48 Hours in Charleston

While you're on the southwestern side of town, visit some of the best gems near Folly Beach. Lost Dog Cafe is great for a casual breakfast, brunch or lunch. Southern staples like fried green tomatoes and shrimp and grits are on the menu, but you can't go wrong with their massive pancakes or huevos rancheros, either! If it's a weekend, get a mimosa, or if it's a weekday, grab some coffee to wash it all down.

Folly Beach County Park is a great place to enjoy the sun, sand, and surf. There's a pier and some bathrooms, but it's still pretty quiet, clean, and calm, and it's mostly populated by locals. Keep your eyes peeled for dolphins and surfers as you stroll along the shore!

As you head from Folly Beach into the city, make a pitstop at Tradesman Brewing Co. for pre-dinner drinks. Expect to find industrial vibes, games in their retro "employee lounge" (everything from checkers to Battleship), and a roster of really unique brews here! Think, Sweet Potato Pie-flavored brown ales, rich coffee stouts, red ales brewed with ginger, and refreshing agave wheats.

Head out for after-dinner drinks at Proof. Their cocktail menu is crazy long, and features their takes on classics like gin and tonics, daiquiris, and even cosmos, along with really inventive new drinks and a selection of, as they say, "really good beer."

With games like shuffleboard, foosball, and pool, plus plenty of beer, wine, and booze to keep the fun going, Warehouse is another great bar to spend an evening in. They also have sandwiches, snacks, sides, and entrees, plus some tasty-looking desserts, as well... but their house cocktails are the real reason to stick around!

The Vendue Inn is an incredible, art-filled boutique hotel right on the city's Waterfront Park. Rent a free bike, take a tour of their massive, 300-piece art collection with a docent, or enjoy a drink at their famed rooftop bar when you're not relaxing in your elegantly-appointed and totally comfy room.

Start your day off with a good, homecooked meal from Page's Okra Grill. If you're going to go all out and order the most decadent Southern meal possible, this is the place to do it. Shrimp and fried grits, chicken and waffles, biscuits and gravy, fried chicken livers, crab cake eggs benedict, the pimento cheese and fried green tomato sandwich... seriously, just reading the menu will make you feel stuffed. And the best part? Everything here is delicious; you really can't go wrong ordering any of it.

Fun fact: Edgar Allan Poe spent time on Sullivan's Island in Charleston as a private in the Army. Thankfully, Poe's Tavern isn't nearly as dark or brooding as the writer for which this restaurant is named! Their burgers (all named after his poems and stories) are renowned, but they offer seafood and salads (and booze) as well.

Burn off the burgers and beer from Poe's Tavern with a walk to the Sullivan's Island Lighthouse. The beach here is really quiet, and even though you can't go inside the lighthouse, it's still a view worth checking out while you're in the area! Bring beach chairs or towels and sunbathe on the sand.

For dinner, head to the quaint Leon's Oyster Shop. It's an old mechanic shop-turned-restaurant with fried chicken, Southern sides, cocktails, and, of course, oysters prepared every way imaginable. Raw, fried, char-grilled, oysters casino, in sandwiches, in fry-ups, in wraps... that's about all the kinds of oysters they have. Finish it all off with a bowl of soft serve ice cream with sprinkles!