17 Sights in Charleston, United States (with Map and Images)

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Welcome to your journey through the most beautiful sights in Charleston, United States! Whether you want to discover the city's historical treasures or experience its modern highlights, you'll find everything your heart desires here. Be inspired by our selection and plan your unforgettable adventure in Charleston. Dive into the diversity of this fascinating city and discover everything it has to offer.

Sightseeing Tours in CharlestonActivities in Charleston

1. South Carolina Aquarium

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South Carolina Aquarium

The South Carolina Aquarium, located in Charleston, South Carolina, opened on May 19, 2000, on the historic Charleston Harbor in the former location of the Anson Borough Homes, a public housing project that was closed over soil contamination and flooding concerns. It is home to more than ten thousand plants and animals including North American river otters, alligators, great blue herons, owls, pythons, loggerhead sea turtles, lined seahorses, jellyfish, pufferfish, green moray eels, horseshoe crabs, sea stars, and sharks. The largest exhibit at the aquarium is the Great Ocean Tank, which extends from the first to the third floor of the Aquarium and is the deepest tank in North America ; it holds more than 385,000 US gallons (1,460,000 L) of water and contains more than 700 animals. The Aquarium also features a Touch Tank, where patrons may touch horseshoe crabs, Atlantic stingrays, and other marine animals.

Wikipedia: South Carolina Aquarium (EN), Website

2. Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church

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Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal ChurchSpencer Means from New York City, USA / CC BY-SA 2.0

Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, colloquially Mother Emanuel, is a church in Charleston, South Carolina, founded in 1817. It is the oldest AME church in the Southern United States; founded the previous year in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, AME was the first independent black denomination in the nation. Mother Emanuel has one of the oldest black congregations south of Baltimore.

Wikipedia: Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church (EN), Website

3. Historic Charleston City Market

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The City Market is a historic market complex in downtown Charleston, South Carolina. Established in the 1790s, the market stretches for four city blocks from the architecturally-significant Market Hall, which faces Meeting Street, through a continuous series of one-story market sheds, the last of which terminates at East Bay Street. The market should not be confused with the Old Slave Mart where enslaved people were sold, as enslaved people were never sold in the City Market. The City Market Hall has been described as a building of the "highest architectural design quality." The entire complex was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Market Hall and Sheds and was further designated a National Historic Landmark.

Wikipedia: City Market (Charleston, South Carolina) (EN), Website

4. Gibbes Museum of Art

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Gibbes Museum of Art MCG Photography / CC BY-SA 4.0

The Gibbes Museum of Art, formerly known as the Gibbes Art Gallery, is an art museum in Charleston, South Carolina. Established as the Carolina Art Association in 1858, the museum moved into a new Beaux Arts building at 135 Meeting Street, in the Charleston Historic District, in 1905. The Gibbes houses a premier collection of over 10,000 works of fine art, principally American works, many with a connection to Charleston or the South.

Wikipedia: Gibbes Museum of Art (EN), Website

5. Hobson Monument

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Hobson Monument

White Point Garden is a 5.7 acre public park located in peninsular Charleston, South Carolina, at the tip of the peninsula. It is the southern terminus for the Battery, a defensive seawall and promenade. It is bounded by East Battery, Murray Blvd., King St., and South Battery.

Wikipedia: White Point Garden (EN)

6. Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart

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The Basilica of the Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart is a cathedral church and a minor basilica located in Charleston, West Virginia, United States. Along with the Cathedral of St. Joseph in Wheeling it is the seat of the Catholic Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston. The parish complex is a contributing property in the Downtown Charleston Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places.

Wikipedia: Basilica of the Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart (EN)

7. Saint Johns Episcopal Church

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Saint Johns Episcopal Church

St. John's Episcopal Church is an historic Episcopal church located at 1105 Quarrier Street in Charleston, West Virginia, in the United States. On November 2, 1989, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places. It was also listed as a contributing property in the Downtown Charleston Historic District in 2006.

Wikipedia: St. John's Episcopal Church (Charleston, West Virginia) (EN)

8. Elizabeth Harden Gilmore House

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Elizabeth Harden Gilmore House

Elizabeth Harden Gilmore House, also known as Minotti-Gilmore House or Harden and Harden Funeral Home, is a historic home and national historic district located at Charleston, West Virginia. It is a 2+1⁄2-story, Classical Revival brick detached residential dwelling built by 1900 on an approximately one-half acre lot in a business area of town. It features a columned portico and has undergone some alteration and deterioration. It was the home and location of a funeral home operated by Elizabeth Gilmore, a prominent African American in the Kanawha Valley.

Wikipedia: Elizabeth Harden Gilmore House (EN)

9. Loewenstein and Sons Hardware Building

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Loewenstein and Sons Hardware Building

Loewenstein and Sons Hardware Building, also known as the Loewenstein Building or Rite Aid Building, is a historic commercial structure located at Charleston, West Virginia. It was designed by the Columbus, Ohio architectural firm of Yost & Packard.

Wikipedia: Loewenstein and Sons Hardware Building (EN)

10. Baptist Temple

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Baptist Temple

Charleston Baptist Temple is a historic Baptist church located at Charleston, West Virginia. It is a two-story, brick church with Georgian and Federal style details. It was designed by architect Ernest Flagg and constructed in 1924. It is composed of a central sanctuary block with matching wings and a rear addition constructed in 1955. The facade features a central tower, which contains the steeple. The spire is copper-clad and flares out to cover an open belfry with decorated engaged Corinthian columns and arched openings. Directly below the belfry is a baluster area above the clock portion of the tower.

Wikipedia: Charleston Baptist Temple (EN)

11. HealthSmart

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HealthSmart

Woodrums' Building, also known as Woodrum Home Outfitting Co. building, is a historic commercial building located at Charleston, West Virginia, United States. It is a six-story commercial building located in the central business district of Charleston. The property consists of an original commercial structure built in 1916 and a rear addition built in 1937.

Wikipedia: Woodrums' Building (EN)

12. Magic Island Park

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Magic Island is an island in the Kanawha River near its confluence with the Elk River in Charleston, West Virginia. Kanawha Boulevard separates Magic Island from Charleston's West Side neighborhood. It serves as a public park for the city. The island gained its name due to the rise and fall of the river level in the Kanawha, which caused the island to slip underwater, as if by "magic".

Wikipedia: Magic Island (West Virginia) (EN)

13. Sterrett Brothers' Dry Goods Store

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Sterrett Brothers' Dry Goods Store

Sterrett Brothers' Dry Goods Store is a historic commercial structure located at Charleston, West Virginia. It was built about 1890 in what has become known as the "Victorian Block" of Charleston. The building originally had three floors with a storefront on the first floor. Sometime after 1898, but before 1917, a fourth story was added to the building. Since its construction by the Sterrett Brothers, it has been occupied by Sacks Shoe Store, J.C. Penney Company, the Dondale Furniture Company, and most recently a Charleston-based Law firm.

Wikipedia: Sterrett Brothers' Dry Goods Store (EN)

14. Battery Thomson

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Battery Thomson is a historic artillery battery located at Sullivan's Island, Charleston County, South Carolina. It was built in 1906–1909, and is one of a series of batteries stretching from Fort Moultrie to the eastern end of Sullivan's Island. Until decommissioned in 1947, the concrete battery housed two, ten inch guns. It measures approximately 326 feet long and 84 feet wide, with the front or ocean side of the battery at approximately 10 feet high. Battery Thomson and its neighbor Battery Gadsden provided fortification at the mouth of Charleston Harbor. It is built in the same style of Battery Jasper.

Wikipedia: Battery Thomson (EN), Heritage Website

15. J. S. Sweeney Store, Barn, Livery and Hall

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The J.S. Sweeney Store, Barn, Livery and Hall were a trio of historically important commercial buildings on Vermont Route 105 in East Charleston, Vermont. Dating as far back as 1860, the general store, bank barn, and combination livery and community hall have been a center of community activity since their construction. They were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992. Of the three buildings, only the store is still standing.

Wikipedia: J. S. Sweeney Store, Barn, Livery and Hall (EN), Heritage Website

16. Hazel Parker Playground City Park

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Hazel Parker Playground is a public park in Charleston, South Carolina named after Hazel V. Parker in 1977. Hazel Parker was the recreation supervisor at the playground starting in 1942. The playground was formerly known as the East Bay Playground.

Wikipedia: Hazel Parker Playground (EN)

17. Cannon Park

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Cannon Park is a 2.7 acre public park located in peninsular Charleston, South Carolina. It is bound to the north by Calhoun St. and to the south by Bennett St. To the east and west are Rutledge Ave. and Ashley Ave. respectively.

Wikipedia: Cannon Park (Charleston, SC) (EN)

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Disclaimer Please be aware of your surroundings and do not enter private property. We are not liable for any damages that occur during the tours.