Charleston brims with a sense of place, much like its southern sisters-in-spirit, Savannah and New Orleans. And it's also a welcoming place for LGBTQ visitors, being a bit of a melting pot for the surrounding region.

Charleston is a mix of arts and fashion and food, with a strong gay community that is evolving and embraced.

What's more, being a port city has always given it a worldliness that some other Southern cities don't have the same access to.

Plus, the College of Charleston, and its mix of creative students, helps add to the city's diverseness. Here are four reasons to love this South Carolina beauty.

Charleston Museums

The city is steeped in history, and that means plenty of museums and related attractions. We opted for three very different experiences. The Gibbes Museum of Art, recommended to us by a self-identified queer server, tells Charleston's history through artists, primarily from North and South Carolina. Viewing the permanent collection, housed in a stunning neoclassical building, can be done in a couple of hours.

Take in the hour-long tour of Fort Sumter, where the Civil War's first shots were fired, via Fort Sumter Tours, located in the Fort Sumter Visitor Education Center. Park of the National Park Service, the fort is accessible by an enjoyable 30-minute ferry ride. You'll spend about an hour at the actual fort, which is plenty of time to wander the grounds, visit the small indoor museum, and ponder the site's strategic and dramatic location at the mouth of Charleston Harbor.

Lastly, a visit to The Old Slave Mart Museum is a somber way to examine the darker portions of Charleston's past. Located in a building where enslaved people were bought and sold from 1856-1863, the museum looks at the city's role in the international slave trade, primarily through posters and displays.

Hospitality in Charleston

The city has fantastic lodging options to choose from, and our pick, Emeline, did not disappoint. The property, which is larger than you'd think from the intimate lobby area, somehow balanced the feeling that you were in a gracious Southern lady's home with a dinnertime vibe of the place to see and be seen. And the hotel is perfectly situated in downtown Charleston, allowing us to walk virtually everywhere we wanted.

Rooms here are spacious and comfortable, with glamorous bathrooms - and Emeline's food and beverage game is on point. Frannie & The Fox, the main restaurant, features some delectable pizzas and fun, sharable Italian fare. There's a funky feel to the interior seating, as well as a stunning outdoor patio area, complete with a massive, two-sided fireplace. And Clerks Coffee Company, right off the lobby, functions as a casual neighborhood coffee house that visitors and locals alike seemed to enjoy.

Charleston Shopping

The Charleston City Market is a four-block-long wonder, with a dynamic collection of vendors. You'll find candles and food and art and books - along with trinkets and Christmas ornaments, and nearly any item of clothing you can imagine with the word Charleston emblazoned on it. The market's a great place to people watch, too, and wandering through it at different times on different days always seemed to feel new, with more exploring to do.

The city's King Street is another incredible place to stroll along, with countless options for the savvy shopper. There are antique shops, along with clothing stores, bookstores, curio shops, and more. You'll find plenty of small local retailers, as well as national brands. And mixed in are plenty of bars, restaurants, and ice cream shops, to satisfy the hunger pangs in between window shopping.

Food in Charleston

Speaking of food, Charleston has an incredible number of excellent restaurants to choose from, and we had no meals there that weren't excellent. For breakfast, The Daily and Callie's Hot Little Biscuit are exceptional choices. At lunchtime, venture to Florence's Lowcountry Kitchen, a short drive from downtown, for some of the best southern recipes in town. Other great options are Bumpa's for a great burger in an Irish pub and The Pass, an adorable deli and sandwich shop.

At dinner, venture to Husk for its excellent catfish or snapper (as well as its cocktail menu), or try The Grocery's low-country seafood pilau and green tomato carpaccio. If you're feeling like barbeque, go no further than Rodney Scott's Whole Hog BBQ, where carnivores will find themselves in heaven. It's not every day you find a James Beard award winner in the kitchen, but Scott was a 2018 winner for Best Chef: Southeast.

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