The first time I went to Charleston, I was four months pregnant with my first child. My husband and I visited in late spring, when the weather was warm enough to soak up the sun on the beach, but not yet hot and humid. We spent a long weekend enjoying leisurely meals at some of the city’s finest restaurants. We spent hours strolling the cobblestone streets, admiring the window boxes and the delightfully bright paint colors on Rainbow Row. As we picnicked at Boone Hall, rode a carriage through the historic district, sipped coffee from the balcony at our BnB, we decided Charleston was our new favorite city.

A festive façade. Brennan Wesley/ExploreCharleston.com