Charleston Footprints Walking Tour

Highlights

Inclusions

Itinerary

1. The Old Exchange and Provost (1771)was built to collect tarriffs and fees at the port. A building of National importance, it was here that South Carolina declared independence in 1776. The British used it as a prison from 1780-1782, the Constitution was here ratified, ans Ptrdident George Washington was entertained in 1791.

   7 min

2. This row of 18th century buildings in the Georgian and Jacobean styles looked out at wharves on the harbor. In the 1930s the dilapidated buildings were restored as residences and are perhaps the first successful venture in Charleston's early preservation movement.

   5 min

3. Charleston's oldest church (1761) is substantially intact to its 18th century design. Some windows feature stained glass by Louis Tiffany and Company. Two signers of the Constitution arelaid to rest in the graveyard. Notably, the church bells have crossed the Atlantic Ocean five times!

   8 min

4. in 1937, the Work Projects Administration created a play house in the style of the eighteenth century. Research had proven that the first dedicated theater space in British North America, also called the Dock Street Theater, was built on the very same ground in 1736.

   10 min

5. The oldest congregation, founded 1680. National figures, including a signer of the Declaration of Independence, and a signer of the Constitution, are laid to rest in the graveyard. St Philip's has worshiped at this sight since 1723.

   10 min

6. This congregation has worshipped at the same site since 1681. The Church of the Colonial Townspeople has fine slate tombsones from the eighteenth century.

   15 min

7. Built to house gunpowder in 1713, it is the oldest public use structure between St Augustine and Williamsburg.

   5 min

8. We walk through the garden, the design of landscape architect Loutrell Briggs. The house is perhaps the finest Adams/Federal style house available to tour in the country.

   10 min

9. We stop at Charleston'd historic waterfront to discuss the Battle of Fort Sumter (1861) and the Battle of Fort Sullivan (1776). We admire and discuss the grand waterfront homes built as party palaces for the winter season prior to the Civil War.

   15 min

10. The Gibbes has been procuring Southern Art since 1858, and has an exceptional collection of miniature and full length portraits from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

    Passes by

11. Charleston's oldest surviving entertainment venue, it was originally a tavern. Some sources date it as early as 1686. Its name derives not from the pink paint job, but rather the boldly pink coral rock of which it is constructed.

    5 min

12. This unique building was built specifically for gunpowder storage. Walls are 35" thick of brick, but the vaulted ceilings are just 2 bricks thick in the top, designed to blow up and not out in case of exposure. This Colonial Military Museum has been operated by the Colonial Dames since 1905.

    5 min

Cancellation

Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the experience starts, for a full refund.

Reviews

Ratings come from 57 reviews collected by our booking partner. They are travellers' own words, in the order they were written — never reordered to flatter the experience.

Know before you go

How it compares in Charleston

• Its from-price is 48% below the median of the 319 experiences we list in Charleston.
• Its length is typical for the group.
• By number of reviews it ranks 112 of 319.
• The operator lists free cancellation on it.

About Charleston

Charleston is a South Carolina port city of pastel row houses, cobbled lanes, church steeples, Gullah culture and Lowcountry cooking.

Charleston was settled in 1670 and grew on a peninsula between the Ashley and Cooper rivers, and it is one of the best-preserved colonial-era cities in the United States. Rainbow Row, thirteen pastel Georgian houses on East Bay Street, is the best-known sight. The Battery, a seafront promenade with old cannon and oak-shaded White Point Garden, looks out to Fort Sumter, where the first shots of the Civil War were fired in 1861. The city is nicknamed the Holy City for its many church steeples.

Top-ranked sights in Charleston: Charleston City Market, Rainbow Row, Old Exchange & Provost Dungeon.

See all 319 experiences in Charleston