Read many glowing reviews of Charleston on this site so my husband and I will be traveling there to celebrate our anniversary.

We will be there for 5 days over Easter weekend. We are staying at the Elliott House Inn the entire time and now are loking for "not to be missed" restaurants and things to do.

Is the $45/ticket for the Annual Festival of Houses and Gardens worth doing? We are not planning to have a car. Please help with lots of info! Thanks!

Charleston is a very walkable city and you will not need a car.

Take a walking tour with Sara Ragsdale who is probably the utmost authority on Charleston History and is charming. Her email is [email protected].

Shop on Kings Street. Some of the quirkiest and best shopping you will find anywhere. Best antiques around. Also good art shops, pottery, bookstores, clothing, shoes, health and beauty aids, designer stores, housewares, outdoorsy stores, etc.

In my opinion, this info is dead on as it is a link to Charlestons top 20 restaurants. Go to http://www.charleston.net/top20/

Get a copy of Mrs Whaley's Garden and enjoy it while you are there.
Try Hominy Grill, Anson's, Peninsula Grill and High Cotton for meals.
Shop on King St. Take your time...and lots of $$$$$.
Patriots' Point for the history.

Beth= You will LOVE the Elliott House Inn- It is our favorite place to stay..
They have FREE bikes that they loan out and you can ride all over the Battery area--there is a park at the end on the water..You may want to pack a picnic lunch and enjoy the views...


Also, Poogans Porch is next door..good food..I think they may even do a room service for the Inn at nite....

Ask for a room FACING the rear parking lot on the 3rd floor- rooms are great..

Inn has a wine and cheese out by the jacuzzi in the afternoon--Bring a bathing suit as Easter weather is WARM down there...

There is a HOMES TOUR where you purchse tkts for specific streets...Try to get a tkt to Legare St homes..these are private homes open to the public once a year and they are AWESOME!! YES--the tkts ARE worth $45...BRING GOOD walking shoes!!

Dinners___try Anson's, Magnolia's ( ask for a room in the rear) and Robert's

Lunch--Blossom Cafe

SHopping- IF You are INTO SHOES, the BEST shoe store in the world is on KING STREET called BOB ELLIS SHOES...they have everything in ALL sizes...Incredible selections....

Five days will allow you time to really enjoy the city. Musts would include:

Walk the historic area, concentrating especially on the Battery, Church Street, and Meeting Street.

Visit Waterfront Park.

See at least one plantation. Middleton and Magnolia are the best overall experiences. Drayton Hall has the only remaining main house from pre-Civil War times.

Take a couple of house tours. My favorites are Edmunston-Alston and Nathaniel Russell. The Aitken-Rhett House is also quite interesting. It is preserved, not restored, and includes rare urban slave quarters.

Spend at least a couple of hours in the Charleston Museum. It provides a good education on the history of Charleston.

Take the boat ride out to Fort Sumter. The fort is in ruins mostly, but the ride is nice, and it is such an important historic site. You get one hour at the fort before return to shore.

Browse the stalls at the city market.

Visit the aquarium. It is a nice one for adults as well as kids.

If you have never been on an aircraft carrier, Patriots Point, which is just across the river from Charleston, is quite interesting. The WWII-era Yorktown is located there, along with a destroyer, a sub, and a coast guard ship.

Take a horse and carriage ride.

You might also be interested in taking a specialty tour or two. They have ones regarding African-American history, the Civil War, ghosts, and other subjects.

There are nice beach areas at Sullivan's Island and Isle of Palms.

You may also wish to take the Hunley tour to see the famous Civil War sub.

First thing, go to the visitor center. It is very large and helpful. You can find out about tours, pick up mini restaurant menus and get discount coupons for some restaurants.

Make sure to really enjoy the food. Charleston is so good for eating. Shrimp and grits is a highly recommended item to try.

If you want to see more, you can go to my personal Web site at www.oneeyed.homestead.com.

I realize you said you will not have a car, and this can be limiting in Charleston. You may be able to sign up for tours to see some sights away from the historic distric. Do a search on Fodors. I know someone on here talked about a private guide who would be able to drive you to plantations and other places.