Shop the Post!
Lauren’s Outfit: Similar Top // Jeans // Sneakers // Handbag
Ryan’s Outfit: T-shirt // Sneakers
If you haven’t figured it out by now, Charleston is one of my all time favorite places to visit. The city is so approachable, friendly and filled with so many different things to do and see. It also has something for everyone, making it a great destination for any occasion from family or couples trip to a bachelorette weekend – I’ve visited for all three of those occasions. Our most recent NYE visit was my fourth time in Charleston and I still can’t get enough of it! This time Ryan and I met our good friends there which made it fun and exciting to revisit some of our favorite spots and check out some new ones. The one thing Ryan and I have done during both our visits together isย block out a day where we can just stroll around the City with no plan – in my opinion this is the best way to see the city and appreciate how beautiful it is.
We’ve taken a few different routes but this would be my recommendation – scroll to the bottom for a little map I made!
Start at Marion Square and head South down King Street:ย This is where all the shopping is!ย While a lot of King Street is made up of name brand stores like Anthropologie and J.Crew, there are a bunch of cute boutiques, galleries antique shops and specialty stores woven in between. I’ve listed a few of our favorite shops and stops on King Street below!
Skinny Dip Charleston: This shop is absolutely adorable and filled with so many fun clothes, jewelry and accessories from brands I haven’t seen before!
Hampden Clothing: This is Charlestons “it” store. It’s filled with lots of high end designers like Carolina Herrera and Zimmerman. I always stop by just for a peek ๐
Candlefish: This stop is a MUST! You’ll probably recognize this candle brand because it’s sold in a lot of boutiques and stores like Anthropologie but this is one of the brands only two locations and Charleston is where the brand is based. The shop has the coolest candle “Library” with over 80 candles for you to find your perfect scent. They also have candle making workshops that you can sign up for! Ryan and I got Candle #8 and Candle #18
Kevin LePrince Studio & Gallery: This is one of our favorite Galleries in Charleston and if you pay close attention to some of my photos from our apartment you can see the Kevin LePrince painting that we got in Charleston – its the one that used to hang above our couch! The gallery carries other wonderful artists as well.
Alexandra AD: This was our favorite Antique shop that we visited. All the antiques are imported from Europe and have a french country feel.
OOBE Brand: This is a mens boutique but it has some really cool pieces that Ryan was obsessed with so if you’re with a guy bring this is worth a stop!
Billy Reid: This is a cool clothing brand that carries clothing for both men and women. They have boutique in other cities but they aren’t easy to come by. Their clothes aren’t really my style but Ryan found some things he really liked! If you’re guy who likes to shop take him in here!
Berlins Men’s & Berlins Women’s: This store has been around since 1883 which makes it worth stopping in regardless! They have both a men’s and women’s shop. The men’s pieces are really beautiful and unique and while the women’s stuff tends to be a little older there are still some really cute pieces and fun accessories!
Husk: This is a restaurant just off King Street on Queen Street. Their food is very good. It’s a great place to stop for Brunch or Lunch along the walk. It’s towards the end of the shopping so a good time to stop for a break!
Keep walking down King Street until you hitย Broad Street. Head eastย (turn left) onto Broad Street:ย There are some galleries and small shops along Broad as well. You’ll dead end at East Bay Street.
One Broad Street Restaurant: I haven’t been here yet but it’s a cute cafe on the corner of Broad Street and East Bay Street that’s the perfect midway spot to stop for lunch.
Head South (take a right) down East Bay street: This will take you just steps away from Rainbow Row so get your camera ready! It becomes pretty obvious once you’ve reached Rainbow Row. If the Rainbow colored houses don’t give it away you’ll probably see a groups of tourists taking photos. Once you hit Rainbow Row and get your photo, keep walking down East Bay Street, don’t turn around!
Keep Walking Down East bay Street Until you hit White Point Garden:ย The rest of East Bay Street is lined with the most stunning, historic homes you’ll ever see! Many of the houses are privately owned but there are a few notable homes that have been turned into museums. I recommend stopping in one to see if you can hop on a quick tour – they usually have short tours running every 20-30 minutes. The other side of East Bay is the water so it’s a really pretty, peaceful walk regardless. At the end of East Bay is White Point Garden which is also so beautiful and a great spot to rest and relax! You can get a little history in here as well. The garden is filled with cannons from the Civil War and historical statues that you can read about.
Walk to the other End of White Point Garden and you’ll be back on King Street: I highly suggest walking back up King Street from White Point Gardens. It’s incredibly quaint and the homes along this street are so dreamy. You can peek into the beautiful gardens and admire the stunning landscaping and flowers. I also like walking back up King Street so that I can head back to any shops that I really loved and pick out the things that caught my eye after thinking them over on the walk! ๐
If you want to fuel up before you start the walk here are a few spots on King Street just before Marion Square that are a great place to start.
Callie’s Hot Little Biscuits: These are the most delicious biscuits ever and they are quite popular so be prepared to wait in line for a while. They have tons of breakfast sandwich options or you can go the sweet route and get fresh fruit and whipped cream like I did!
The Darling Oyster Bar: If you’re starting closer to lunch time and want to sit down to eat, the Darling Oyster Bar is super cute inside and has delicious sea food! You may need to wait a little while here or just set up a brunch reservation ahead of time!
There are SO Many other things to do in Charleston that you’ll definitely miss on this walk, I’ll try to cover those in a separate post, but this walk is a great way to get place to start. Be sure to wear some good walking shoes because you’ll cover a few miles.
