Lower King and the Market

Wandering through the neighborhoods surrounding the City Market and Lower King Street, it's obvious why filmmakers look to Charleston as a backdrop for historic movies.

Church steeples dot the low skyline, and horse-drawn carriages pass centuries-old mansions, their stately salons offering a crystal-laden and parquet-floored version of Southern comfort. Outside, magnolia-filled gardens overflow with carefully tended heirloom plants. At first glance, the city may resemble a 19th-century etching come to life—but look closer and you'll see that block after block of old structures have been restored. After three centuries of wars, epidemics, fires, and hurricanes, Charleston has prevailed and is now one of the South's best-preserved cities.

During the early 1800s, large tracts of land were available North of Broad—as it was outside the bounds of the original walled city—making it ideal for suburban plantations. A century later, these Lower King and Market districts are the heart of the city, a vibrant mix of residential neighborhoods and commercial clusters with verdant parks scattered throughout. The College of Charleston's idyllic campus anchors much of lower King Street, ensuring the thoroughfare remains alive with young people and hip shops and restaurants. Though there are a number of majestic homes and pre-Revolutionary buildings in this area, the main draw is the rich variety of stores, museums, restaurants, and historic churches.