Charleston Checklist: Meeting Street
February 15, 2010
It’s trite but true - Meeting Street is truly the gateway to Downtown Charleston. It’s also something of a gauntlet. The drive from I-26 to, say, Calhoun Street is a patience-testing endurance course of through lanes that suddenly become left turns (no arrow, of course) and curb lanes that become right turn only lanes. Of course you, the savvy Charlestonian, anticipate this. The big SUV in front of you with the Pennsylvania plates does not.
With a little patience, you begin to see civilization around Hasell Street, and your Meeting Street adventure begins! Meeting Street may not feature as much retail diversity as King Street, but there’s more than you might think. Meeting Street may not have the dizzying array of dining options as East Bay but, again, there’s a nice selection.
Meeting Street features a diversity of lodging options. Unlike the East Bay area, where most of the hotels and inns are what you would consider pretty upscale, Meeting Street has lodging options of nearly every type and price point. From the Visitors Center all the way down to The Battery, you will find B&B’s, charming inns, historic hotels, fancy modern hotels, the big-name chains, and even a motor court smack in the middle of town.
There’s also the Museum Mile. I suspect that they came up with that name because there’s the Charleston Museum, and the Gibbes Art Museum, and they’re a mile apart. I think it may require you to broaden your definition of museum. But broadening our understanding is why you are here, grasshopper!
Anyway, if you have a hankering for shopping, dining, history and culture - and don’t mind sharing your space, oxygen and patience with tourists – come on down to Meeting Street!
Meeting Street Dining:
Jestine’s Kitchen – Soul Food
Sticky Fingers - Barbecue
Fig …Cuisine: American Bistro
Hyman’s Seafood
Mo Sussmans Steakhouse
Hank’s Seafood (Nearby on Hayne Street)
Palmetto café (inside Charleston Place Hotel)
Charleston Grill (inside Charleston Place Hotel)
Thoroughbred Club (inside Charleston Place Hotel)
Club Café/Club Habana
Toast - Casual Low Country Restaurant
Joseph's Restaurant – French/Creole/New Orleans
Market Street Bakery & Cafe
Poogan’s Porch – Upscale Low Country (nearby on Queen)
Meeting Street Retail:
Factor Five - Mod Fashions
Trunk Show - Ladies Fashions
Bicycle & Outdoor Shoppe
Jestine's Sweet Shop (nearby on Wentworth)
Lianos Dos Palmas Handmade Cigars (nearby on Wentworth)
Loose Lucy's – Ladies Fashions
Halcyon Place - Salon
O’Hara and Flynn - Fine Wines
Dunkin Donuts
Charleston Gas Light - Lighting
Shutters For Less – Window Treatments
Tinder Box – Tobacco
The Shops at Charleston Place
Clothing:
Anne Fontaine
Isabella's Collection
Lacoste
White House/Black Market
Chico's
Fresh Produce
Talbots Shoes and Accessories
Tommy Bahama
Everything but Water
St. John
Accessories:
Brighton Collectibles
Gucci
Louis Vuitton
Sunglass Hut
Mori Classics
Pandora
Gifts:
Brookstone
BLOOM at Charleston Place
Orient-Express Boutique
Papyrus
Health and Beauty:
The Spa at Charleston Place
Other:
Godiva
Waldenbooks
Yves Delorme – Home Accessories
Historic City Market:
Noah’s Nook - Collectibles
Designs by Jane – Children’s Fashions
Passing Fancy – Cards, gifts
Make It Personal – Embroidery
Gita's Gourmet Inc - Grocery
Scents Unlimited
Country Gentleman
All About Me
Historical Views
Charleston Hat Man
Southern Charm - Gifts
The Fishin’ Duck
A Corner On The Market
East Asia Gallery
Meeting Street Museums and Culture:
Charleston Visitors Center
Charleston Museum
Children’s Museum (Nearby on Ann Street)
Joseph Manigault House
Confederate Museum
PURE Theater (in the Circular Church)
Gibbes Museum of Art
Well's Gallery
Corrigan Gallery (nearby on Queen Street)
South Carolina Historical Society
South Carolina Society Hall
Nathaniel Russell House
Calhoun Mansion
Meeting Street Lodging:
Hampton Inn
Embassy Suites
Holiday Inn (corner of Calhoun)
King Charles Inn
Meeting Street Suites
Charleston Place Hotel
Planters Inn (Corner of Market)
Meeting Street Inn
Days Inn
Mills House Hotel
Thirty Six Meeting Street Inn
Two Meeting Street Inn
Battery Carriage House (nearby on South Battery)
Meeting Street Parking:
The Visitors Center Garage
Charleston Place Garage
Cumberland Street Garage
Garage behind the Mills House
See all Charleston Blog Posts
