Are you looking to explore the history of Charleston through the ages? There are a number of historical destinations in Charleston including the time-honored buildings, monuments, palaces, and parks where you can learn about the glorious past of Charleston. The presence of these historical sites and museums will take you on a walk through Charleston ‘s rich history.
If you are willing to have an in-depth historical information about Charleston, we recommend that you take a wonderful guided tour to cover the major historical attractions. Also, check the opening and closing time for each so that you can organize your time. Make sure that you go through the complete list of historical places in Charleston for a great trip!
Top Historical Places in Charleston
Let's witness the history of Charleston with these top historical places - monuments and landmarks:
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Magnolia Plantation And Gardens
(1829 Votes)
Registered in the list of National Historic Landmarks, this garden and plantation was built and modified by the Drayton family in the early 18th century. There is an old house and extensive portions of gardens and fields. The Drayton family still looks over the whole garden property even after 15 generations have passed by. Initially they took up the land and built there a small house with a fo...Read more -
Old City Market
(1756 Votes)
This is the one of the city’s most colorful and vibrant places. The market is also known as the Historic City market or the Center Market and is declared a National Historic Landmark. If you want to know how the people talk and how they are originally, you should come to this place and you will get an idea of everything! This market is the oldest complex in the city and covers the longest...Read more -
The Old Exchange And Provost Dungeon
(1336 Votes)
This is one of the oldest buildings of the city that has now been declared as a National Historic Landmark. This building has been renovated several times being hit and damaged by natural calamities a number of times. The importance of this building is not one. It has served as a customhouse, mercantile exchange, military prison and barracks. The old Exchange mostly served as the prison and the...Read more -
Old Slave Mart Museum
(801 Votes)
As you must have seen in movies or read in old stories, slavery was a common phenomenon in the countries ruled and lived in by the Whites’. This place is one such where the slaves were set for display. Yes, the name comes from the fact that this was a slave display gallery in earlier times. The name of this stretch of street where the museum still remains was Ryan Street. This was where s...Read more -
Cathedral Of Saint John The Baptist
(263 Votes)
This is the mother church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Charleston. The church was built on the foundation ruins of the 19th century original church named Cathedral of St. Johns and Saint Finbar. This church got devastated in a major fire tragedy and in that place came up the present building. This building according to historical sources has withstood many a natural calamities. The domes an...Read more -
Charles Towne Landing
(244 Votes)
This is an initiative to preserve the first site of Colonial settlement in the city. The place was opened to mark the 300 years of colonial settlement here. The place that covers a large area has everything that the people in earlier times used. It is a perfect place to get an insight onto the lifestyle and culture of the natives and early foreign settlements over here. They have a crop garden ...Read more -
St. Michael's Episcopal Church
(141 Votes)
This church is the oldest surviving religious structure in the city. it is situated in one of the 4 corners of the meeting streets that are known as “4 corners of law” and said to represent ecclesiastical law. This church has been listed in the register of National Historic Places as a National historic Landmark. There was once in the later part of the 17th century a church known as...Read more -
Marion Square
(285 Votes)
This is a large area of square land completely covered with soft green grass. This is also known as the Green space of Charleston that is now owned by the Washington Light Infantry and the Sumter Guards. This was once a property of the Arsenal or the Old Citadel that was used as a parade ground for the student cadets. Later on after the Arsenal was dismissed and the Citadel building was shifted...Read more -
Rainbow Row
(376 Votes)
This is an amazing sight where you see a stretch or a row of 13 colorful houses each having a different color of a rainbow and some even more colorful. The stretch is from the south to the North of the East bay street and these were all constructed between the 18th and 19th centuries. The color of the houses may have been different at that time but the designs were all same. The place is regist...Read more -
Ghosts Of The South
(157 Votes)
This is one of the highlights of the city. The mission of the tour company is of course not to scare people but to put a lot of light on the mysterious part of the history of the city. This tour includes exploration of the so called spooky places of the city and getting to know the real stories behind the tag given to them. The aim of these tour guides is to let you know the basic difference be...Read more -
Dock Street Theater is a historic structure in Charleston. The history of this theater emanates evidently from its outward appearance and also the comfortable seating arrangement inside. It plays host to many renowned film and music festivals, receiving people from various parts of the state during those times. The live music, comfortable setting, and delicious food service successfully enrich ...Read more -
Unitarian Church In Charleston
(37 Votes)
This church is home to the Unitarian Universalist community. It is the oldest surviving Unitarian church in the State and the second oldest church in the city. This was not originally built by this community but was built by the Society of Dissenters but was later taken away by the Unitarians as they needed more space to worship. You will see the church is quite different from the others from i...Read more -
Fort Lamar Heritage Preserve
(142 Votes)
Though there is nothing much to see or do here, it is always good to know more about such a beautiful city. This place named after Col. Thomas G. Lamar, it was earlier on known as The Tower Battery. It was so named because of the very tall watch tower from where the army men used to keep a watch on the enemies entering the city. In the Battle of Secessionville, the men of the Col. defeated the ...Read more -
Aiken-Rhett House
(1203 Votes)
This house is also known as the Gov. William Aiken’s House or the Robinson Aiken House. This is one more property that once belonged to the well known Governor of the state and was later given away under the administration of the state. This house before being donated belonged to the William Aiken Jr. who was the governor and before that to his father named William Aiken, the owner of the...Read more -
St Philip's Church
(155 Votes)
This is the oldest religious building that has been renovated to form a new one though even the new one dates back to the 19th century. The earlier church was built as a wooden structure just where we find the St. Michael’s Church at present. The wooden church got destroyed in a hurricane that struck the city a couple of centuries ago. St. Philip’s Church was later established a few...Read more