What to do in Charleston/Savannah/Asheville
April 24, 2012 10:16 AM Subscribe
Four dudes, mid 20s, three cities: Charleston, SC, Savannah, GA, Asheville, NC. We've got two days in each city and none of us have ever been to any of these places. We are pretty much up for anything (hiking, historical sites, food, drinking, etc). So....what should we do?
As far as food/drink goes, I can't recommend Nine Mile highly enough. Great food, deep beer/wine selection, awesome atmosphere in a neat part of Asheville.
posted by jbickers at 10:25 AM on April 24, 2012
posted by jbickers at 10:25 AM on April 24, 2012
In Asheville, the traditional thing to do the first time is visit the Biltmore -- it's one of America's "castles" and there's a winery, shops, restaurants, a farm and such on the huge grounds. Be sure to take in as many of the tours as you can handle -- it's not particularly cheesy, and you don't have to follow a tour guide in the house, as they've got self-tour audio doodads. I'm not a dude, or mid-20s, so I may be stereotyping, but you might also want to check out the Outdoor Adventure Center at their newish Antler Village area. You can take Segway rides, go fly fishing, ride horses, etc.
I'd definitely recommend the Early Girl Eatery for breakfast/brunch, and all the little nooks and crannies there on Wall Street. And I'm shocked to find that the Flying Frog, which I came in to recommend, is now closed. Still, you'll probably really enjoy a relaxing dinner at the Tupelo Honey Cafe.
Also, be sure to check in on Malaprop's Bookstore.
posted by The Wrong Kind of Cheese at 10:28 AM on April 24, 2012
I'd definitely recommend the Early Girl Eatery for breakfast/brunch, and all the little nooks and crannies there on Wall Street. And I'm shocked to find that the Flying Frog, which I came in to recommend, is now closed. Still, you'll probably really enjoy a relaxing dinner at the Tupelo Honey Cafe.
Also, be sure to check in on Malaprop's Bookstore.
posted by The Wrong Kind of Cheese at 10:28 AM on April 24, 2012
When you're in Asheville, NC be sure to check out the Biltmore Estate
Four dudes in their mid-20s? The Biltmore is an interesting museum experience and I would ordinarily recommend it. But it's not what I would characterize as dude-worthy.
Instead, go whitewater rafting on the French Broad River.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 10:31 AM on April 24, 2012 [1 favorite]
Four dudes in their mid-20s? The Biltmore is an interesting museum experience and I would ordinarily recommend it. But it's not what I would characterize as dude-worthy.
Instead, go whitewater rafting on the French Broad River.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 10:31 AM on April 24, 2012 [1 favorite]
Eat at Chai Pani, Indian street food in Asheville. (The stationary restaurant - I can't vouch for the food truck shown on their website.) HIGHLY recommended. I've never had this type of food anywhere else.
Asheville has a lot of good music venues too. Be sure to check the music calendars. Synthesizer innovator Bob Moog lived there so there is more of an appreciation for experimental music than you might expect.
posted by scose at 10:43 AM on April 24, 2012
Asheville has a lot of good music venues too. Be sure to check the music calendars. Synthesizer innovator Bob Moog lived there so there is more of an appreciation for experimental music than you might expect.
posted by scose at 10:43 AM on April 24, 2012
If you're willing to drive a couple of hours west of Ashville, go whitewater paddling on the Nantahala (and lots of other rivers, e.g. the French Broad).
posted by alittleknowledge at 10:51 AM on April 24, 2012
posted by alittleknowledge at 10:51 AM on April 24, 2012
Charleston: If you're into historical stuff, check out the USS Yorktown (go early because you don't want to be walking around an enormous metal boat when it gets hot). The Charleston Battery are fun to go see if you like sports/soccer and the RiverDogs if you're more baseball guys. The Charleston Aquarium is pretty cool if you like that sort of thing. If you like beaches and the weather is nice, we stayed and hung out on the Isle of Palms and it was a lot of fun. The Waterfront Park is a nice place to walk around and is a good excuse to meander around downtown. Honestly, the day we had the most fun, we just headed downtown and wandered around looking at stuff, taking pictures, going to museums, and so forth.
Savannah: The Historic District would be a must for me. If you like Paula Deen, Lady and Sons is her restaurant and the food is extremely good, the wife still talks about it years later. The Ships of the Sea museum is pretty rad and there's some forts around there. We drove out to Tybee Island because I consider beach trips mandatory and it's a cool place to hang out and beach. I'd definitely do a ghost tour, too, those are fun. The Pirates' House is good if you like pirates. Who doesn't like pirates?
Either of those will have deep sea fishing and that sort of thing if you're so inclined.
posted by Ghostride The Whip at 10:55 AM on April 24, 2012 [1 favorite]
Savannah: The Historic District would be a must for me. If you like Paula Deen, Lady and Sons is her restaurant and the food is extremely good, the wife still talks about it years later. The Ships of the Sea museum is pretty rad and there's some forts around there. We drove out to Tybee Island because I consider beach trips mandatory and it's a cool place to hang out and beach. I'd definitely do a ghost tour, too, those are fun. The Pirates' House is good if you like pirates. Who doesn't like pirates?
Either of those will have deep sea fishing and that sort of thing if you're so inclined.
posted by Ghostride The Whip at 10:55 AM on April 24, 2012 [1 favorite]
If you like Paula Deen, Lady and Sons is her restaurant and the food is extremely good
Nope, you want to go to Mrs. Wilke's - the one that Paula Deen's place is based on. Get there early to wait in line and plan to eat with some interesting strangers.
posted by Think_Long at 11:32 AM on April 24, 2012
Nope, you want to go to Mrs. Wilke's - the one that Paula Deen's place is based on. Get there early to wait in line and plan to eat with some interesting strangers.
posted by Think_Long at 11:32 AM on April 24, 2012
Ghostride The Whip: If you like Paula Deen, Lady and Sons is her restaurant and the food is extremely good, the wife still talks about it years later.
Think_Long: Nope, you want to go to Mrs. Wilke's - the one that Paula Deen's place is based on. Get there early to wait in line and plan to eat with some interesting strangers.
If you're looking for some good southern food, you're looking for the Masada Cafe at the United House of Prayer for All People (Yelp) (NYT). Nice folks serving some of the best southern food I've had in my three years living all over Georgia. You might want to call ahead to see if they're open.
posted by SpringAquifer at 11:59 AM on April 24, 2012
Think_Long: Nope, you want to go to Mrs. Wilke's - the one that Paula Deen's place is based on. Get there early to wait in line and plan to eat with some interesting strangers.
If you're looking for some good southern food, you're looking for the Masada Cafe at the United House of Prayer for All People (Yelp) (NYT). Nice folks serving some of the best southern food I've had in my three years living all over Georgia. You might want to call ahead to see if they're open.
posted by SpringAquifer at 11:59 AM on April 24, 2012
Here's a previous comment which mentions places to eat and a few good clubs/things to do in Savanah. Look at other comments in that question for a few other ideas.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 12:09 PM on April 24, 2012
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 12:09 PM on April 24, 2012
Bryson City is an hour away from Asheville and has some awesome stuff:
The Great Smoky Mountain Railroad is a few hours of awesome scenery.
We had some awesome beer at the Nantahala Brewing Company in town.
The Nantahala Outdoor Center has kayaking, rafting, etc.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park is right outside Bryson City and has creek tubing and beautiful hiking trails.
Also jetboats on Lake Fontana, which I haven't gotten to do yet but sounds awesome.
There are several zipline tours in/around Nantahala forest too.
The first time we went to the Asheville area, we spent a day in downtown Asheville and were pretty much done. Then we went to Bryson City and liked it so much we took a second trip there and skipped Asheville entirely.
Also: the Biltmore looks cool but is crazy expensive - we checked into it and I think even the "regular" tour was like $60.
posted by nakedmolerats at 12:26 PM on April 24, 2012
The Great Smoky Mountain Railroad is a few hours of awesome scenery.
We had some awesome beer at the Nantahala Brewing Company in town.
The Nantahala Outdoor Center has kayaking, rafting, etc.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park is right outside Bryson City and has creek tubing and beautiful hiking trails.
Also jetboats on Lake Fontana, which I haven't gotten to do yet but sounds awesome.
There are several zipline tours in/around Nantahala forest too.
The first time we went to the Asheville area, we spent a day in downtown Asheville and were pretty much done. Then we went to Bryson City and liked it so much we took a second trip there and skipped Asheville entirely.
Also: the Biltmore looks cool but is crazy expensive - we checked into it and I think even the "regular" tour was like $60.
posted by nakedmolerats at 12:26 PM on April 24, 2012
Savannah is a pretty quiet town, especially regarding nightlife. That said, a place called the Distillery (MLK Bl and Liberty) had great beers and the Stooges on TV. Two blocks away is the railroad museum which has short train rides on the weekends, and we had a blast on the handcar. Our favorite places to eat were the Pirate House, which is a genuinely historical collection of buildings with enthusiastic staff and a hokey but good-natured pirate roaming the dining rooms and Alligator Soul, a higher-end restaurant located underground and serving elevated Southern cooking. The smoked ribeye is to die for, which you might do since it weighs 18 oz.
In January 2012 we were not able to locate the House of Prayer for All People with Google Maps, or at least nothing that looked like there were people present, so definitely call first.
Also, of course you'll read the book or watch the movie Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, right? One of the many real-life personalities from that book still performs in Savannah, roughly monthly. I haven't been, but it looks fun.
posted by wnissen at 2:27 PM on April 24, 2012
In January 2012 we were not able to locate the House of Prayer for All People with Google Maps, or at least nothing that looked like there were people present, so definitely call first.
Also, of course you'll read the book or watch the movie Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, right? One of the many real-life personalities from that book still performs in Savannah, roughly monthly. I haven't been, but it looks fun.
posted by wnissen at 2:27 PM on April 24, 2012
Hit one of the public beaches at Hilton Head. It's not far from Savannah and only slightly out of the way of you are driving between Charleston and Savannah.
posted by soelo at 3:03 PM on April 24, 2012
posted by soelo at 3:03 PM on April 24, 2012
Savannah is a pretty quiet town, especially regarding nightlife.
As someone who lives in Savannah, gotta disagree. Here's a listing of what's happening on this Friday. Everything from bands, to DJs to a burlesque show are going.
If you have specific dates, obviously, you can search that day.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 6:47 PM on April 24, 2012
As someone who lives in Savannah, gotta disagree. Here's a listing of what's happening on this Friday. Everything from bands, to DJs to a burlesque show are going.
If you have specific dates, obviously, you can search that day.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 6:47 PM on April 24, 2012
Three dudes in your 20s? Besides the touristy stuff that you'll figure out with one google search: Walk around College of Charleston, go out in Upper King street area (lookup 'college bar' on yelp). Get ready to make some late night marriage proposals.
posted by sandmanwv at 3:03 AM on April 25, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by sandmanwv at 3:03 AM on April 25, 2012 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by patheral at 10:21 AM on April 24, 2012