Charleston is one of the prettiest cities we have visited! If you follow us on Instagram or snapchat (bishopnholland), you know that we spent a few days in Charleston last week. Everything about the city is picture perfect. Colorful houses, horse-drawn carriages, and landscaping that makes your mouth drop.

Stay:

• Zero George Street: Our home base was the boutique hotel, Zero George Street. And we can’t imagine staying anywhere else. Between the lovely European style breakfast, beautiful grounds and happy hour with wine and cheese, we really didn’t ever want to leave! The day of our arrival we actually didn’t leave the property. We were greeted with a glass of sparkling wine and a cheese board was delivered to us at our room while we unpacked. On that first night, we had big plans to try one of the many Charleston restaurants we had heard about, but when we learned that the Zero George Café + Bar was one of the most highly regarded restaurants in the city, we decided to stay on property and eat there. Lucky for us, there was a table available that evening. We had a very memorable and delicious meal on the patio. Zero George thinks of everything. Turn down service includes a sweet treat, laying out robes and slippers and water on your nightstand. The bathrooms are beautiful and include products from malin + goetz. Each room has a beautiful patio and there are bikes on site to cruise around Charleston!

Eat:

• Cannon Green: A sister property to Zero Café + Bar, Cannon Green is a great addition to the restaurant scene in Charleston. We will have more on our dinner at Cannon Green later this week
• Zero Café + Bar: On site at Zero George and well worth a visit even if you aren’t staying at the hotel. The 120 square foot kitchen serves about 100 meals an evening! Chef is known for his preparation of octopus in various ways- we had to try it- and it was incredible. Also, the coconut tres leches cake is a must have.
• 167 Raw: This “hole in the wall” casual dining restaurant is a must try if you are in Charleston. Arrive before prime time or expect waits of up to an hour or more. The fresh seafood is exactly that, right off the boat and we love how they had a new rosé of the day each day (yes, we went there multiple times!)
• Poogan’s Porch: If you want traditional, home-style southern cooking, this is your place. The biscuits were the best we’ve ever had and they were voted Number One in the city for their shrimp and grits
• Black Tap Coffee: An iced coffee at this little coffee bar hit the spot after walking around all day in the heat!
• Carmella’s: We stumbled upon Carmella’s after walking back from White Point Garden and stopped in for a double stuffed chocolate chip cookie (peanut butter cups and Oreos!)- so good!
• Other restaurants highly recommended to us (we just didn’t have time to fit in!): Husk, The Ordinary, SNOB

Do:

• Horse-drawn carriage: This is a must. We decided to do this our first morning in Charleston and it really helped us get a good feel for the city. Not only was it fun seeing the city from a horse-drawn carriage, the stories and history were great to hear- Old South Carriage Co did a great tour. Our guide was so knowledgable about the city and couldn’t have been friendlier.
• Rainbow Row: A very colorful row of rainbow houses
• Walk down Church Street: One of the most beautiful streets in all of Charleston
• Charleston Historic District: The most beautiful houses in all of Charleston- so charming!
• Visit a plantation: We opted for Middleton Place and it was absolutely beautiful. The grounds are breathtaking and we saw all kinds of wildlife- Peacocks, horses, water buffalo and even a couple of alligators!
• Shopping on King Street: Think J.Crew, Anthropologie, Louis Vuitton and a few Charleston classics: Hampden Clothing and Croghan’s Jewel Box
• College of Charleston: Take a walk around this beautiful campus
• White Point Garden: A beautiful park in Charleston Historic District that has great views of Fort Sumter and Charleston Harbor

Pack:

• Dresses: Charleston is hot and humid. We felt most comfortable wearing lightweight dresses during the trip.  This white fringe dress, this popsicle dress, this gingham dress and two white dresses (here and here) were on our packing list
• Comfortable shoes: We only took a cab to/from the airport and to Middleton Place. With that being said, we did a lot of walking. Sandals that were comfortable were our go-to (we packed these embellished sandals and these leather sandals), but you would be fine in these slip-ons!
• Clutches and cross body bags: It’s nice to have all your essentials at hand when you have a large diaper bag with everything else! Our favorites: this blue clutch, this pink crossbody and a classic neutral 
• Sunscreen: Perfect for long days in the sun
• Portable battery for your cellphone: Being out sightseeing all day, taking pictures, can be a drain on your battery. You don’t want to run out and miss a shot!

Shop Charleston:

The post is brought to you in collaboration with Zero George Street.

Cheers,