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Welcome To Charleston

We’re thrilled you’re planning a visit to Charleston. To make your trip easier, we’re proud to recommend a list of our top supporters without whom the Festival of Houses & Gardens would not be possible.

ANSON RESTAURANT

12 Anson Street
In its thoughtful approach to local ingredients, Anson Restaurant, has always taken the best of what historic Charleston's seasons have to offer & crafted them into innovative turns on traditional Southern cuisine. Chef Nick McBride takes the helm at Anson Restaurant, which has been celebrated in Charleston for almost three decades for putting innovative twists on traditional Southern cuisine.

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MAGNOLIA’S

185 East Bay Street
An institution in Charleston for over 25 years, Magnolias highlights traditional ingredients and cooking techniques elevated by modern flair and artful presentation. Led by Culinary Arts Director Donald Drake, the celebrated menu of Lowcountry fine dining fare features classics along with contemporary interpretations of traditional local cuisine. Following a renovation in 2014, Magnolias now presents an enhanced experience complemented by the institution’s original Southern charm.
843.577.7771

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THE CHARLESTON PLACE HOTEL

Designed to complement Charleston’s historic architecture, The Charleston Place hotel was built in 1986, is an independent luxury hotel in the heart of downtown Charleston, SC. Through sumptuous accommodations, delicious food and drink, shopping, restorative wellness services, and warm, generous hospitality, The Charleston Place stirs the senses and lives forever in the minds and souls of all who gather.

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HOTEL BENNETT

The south’s grandest new luxury hotel, Hotel Bennett is inspired by native Charlestonians and European classic design. Located on the fashionable King Street, the prominent entrance opens upon the corner of historic Marion Square. Style and elegance come to life throughout with unique appointments to the accommodations and guest amenities. Custom furnishings and local artwork complement the exquisite dining experiences in Gabrielle, La Patisserie, Camellias, and Fiat Lux. The hotel perfectly blends unparalleled luxury with an unmatched setting of the country’s most beloved city. "The design is an Italian palazzo-style tripartite building, with arcaded openings linking the two wings and derives from the 18th and 19th-century buildings’ classical vocabulary in proximity to it. Hotel Bennett is one of the first new classical buildings built on the peninsula in the last 50 years."

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CARRIAGE PROPERTIES

19 Exchange Street
As the leading locally owned luxury real estate agency, the Carriage Properties team specializes in the sale of historic, waterfront and beachfront properties in Charleston. Our success comes from a team of agents with unmatched experience, professionalism and determination. Let us share our experience and passion for Charleston with you.
843.266.8000

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DANIEL RAVENEL | SOTHEBY’S INTERNATIONAL REALTY

33 Broad Street
Our company was founded in 1983 under the leadership of Daniel Ravenel. This leadership continues with Dan's son and daughter now active in the business and Charleston community. Our team of experts include the very best real estate professionals in the Lowcountry, and are hand selected by Dan based on their knowledge of the local market, deep connections to the area, and the ability to offer unparalleled representation to their clients. This local legacy, combined with our exclusive affiliation with Sotheby’s International Realty, affirms our commitment toward providing a superior level of service, powerful marketing, and local expertise in Charleston and the surrounding communities. It is our mission to be the leader of luxury real estate in South Carolina by providing service that exceeds expectations, delivering knowledge that surpasses the competition, and utilizing progressive marketing and innovative technology that outperforms the industry demand
843.723.7150

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Handsome Properties

Handsome Properties is the premier luxury boutique real estate firm in Charleston, offering many of the exclusive historic properties on the peninsula and throughout the surrounding areas for sale. Our agents are connoisseurs of lifestyle, understand the nuances of the marketplace, know the hidden gems in town, and work diligently to ensure a successful transaction.
843.727.6460

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Shop Historic Charleston

188 Market Street
108 Meeting Street

Shop Historic Charleston features Charleston-inspired jewelry, gifts, furnishings, home accessories and the city’s largest selection of local books, including culture, cuisine, gardens and history. 2 locations, 188 Market Street in the historic Charleston Market and 108 Meeting Street (location of the Festival Ticket Office.)
843.724.8484

Croghan’s Jewel Box

Over 100 years ago William Joseph Croghan, a hand engraver and jeweler opened his store in an 18th century Charleston single house on King Street. While he began only occupying the side porch of our building as a long skinny little shop, over the years we have expanded to occupy the entire building. As the oldest family-owned jewelry store in town, Croghan’s Jewel Box is a treasure trove of the most exciting and unique inventory in the Lowcountry. from estate and antique finds to gifts for every occasion, the store is now serving its 4th generation of customers and visitors to our Holy City.
William Croghan's granddaughters and great granddaughters watch over 308 King Street today. While maintaining the oldworld charm of the store, their additions have been meaningful. They have introduced many exclusive products, expanded the estate and antique collections, added a complete design studio and workshop on the 2nd floor among other accomplishments. Mini Hay’s Goldbug Collection has taken the world by storm and can be found in 29 retail stores nationwide.

843.723.3594

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Charleston Through the Lens of Preservation

Download the FREE Historic Charleston Foundation City Guide app which tells the story of Charleston through the lens of preservation. The city’s extraordinary story is revealed through over 300 text stops and 30 audio stops. From the tip of the Battery to Magnolia Cemetery, let HCF take you on a journey to discover the city’s trials during wars and hurricanes, stories of the enslaved people who quite literally built this city and the preservation successes that ultimately saved the unique architecture for which Charleston is known.

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Aiken-Rhett House Museum

48 Elizabeth St
With an expansive house and back lot, including slave quarters, kitchen and carriage block, the Aiken-Rhett property c.1820 survives as one of the best preserved collections of 19th-century domestic buildings in the nation. The house offers a compelling portrait of its former owners, Governor and Mrs. William Aiken and the enslaved people who labored on the property.

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Nathaniel Russell House Museum

51 Meeting St
One of the finest neoclassical dwellings in the country, the Nathaniel Russell House, c. 1808, is fully restored to the time of its original owners, the Nathaniel Russell Family. Featuring a three-story free-flying staircase, exquisite furnishings, textiles and wall finishes of the period, the house speaks to the wealth of early Charleston’s elite.
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Sound of Charleston

Experience the music that defines Charleston's history--gospel, Gershwin, Civil War songs, jazz, and light classics ---coming to life in historic Circular Congregational Church in live 75-minute concerts. Frommer's Travel Guide says, "best night out in the city..a must see performance. See website for schedule.

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Drayton Hall

Whether it's your first visit or one of many, Drayton Hall's ongoing research into the people, places and events of its past promises there will always be something new to discover.

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Middleton Place

An Essential American Experience
The historic preservation work and interpretation of history at Middleton Place focuses on major contributions of the Middleton family as well as the enslaved Africans and African Americans who lived and worked here. The stories are a microcosm of United States history. From the early Colonial period through the Revolution, the early Republic, the Civil War era and beyond, they made a mark on the land, the colony, state and nation.

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Charleston Tea Garden

6617 Maybank Highway, Wadmalaw Island
The Charleston Tea Garden® is located on historic Wadmalaw Island in the heart of the Lowcountry of South Carolina. With its sandy soils, sub-tropical climate and average rainfall of 52 inches per year, Wadmalaw possesses idyllic conditions for the Camellia Sinensis tea plant. This plant is currently used to produce both black and green teas and exists in over 320 varieties on the 127-acre grounds of the Charleston Tea Garden®. This is the only brand of tea in the world that is made exclusively with 100% tea grown in America. The Garden sits right off Maybank Highway. The Charleston Tea Garden® was purchased by family-owned Bigelow Tea Company in 2003, when it became the dream of Eunice and David Bigelow and local partner Bill Hall to combine talents and share their love of tea as a vibrant piece of Americana for all to enjoy. Today, the beautiful 127-acre Charleston Tea Garden® has become the standard bearer for the long and illustrious American tea story.

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Charleston Stage

35 Church Street
Charleston Stage is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization and a constituent member of the Theatre Communication Group (TCG), the national organization for the American Theatre. The mission of Charleston Stage is to produce live theatre of the highest caliber focusing on plays which excite and inspire the imagination and include indigenous and original works that celebrate the rich heritage and history of the South Carolina Lowcountry. Charleston Stage celebrates the spirit of discovery by providing a collaborative learning environment in which theatre professionals share their talents with the young people, teachers, and schools in the community, and inspire participants to celebrate their own creativity.

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