CityView Magazine

64 | April 2015 and take home—one of the famous hand- made sweetgrass baskets. e Aiken Rhett House Museum, Drayton Hall and Magnolia Plantation and Gardens give a voyeuristic view of what life was like on a southern plantation. Just don't linger too long in the summer. Modern con- veniences like air conditioning weren't invented back then! And of course, no vacation to Charleston would be com- plete without a jaunt to Sullivan's Island. It's only 3.3 square miles in size, but it's packed with history. In fact, even Edgar Allen Poe spent time there, stationed at Fort Moultrie from 1827-1828 and used it as the backdrop for his short story, e Gold Bug. en, there's the matter of cuisine. Foodies beware: Charleston has some of the finest restaurants and most acclaimed chefs around. With creative forces like Blossom executive chef Adam Close put- ting their spin on Southern classics (the fried green tomato with bacon jam, pi- miento cheese, tomato butter and red pepper jelly bares mentioning here), epi- curean appetites are in for a treat! Already under Charleston's spell? Visit Insider's Weekend May 1st through 3rd to indulge in everything you love about the Holy City. Not to be confused with Jerusalem, Charleston's church steeples populate the skyline bringing about the epithet. is weekend is steeped in Epi- curean delights, shopping excursions and history is sponsored by the likes of Food + Wine and Southern Living and requires advanced tickets for its wide array of scheduled events. No matter how many times you've vis- ited, there's always something new to ex- plore in the oldest and second-largest city in South Carolina. Downtown Digs All of these overnight options put guests in the heart of the city and offer a great place to check in before checking things out. HarbourView Inn harbourviewcharleston.com HarbourView made the 2015 Travel + Leisure 500 World's Best Hotels list and got voted into the Top 30 hotels in the South list in the 2013 Condé Nast Read- King Street View from the harbor Waterfront Park

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