The charms of Charleston: with a resolute history and a passion for preservation, this harbor town is a photogenic time capsule of its colonial and antebellum past - City Of The Month

Travel America, Sept-Oct, 2003 by Darlene P. Copp

While extravagant mansions depict the city life of Charleston's planter aristocracy, several of the plantations that produced their enormous wealth can be visited short distances outside the city along the Ashley River. Although devoid of furnishings, Drayton Hall, circa 1738, is the real thing, a masterpiece of Georgian-Palladian architecture. An ongoing project of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the never-modernized house retains extraordinary ornamentation throughout, including West Indian mahogany carvings.

SEASONAL EVENTS

WHEN YOU TOUR CHARLESTON, YOU INEVITABLY WISH YOU COULD peek into the gardens or be invited inside the marvelous houses. You can, if you plan your visit right. The Preservation Society of Charleston offers its 27th annual Fall Candlelight Tours of Homes and Gardens from September 18 to October 25. Call (843) 722-4630 for all the details. From March 18-April 17, 2004, the Historic Charleston Foundation hold its 57th annual Festival of Houses and Gardens. Call (843) 772-3405 or (843) 723-1623. And if you will travel for the arts, be sure to check out Spoleto Festival U.S.A. This world-famous performing arts celebration began in 1977 and fills the city with opera, dance, theater, and music for 17 days from late May through early June. Call (843) 579-3100 or visit www.spoletousa.org.

Contact: Charleston Visitor Center, (843) 853-8000; www.charlestoncvb.com.