A long weekend in Charleston: Food, History & Southern Charm

Charleston is one of those cities that feels like it was made for a long weekend.

You don’t necessarily need a week to experience it, and honestly I wouldn’t want to rush through it trying to check every box. For our Charleston trip, we wanted something a little slower- great food, beautiful cobblestone streets, interesting museums, and leaving time to simply enjoy being there.

As you’ll probably notice, food played a pretty big role in our weekend LOL.

Market Hall

Built in 1841 in the Green Revival style. This was one of many historic building you will see on the horse & carriage ride

A Charleston Weekend Centered Around Food & Culture

Rather than centering our trip around a long list of attractions, we wanted to experience Charleston through the things we enjoy most.

We walked through the historic streets, took in the beautiful architecture and colorful homes, visited some of the museums, had some amazing meals, and gave ourselves time to explore without pressuring ourselves to feel rushed.

One of the things I loved about Charleston is that you can have a full weekend without feeling like you need to fill every minute.

A historic carriage ride is the absolute best way to orient yourself in Charleston. It allows you to sit back, relax, and admire the beautiful architecture while learning the city’s rich history.

Charleston is a true world-class culinary destination. Every corner of the city reveals a new, incredible dining opportunity where the local culture and flavors shine.

There is plenty to see and do, but some of the best moments are simply walking around, discovering something beautiful, and deciding where you’re going to eat next.

And Yes…We Ate Really Well

Food was for sure one of the highlights of our trip.

Charleston is known for their really amazing food scene, and we wanted to experience more than just the traditional Southern staples. We enjoyed sitting down for meals, trying different things, and making food part of the experience rather than something we had to squeeze between activities.

And then there was

Sugar Bakeshop.

Sugar Bakeshop.

If you love sweets, this is a must when visiting Charleston. Plus it is such a cute shop!

We stopped at Sugar Bakeshop, and of course, we couldn’t resist the cupcakes. They’re as cute as they are delicious, and it was exactly the kind of little stop that made the weekend feel special. If you have a sweet tooth, you have to add it to your itinerary!

This is one of those recommendations I am happy to give away for free :)

Cupcakes

Sugar has a lot of incredible sweets, but the cupcakes were some of the best I’ve ever had!

Making time for museums

Food wasn’t the only focus of our weekend.

We also made time for museums and Charleston’s history, which gave our trip a nice balance. There is so much history woven into the city itself, so adding museums to the weekend gave us another way to understand the city we were exploring.

Personally, I love having the mix of walking, eating, exploring and learning rather than spending the entire weekend rushing from attraction to attraction.

The Best Part of a Long Weekend

What I think I enjoyed most about Charleston (other than the food of course) was the pace.

A long weekend gives you enough time to experience the city, but it also forces you to be intentional about what you choose to do.

And that’s something I think gets overlooked when planning a trip.

You don’t need to see everything.

You need to figure out what you actually want your trip to feel like.

For us, that meant a weekend filled with good food, museums, beautiful architecture, wandering through historic streets and enjoying the city without overloading the schedule.

Planning Your Own Charleston Weekend?

Of course, figuring out how to fit all of those things together is the part that can take a little more work.

Where should you stay?

Which restaurants are actually worth making time for?

Which museums should you prioritize?

What should you do first?

And how do you arrange everything so you’re not spending half your weekend driving back and forth across the city?

That’s exactly why I created The Charleston Edit- a curated itinerary designed to take the research and guesswork out of planning your own getaway.

Instead of starting with a blank Google search and dozens of tabs, you can start with a thoughtfully planned itinerary and make it your own.

I hope you enjoy Charleston just as much as we did! If interested in how we planned our trip, click on our Charleston itinerary below.