Postcards from Charleston: A Guide to the Charming Southern City

If you follow me on Instagram, you saw a little peek into our mini weekend getaway to Charleston. Y’all, it was amazing. Charleston is by far one of my favorite cities to visit and because it was B’s first time ever, we had lots to explore in the three short days we were there. While we were only there for a few days, we somehow still managed to experience so many awesome things. We toured the beautiful cobble stoned streets, ate our way through pounds of fried green tomatoes and pimento cheese and drank all the bourbon we could find.  

There are a ton of photos and probably way too much to fit into one blog post but I’ve rounded up all of our favorite trip highlights for a mini Charleston Travel Guide. If you have any questions, want more info or need any other recs, please don’t hesitate to reach out! 

where we stayed

• Belmond Charleston Place: If you remember our #TBScon trip, you probably remember how obsessed I was with the Belmond. This hotel is one of the most gorgeous properties I’ve stayed in. It’s got that old-school, southern charm paired with modern and beautiful accents. And y’all, the marble bathrooms are perfect for mirror selfies. Just sayin’. 

where we ate

• (coffee) Rise Coffee Bar, located in the Restoration Hotel: I think Rise Coffee came up at least five times when I was asking around for places to visit in Charleston. And it did not disappoint.  The signature rosemary latte was seriously amazing and the intimate setting was perfect for a little Saturday morning photo editing. 
• (coffee) Relevator: We stumbled across Relevator before we picked up our bike rental (more on that below!) and I couldn’t resist popping in for an iced coffee. The decor was so cute & modern and was the perfect pit stop for a day of exploring Charleston.
• (breakfast) Callie’s Hot Little Biscuit: I have been dying to try the Callies in Atlanta so when I found out the original was in Charleston, we had to try it! Obviously, the pimento cheese sausage biscuit was pure heaven. 
• (lunch) Butcher & Bee: Our first stop as soon as we got to Charleston was Butcher & Bee. The food was so fresh and delicious and I wanted everything on the menu. They had great house-made cocktails. The mezze (basically little tapas) was probably my favorite on the menu – loved the spicy carrots and cauliflower. And the pistachio coffee icecream sandwhich was so freakin’ good. The perfect lunch spot! 
• (lunch) Caviar & Bananas: We picked up a quick lunch at Caviar & Bananas on our bike ride and it was so yummy. It’s setup like a market with made-to-order and grab-n-go sandwhiches, salads and other lunch items. The pimento cheese BLT was pure perfection and the old-school candy did not go un-noticed. 
• (brunch) Cannon Green: Two words. Beats & Brunch. My parents drove up from Savannah to meet us for a DJ brunch at Cannon Green and it was the perfect way to end our trip. The green decor totally won me over followed my the grapefruit mimosas and french toast. 
• (dinner) Poogan’s Porch: This was actually an accident but we somehow ended up at Poogan’s Porch for dinner and it was probably one of my favorite meals from the trip. Super southern and delicious. We had pimento cheese fritters, fried chicken and one of the best gingery moscow mules I’ve ever had. 
• (dinner) Stars Rooftop & Grill: A couple of bloggers and I checked out Stars’ Rooftop when we were in Charleston for #TBScon and I couldn’t wait to bring B. We started with dinner (the burgers + baconhasbrowns were sooooo good) and then ventured up to the rooftop for cocktails. The Weekend at Bernies (a blend of so much goodness) was the perfect cocktail for our last night in the city. 
• (cocktails) Charlestown Tobacco & Wine: I did a lot of research on the best places to smoke a cigar in Charleston (for B obvi, not me) and Charlestown Tobacco & Wine came up repeatedly. And I totally get why. This his & her style shop offers cigars and wine/beer in a laid-back lounge atmosphere. We actually went twice and brought my parents back after brunch before we left Charleston! B loved getting to pick out a few cigars and I loved grabbing a glass or two of their house wines. 
• (cocktails) Prohibition: We grabbed drinks at Prohibition before heading to dinner on our last night and I wish we would have stayed even longer. The vibe was definitely like a speak-easy and they has the coolest little patio. The bourbon was amazing and it was the perfect way to relax and enjoy a few good southern-inspired drinks. 

where we played 

• The Cocktail Club: In my search for the best cocktails in Charleston, I came across The Cocktail Club. We were originally going to go there for drinks one night but I ended up finding out about on of their cocktail classes and couldn’t wait to try it. They have these cocktail-making lessons/classes pretty often and for Valentine’s Day, they had a his & her drinks for two situation. B and I had so much fun. We learned how to make four different Valentine’s Day inspired cocktails and got to mingle with a ton of cute couples. Such a fun pre-Vday treat. 
• Affordabike Bike Rental: One of the things that made it to the top of our list was renting bikes and exploring Charleston on our own. Neither of us are big on tours so getting the freedom of a bike and just folloiwng the pretty streets was the perfect way to spend our Saturday. Affordabike was right on King street and super affordable. Next time, we’re totally doing the tandem! 
• We obviously had to visit Rainbow Row and the City Market. Both are staples for any local or tourist visiting Charleston. Rainbow Row is just as beautiful and picture-worthy as it sounds and the merchants at City Market literally have something or everyone. Both are must-sees!