South Carolina Cultural Sites

Museums, Historic Sites & Plantations

A billion-dollar industry, the South Carolina arts yield everything from plantation tours and historic districts to art museums and theaters. Cities like Charleston, Columbia, and Greenville boast popular historic sites and exhibits, most of which offer staff-led tours, interactive exhibits, and plenty of memories to take home.

Art lovers need visit South Carolina’s impressive art museums, including the Gibbes Museum of Art in Charleston, the Greenville County Museum of Art in Greenville, and the Columbia Museum of Art in Columbia.

Theater addicts, check out the Newberry Opera House, the Peace Center, and the massive North Charleston Coliseum & Performing Arts Center.

History museums abound in the Palmetto State. Significant centers include the Charleston Museum – the first museum built in America – and the largest museum in the southeastern United States, the South Carolina State Museum.

Exhibiting American art, natural history, and South Carolina culture, the Charleston Museum is set in the Charleston Historic District while the SC State Museum is housed in the historic Columbia Mills Building in Columbia. Let the kids loose in the Kidstory exhibit in Charleston, or check out the life-size Best Friend of Charleston locomotive in the Capital of Southern Hospitality.

History is always fun, and may be best experienced through living museums – like the historic homes of South Carolina. Many Palmetto plantations and significant home sites decorate cities like Beaufort and Walterboro, and of course, Charleston and Columbia.

Don’t miss the interactive experience of Dayton Hall in North Charleston, or visit the Millford Plantation in Pine near Santee. Columbia yields many historic homes featuring tours and exhibits, including the Woodrow Wilson Family Home, the Mann-Simons Site, and the Hampton-Preston House.

Discover cultural South Carolina with the help of Best Western hotels.