to Do in Charleston for Couples too. That post is chock full of ideas of things to do, if you are staying an extended period of time.

Also, be sure to check out Things To Do In Mount Pleasant as well. Since that is such a short drive over from downtown Charleston too! But, keep on reading for my full two day Charleston itinerary for this trip!

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Where to Stay in Charleston

This trip we decided to try out the beautiful Andrew Pinckney Inn and we were very pleased with it! It’s located right in the historic downtown area of Charleston and within walking distance to everywhere you want to go!

We have stayed in Ansonborough Inn before on East Bay Street too, and that one is another phenomenal place to stay. Both places are full of history and antique furniture, which we absolutely love!

At Andrew Pinckney Inn, we stayed in the Saint Phillip Suite which was incredible. It had a beautiful, open view straight into the downtown streets. And I absolutely loved the exposed brick walls!

The bathroom was incredible too. There was a huge shower, as well as a massive soaking tub. Which I thoroughly enjoyed and took great advantage of!

The whole interior design of the suite was stunning and I loved every architectural detail to it! They do have a happy hour here from 4:00pm-5:00pm as well as a free breakfast in the morning from 7:00am-10:00am.

However, if you’re staying for just a weekend, I would recommend venturing out to the city for brunch at some of the best restaurants in town!

This Inn does not have a fitness center, however, they do offer day passes to a local gym if you’re interested in that. But, keep in mind, if you’re walking everywhere like we did, you will definitely get your exercise in for the day!

Another plus to staying at a hotel in downtown Charleston is the valet parking services they offer. Utilizing them helps save you time from trying to find parking garages and where to park in the city as this can be extremely hard to find!

First Day of the Weekend

I suggest exploring and walking around King Street on your first day of your weekend in Charleston. As well as eating as much incredible food as you can!

This city is a huge food scene so you will definitely not be disappointed. I will share with you all the best spots and places we went that made this weekend memorable.

First Brunch at 82 Queen

Our first stop this day was having brunch at 82 Queen Restaurant. We had never been here before, but always wanted to try it out. And I am so glad we did, because it was absolutely delicious! And you guessed it, the restaurant is located right on 82 queen Street! Hence the name!

The goal of this weekend trip in Charleston was to try out as many places that we haven’t been before that we could. And in such a short time, I believe we did a great job of it!

This restaurant is scattered with beautiful outdoor seating as well as indoor seating. However, when we got there it was pouring down the rain so being outdoors was a no go.

The inside of the restaurant was beautiful and again, the food was incredible. We split the fried chicken over a buttermilk biscuit with grits and it did not disappoint!

That’s another tip I have for you during your weekend in Charleston- be sure to split your meals! If you want to try out as many restaurants as possible, this is a great way to do so. That way, you aren’t too full and miserable to enjoy every place. Trust me, even by splitting it, they still bring you a ton of food!

Second Brunch At Slightly North of Broad (S.N.O.B.)

Are we ridiculous if we had two brunches in one day? If so, I don’t care because it was so worth it! We have always wanted to try Slightly North of Broad and hadn’t made it there before until this trip.

And again, it did not disappoint! It is an amazing restaurant with such a cool atmosphere. We split their avocado toast and eggs Benedict dish and it was perfect! Although, I have to say, I think I liked 82 Queen’s brunch the best!

Stroll Around The Holy City

After stuffing ourselves full, the next part of our Charleston weekend itinerary was to just stroll around the city. Like I mentioned above, we always love shopping and strolling all the stores on King Street.

We also love going to walk around Joe Riley Waterfront Park, and that is where the famous pineapple fountain is located too! You could also stroll around the historic Charleston city market. That’s a cool spot to check out if you haven’t done so before.

Also, for all the history buffs, there are plenty of other things you could do too. Such as do a walking tour of the historic district, or visit all the historic homes on Rainbow Row.

You could even drive over to the Maritime Museum (which I shared all about over on my Mount Pleasant post). Or visit the Fort Sumter national monument by using a ferry ride out of the Charleston harbor as well.

And, if it’s warm enough (since we went in March, it was definitely not warm at all!), be sure to check out some of the beautiful beaches near Charleston too. Such as Isle of Palms, Sullivan’s Island, or Folly Beach as well.

But, since we have done all those things in the past, we decided to just chill and walk around and enjoy the city.

Dinner in The City

After strolling off some of our brunch, it was already time for dinner! We decided to try out Oak Steakhouse as this was another restaurant that we had not been to before.

And it turns out, it was absolutely fantastic too! The service was great and the food was so yummy. We wanted to try this place out to see how it compared to Hall’s Chophouse. And while it was delicious too, I think I prefer Hall’s Chophouse.

We went there for our anniversary back in October and they completely blew us out of the water. Now, keep in mind, both places are pretty pricey, so you may want to save these spots for a special occasion, like an anniversary or birthday.

The Perfect Place for Dessert

A great place to end the first day of your weekend in Charleston, is Carmella’s Dessert Cafe! We absolutely love this place and go there every time we are visiting. However, it can be pretty challenging to find a seat in there!

The restaurant is kind of tiny and very popular, so be prepared to wait in line! We decided to order our dessert and take it to go back to the hotel room and relax.

I ended up trying their key lime pie, which was phenomenal! And my hubs got one of his favorites, the carrot cake. I love how their cakes are so cute and small. However, don’t be fooled. You could easily share one cake alone because they are so sweet and filling!

Second Day of The Weekend

On the second day of our weekend in Charleston, we had brunch plans again (of course!), but they were a little later in the morning.

So we decided to try out a cute coffee shop near our hotel called Clerks for some morning coffee. And not only was the coffee great, the inside of the coffee shop was adorable too!

For brunch, we went to one of our favorite restaurants ever, Husk. We usually always try to squeeze in a Husk visit while we are in Charleston. Whether it’s for brunch or dinner, it’s always amazing!

We split their freshly made strawberry thyme ricotta donuts and the sausage, egg, and cheese breakfast sandwich. Both were absolutely incredible. Definitely my all time favorite brunch of the weekend!

Afterwards, we walked around a little and ended up at another great brunch place called Prohibition. This place also serves a great dinner too and the outdoor patio in the back is a perfect place to sit and soak up the sunshine on a warm day!

Charleston Culinary Tour

I think the best time of our trip was when we went on this culinary tour! It’s a guided tour that takes you to four different restaurants in the city and it changes daily. So you never really know where you are going, which is a fun surprise!

Ours took us around the french quarter restaurants of the city mainly and we got to try out Poogan’s Smokehouse, Charleston Crab House, Big John’s Tavern, and Bennett’s for dessert!

Between each restaurant it was a short walk to the next one, which was nice because you didn’t get too full at each one. They give you a little sampling of their menu too so it’s not like a huge meal. At Poogan’s Smokehouse we got a BBQ Slider and Collard Greens.

Then, at Charleston Crabhouse we got a low country boil platter to split. Afterwards, at Big John’s, we got bacon and duck nachos. Honestly, this was my favorite stop because it was so cool and unexpected.

They bring the bacon out tied on a string and then they light it on fire to create a smoky flavor to the bacon. It was such a cool thing to watch and it tasted great too!

The finale was at Bennett’s where they gave us a coconut cake slice to share. And honestly, I am not a big fan of coconut cake, but I actually enjoyed this one! We even liked the place so much, we went back after dinner to try something else on their menu too!

Last Evening in Charleston

After the culinary tour, we went back to the hotel to relax for a little while. We also set late dinner reservations for the night because we knew we would be pretty full from the culinary tour experience.

Before dinner, we strolled around King Street again and ended up at one of my favorite local bookstores there, Buxton Books. This is where you start a ghost tour down there if you decide to do one of those at night too.

Our culinary guide was actually our tour guide from one of our ghost tours we did in the past too. His name is Simon and he is one of the best tour guides there. So if you go too, request him!

Our final dinner of the weekend was spent at another one of our favorite places, Amen Street! Funny story, this place is actually where we tried oysters for the very first time and realized we loved them!

This restaurant is another popular spot in the city because of the delicious food and the ambiance. We love coming here! We split some oysters (of course) and then the main dish of shrimp scampi was absolutely incredible too!

And again, like I mentioned above, we went back to Bennett’s to top the evening off! I tried their tiramisu, which is one of my favorite desserts, and my hubby tried one of their pie slices, and that was also incredible. It was the perfect way to end the evening!

Should You Spend a Weekend on a Charleston Vacation?

If I haven’t convinced you by now that a weekend in Charleston should definitely be on your bucket list, I don’t know what else will! I can’t think of another better place I would want to be for a quick, weekend trip!

And thankfully, it is only a four hour drive from our home so we are able to get there relatively quickly too. If you love a good ol southern city with plenty of historical sites, or just love to eat some phenomenal meals and have a good time, then this is the place for you!

I hope you enjoyed this little travel post and if you have been Charleston before too, let me know below! I would love to hear all about your favorite spots and places to go there as well!