Charleston Virtual Tours: Visit Charleston From Home (updated April 2021)
If your plans to visit Charleston this spring were put on hold because of the coronavirus, fear not! You can still virtually visit Charleston from the comfort of your own couch. Just put on some jazz and check out these Charleston virtual tours.
As the country gets vaccinated and things start looking more normal, we’ll still be here for you when you’re ready to reschedule your trip.
If you’re currently in the Charleston area, you can stay updated on the city’s COVID-19 information and best health practices.
Best of Charleston Virtual Tour
Just because your travel plans were disrupted doesn’t mean you can’t still tour our institutions! We recently partnered with Chris Sandeman of Sandeman’s Live to produce a live stream of a stroll around our historic district lead by our own Jim Gresham. So, put on a pot of frogmore stew, sit back and soak in the scents and sights of the lowcountry.
Virtual Battlefield Tour
If you were headed to South Carolina to immerse yourself in Civil War history, you’re not alone! Tens of thousands of visitors head to Old Ninety Six each year. Though the grounds are closed to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, you can take a virtual tour of the welcome center and grounds.
Charleston Alleys & Hidden Passages Virtual Tour
Charleston is known for its historic homes, beautiful gardens and its alleyways and hidden passages. While our virtual tour of Charleston’s Hidden Alleys featured on Travel & Leisures Video Series by no means replaces an actual tour, it will help tide you over until you can reschedule your trip.
Charleston Museum Virtual Tour
One of the Holy City’s most revered institutions is the Charleston Museum. This museum houses thousands of lowcountry artifacts. From the early settlers to slave history and Revolutionary War history, you can learn about Charleston and South Carolina history here.
Visit the Charleston Museum’s Facebook page for Facebook Live tours of the museum, led by curators and the museum’s director.
Eat Charleston
Here in Charleston, we’re just as known for our iconic foods as we are our historic sites. The good news is that you don’t need to wait until mass travel resumes to enjoy some of our famous flavors! You can support local Charleston businesses right from the comfort of your own home. Even if you can’t order your favorite lowcountry foods, we’ve got you covered with recipes to make a taste of the South right in your own home.
Order Iconic Charleston Foods
While you might not be ready to jump in your car and take a road trip to enjoy your favorite South Carolina foods, you can bring those iconic eats to your doorstep!
Goldbelly is a food delivery service that ships iconic foods all over the U.S. From pimento cheese to tangy BBQ sauce and biscuits, you can still enjoy all of your favorites —- without leaving your couch!
You can even order Duke’s Mayo online, which is another South Carolina favorite.
Make Your Own Lowcountry Cuisine
We know not everyone right now has the means to order iconic foods online. Luckily, you don’t need to travel all the way to Charleston to enjoy these recipes.
Carrie Bailey Morey of the popular Charleston biscuit spot, Callie’s Hot Little Biscuits has a Recipe Blog called “Hot Little Suppers” where you can join follow as she makes southern favorites like shrimp & grits and fried green tomatoes. And you can even order her famous biscuits to be delivered to your front door!
Celebrity chef Sean Brock, the owner of Husk, published “Heritage,” a cookbook full of Husk’s famous dishes.
If you’re craving Rodney Scott’s famous collard greens, you can snag the recipe online for free!
Want even more lowcountry favorites? Order a copy of the Southern Foodways Alliance Community Cookbook for a wide variety of South Carolina recipes from some of the South’s most celebrated chefs.
Support Charleston
There are plenty of ways you can support Charleston’s tourism industry, restaurants and food and beverage workers right now. If you live locally, you can order food from one of our many local restaurants and bars.
Don’t live locally? You can still support local business in Charleston — and food and beverage workers all over the U.S. right now.
Buy Tour Giftcards
Can’t make one of our regularly-scheduled tours? Need to reschedule your trip? We sell gift cards, valid for all of our public and private tours! Simply click the ‘Buy Giftcards’ link on our header menu to help support our local business!
Order Merch
Many local restaurants, boutiques and businesses ship their merch to all 50 states. Even if you can’t make a reservation at the Obstinate Daughter, you can still order t-shirts and hats online.
Many of the Charleston City Market’s local vendors also ship their products. The Tattooed Moose also sells hats, polos and tank tops online.
Of course, you can also buy gift cards for future meals on these sites too!
Donate to Charleston Charities
One of the easiest (and most important ways) to support Charleston businesses during this time is to donate to a charity that supports workers in the food and beverage industry. Many of these employees make less than minimum wage and rely solely on tips and gratuities to get by.
Without work, they virtually have no income.
While many workers are scraping by on assisting restaurants with takeout and delivery services (as they haven’t been suspended as of yet), most of the foodservice industry’s employees in Charleston are without work.
The following non-profit organizations are collecting money to help food and beverage workers aid and support in these uncertain times. Not only do these non-profits send money to workers, but they also provide other types of aid.
USBG National Charity Foundation
Restaurant Workers’ Community Foundation
We hope these tips will tide you over until you’re ready to head back to Charleston! Stay tuned for more ways to virtually enjoy the sights, sounds and tastes of the Holy City.