Charleston has a dynamic nightlife , albeit one that's geared toward tourist revelers, with a wide choice of music venues, clubs and bars , especially around the market. Ask at the visitor center about its many festivals, or pick up the free weekly Citypaper .
There are also lively bars out at the Isle of Palms and Sullivan's Island.
Spoleto Festival USA (tel 843/722-2764), an international arts festival inspired by its Italian namesake, runs for seventeen days each year from May to June. Its funkier sibling, Piccolo Spoleto (tel 843/724-7305, ), runs concurrently, featuring many regional artists and free performances, as well as infusing the city with a carnival-like atmosphere.
October's Moja Arts Festival (tel 843/724-7305, ) celebrates African/Caribbean theatre, dance and film, with all events free or low-priced.
Blind Tiger Pub 38 Broad St tel 843/577-0088. Local bar away from the market area with hidden entrance and busy beer garden.
Club Tango 39 John St, entrance in alley adjacent to Embassy Suites tel 843/577-2822. Hugely popular multilevel dance club, open Thurs through Sat.
Cumberland Grill 26 Cumberland St tel 843/577-9469. A nice bar and sandwich shop that puts on blues, bluegrass, rock, reggae and folk.
Henry's 54 N Market St tel 843/723-4363. Flash bar, with live music, serving appetizers, seafood and sandwiches.
Horse & Cart 347 King St tel 843/722-0797. Grungy bar/café, with over 100 beers and live music (of all genres) every night.
Mandalay King and Wentworth streets tel 843/577-7600. Trendy and very popular brewpub serving creative Thai dishes in a metal and glass decor.
Music Farm 32 Ann St tel 843/853-FARM. Best place in Charleston to see regional and national touring bands.
Vendue Inn 23 Vendue Range tel 843/723-0485. Busy rooftop bar and restaurant with great views over the city.
Charleston is ideal for walking tours ; the visitor center has details on scores of them.
Charleston Strolls (Mon-Sun (7-Days a week) 9.30am; $16; tel 843/766-2080) leave from the Palmetto Café at the Charleston Place Hotel , 130 Market St, and from Mills House Hotel , 115 Meeting St, thirty minutes later. www.bulldogtours.com/tours/charleston-strolls-historic-charleston-walking-tour/
The Haunted Jail Tour (Call 864-772-TOUR to make a reservation!) is a behind the scenes tour of The Old City Jail, which housed some of
Charleston’s most infamous criminals, 19th century pirates and Civil War
prisoners. The Old City Jail was in operation from 1802 until 1939 and
most of the building’s original structures remain intact including the
cells and warden’s quarters. The Haunted Jail Tour takes you through
the cells, hallways and into the places where Charleston’s worst
criminals lived and died. This is one of our most popular Charleston
ghost tours. www.bulldogtours.com/tours/the-haunted-jail-tour/
Charleston Ghost and Graveyard Walking Tour (Call 864-772-TOUR to make a reservation!) This tour gives an exclusive opportunity to walk inside the gates of one of
Charleston’s oldest graveyards after dark. When all the other walking
tours are looking in through the wrought iron fence, you’ll be on the
inside. Explore the graveyard’s dark corners, closely inspect the
headstones to see what you might learn, and take a moment to step across
the graves, if you dare. Learn about the history of Charleston’s
graveyards and hear the stories of the famous individuals who found
their final resting place in the Holy City. You’ve heard the spooky
Charleston ghost stories. Now experience them on this up close and
personal tour that takes you where others won’t dare go. Graveyards –
full of history, intrigue and tales of love and loss. www.bulldogtours.com/tours/charleston-ghost-graveyard-walking-tour/
Charleston Ghost and Dungeon Walking Tour (Call 864-772-TOUR to make a reservation!) Come explore The Holy City’s streets, cemeteries, back alleyways,
churches, and join our experienced and fully-licensed tour guides on a 1
1/2 hour walking tour through the dark edges of Charleston’s Haunted
Historic District. You’ll hear fun and chilling stories of Charleston
ghosts, haunted houses, voodoo, and Lowcountry superstitions. This is
the only Charleston SC ghost tour that has access to THE DUNGEON! www.bulldogtours.com/tours/charleston-ghost-dungeon-walking-tour
Civil War Walking Tour sets out from Mills House Hotel (March-Dec daily 9am; $15; private tours also available throughout year; tel 843/722-7033).
Architectural Walking Tours of Charleston run two two-hour tours - the morning tour covering the eighteenth century, the afternoon tour the nineteenth (Mon & Wed-Sat 10am & 2pm; $15; tel 1-800/931-7761); both leave from 173 Meeting St. In the fall, the Preservation Society, 147 King St (tel 1-800/968-8175), organizes candlelit tours, visiting private old homes, with free tea and wafers (Sept & Oct Thurs-Sat 7pm; $35).
Much of Charleston's beauty is owed to the black slaves who built it, and there are two good black history tours :
Al Miller's one- and two-hour van tours leave from the visitor center, and include material on slave uprisings, the Civil War and the lives of the freed slaves ($10/15; tel 843/762-0051).
Gullah Tours spice their tours with Charleston folktales told in gullah (by appointment only; call for times and prices tel 843/763-7551).
Horse and carriage tours, led by Carolina Polo and Carriage Company ($17, discount given on advance reservations; tel 843/577-6767), leave from the market, providing a lively but leisurely sixty-minute overview of the town.
Schooner Pride (mid-March to Oct; $18; tel 843/559-9686) offers two-hour cruises around the harbor in the afternoon and at sunset. Among several trolley tours available,
Gray Line of Charleston (tel 843/722-4444 or 1-800/423-0444) offers entertaining and informative 75- and 90-minute Historic Charleston Tours ($15/$17) that depart daily from the visitor center.
|
Charleston Nightlife 
