Abravanel Lesley - Frommers EasyGuide to Charleston, Savannah and St. Augustine

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Stephen Keeling been traveling to the American South since 1991 and has lived in New York City since 2006. He worked as a financial journalist for 7 years before writing his first travel guide, and has subsequently worked on numerous guidebooks, including Frommers Florence, Tuscany & Umbria and Frommers Complete Guide to Italy .

Lesley Abravanel , like many native New Yorkers, now resides in Florida where she writes three weekly gossip and nightlife columns, a restaurant gossip column and blog for the Miami Herald , pens Florida guidebooks for Frommer's, and, in her spare time, collects hot sauces, raises twin toddlers, and attempts to learn Swedish from her Stockholm-born husband. You can always find her on Twitter, where she has no qualms speakinger, Tweetingher mind on everything from reality television to politics.

ABOUT THE FROMMER TRAVEL GUIDES

For most of the past 50 years, Frommer's has been the leading series of travel guides in North America, accounting for as many as 24% of all guidebooks sold. I think I know why.

Though we hope our books are entertaining, we nevertheless deal with travel in a serious fashion. Our guidebooks have never looked on such journeys as a mere recreation, but as a far more important human function, a time of learning and introspection, an essential part of a civilized life. We stress the culture, lifestyle, history, and beliefs of the destinations we cover, and urge our readers to seek out people and new ideas as the chief rewards of travel.

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Arthur Frommer

The Best of Charleston, Savannah & St. Augustine

T raveling from Charleston to St. Augustine, via Savannah, is just 265 miles and 4 hours by car, but it is a journey that runs through one of the richest cultural corridors in America. Surrounded by the landscapes of the Deep Southlive oaks dripping with Spanish moss, stately antebellum mansions, blossoming magnolia trees, and tranquil sea marshesyoull take a trip back in time, from the romantic English colonies of South Carolina to the sub-tropical Spanish roots of Florida.

Charleston remains one of the best-preserved cities in Americas Old South, a charming colonial enclave of cobbled streets, horse-drawn carriages, and gorgeous mansions. This is where the Civil WarThe War Between the Statesbegan in 1861. Crumbling plantation houses still lie on secluded, leafy estates, and the scent of fried shrimp, bubbling gumbo, and she-crab soup waft through the streets. Savannah, Charlestons Georgian rival, is similar. Both were founded by English colonists, and possess an abundance of Southern charm, elegant architecture, and heaps of history. Yet there are differences. Savannahs graceful squares are unique, lush gardens spread throughout the city, and the nightlife, free-wheeling spirit, and party-centric culture here is more like Key West that its staid northern cousin. St. Augustine is the smallest city of the three, similarly loaded with history, but this time with a Spanish flavor that makes it truly unique in North America. From the legendary Fountain of Youth and the old Spanish Castillo San Marcos, to the Mediterranean fantasies of Henry Flagler, theres nothing quite like it.

And theres more. In between the three cities, along the steamy, lush Atlantic coastline of the Deep South, are the pristine beaches of Hilton Head, family-friendly resort of Myrtle Beach, unspoiled barrier islands rich in Gullah culture, some of the best golf courses in the country, and enticing colonial towns such Georgetown and Beaufort.

The best Old South Experiences

Soaking Up the 19th-Century Elegance: Charleston, Savannah, and smaller towns such as Beaufort and Georgetown in South Carolina are the top destinations in the Deep South where you can experience what life was like in the 19th century by checking into a B&B in a restored historic building. Live out your Rhett Butler or Scarlett OHara fantasies in one of these Victorian parlors, surrounded by wall paintings of bygone belles. Typical of these is the Eliza Thompson House (see p. ), built around 1847 in Savannahs antebellum heyday.

Wandering the Isle of Hope: Spanish conquistador Hernando de Soto came here 4 centuries ago looking for gold. The island later became a place of refuge for Royalists escaping the guillotine of the French Revolution. Today, the Isle of Hope, 10 miles south of Savannah, is an evocative and nostalgic reminder of Savannahs yesteryears. You can go for a stroll in a setting of oaks lining the bluff, plenty of Spanish moss, and Georgia pine, dogwood, magnolia, azalea, and ferns. See p..

Having a Picnic Among Plantation Ruins: This part of the Deep South is littered with elegant plantation buildings, with perhaps the most evocative ruin within the Wormsloe State Historic Site south of Savannah. Nature trails are cut through the property, and there are picnic tables (see p. ).