For our 28th wedding anniversary, my husband and I treated ourselves to a trip to Charleston, South Carolina. Neither of us had ever been there before. It did not disappoint. We flew directly from Houston to Charleston on Southwest Airlines, and checked into the French Quarter Inn. The name is very appropriate both for the hotel and for the downtown area of Charleston, which mimics New Orleans’ French Quarter. There is so much to see and do downtown that we did not use our rental car for three days!

Charleston has been appropriately awarded Top City in the U.S. by Conde Nast Traveler 2011 Readers’ Choice Awards. Highlights from our trip include:

Historic Charleston Battery and White Point Gardens. The views of Charleston Harbor and Fort Sumter are outstanding.

Museum Mile which has a variety of historical attractions.

Old City Market is one of the oldest public markets in the United States and one of the best places to shop for unique and handmade goods.

The Powder Magazine which is the oldest public building in the Carolina’s. Currently a National Historic Landmark, it stored the powder used to defend Charleston.

Middleton Place and House Museum which is an 18th century plantation and home to America’s oldest landscaped gardens.

Great food can be found everywhere! Some of the restaurants that we enjoyed were High Cotton, Mercato, Kaminsky’s, and Muse Restaurant.