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Book Charleston's Most Educational History Tour!

Recommended by 98% of travelers
Badge of Excellence
Charleston, USA
Popular pick
Booked 10+ times last week!
  • 2 hours 30 minutes (approx.)
  • Mobile ticket
  • Offered in: English

Why travelers loved this

4.9
·
· Robert_S ·
Feb 2026
Cooper was an amazing guide who gave us a thorough, informative and entertaining tour around the beautiful historic town of Charleston. He is clearly passionate about history and architecture and will also share anecdotes you won’t find in any guide. Would definitely recommend his tour.
· Ryan_N ·
Dec 2025
Great experience. Cooper was very good. As others said, be prepared to walk. Good shoes and water. Highly recommended.

Overview

See the historical sights of Charleston on a walking tour with a guide who tells you about the city's long history. You'll wander along narrow streets and alleys, passing by antebellum homes and other attractions as you listen to stories about Charleston's past 300 years.
  • Explore Charleston on a walking tour
  • Take in the scenery and architecture of the city's historical center
  • Wander along streets near the waterfront
  • Learn about Charleston's history from a guide

What's Included

  • Professional historian with a PhD
  • Education, Knowledge, and Discussion
  • Dad jokes and lots of laughs :)
  • Gratuities, cute puppies, surfboards, fishing gear.... the list goes on :) LOL

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point

  • Waterfront Park
    Vendue Range, Concord St, Charleston, SC 29401, USA

    We meet at the waterfront park, directly across the street from the Harborview Inn. There is a parking garage across from Fleet Landing restaurant one block up from our meeting place. Please wear/bring weather appropriate clothing, and arrive a few moments early, since we can not wait for you.

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

Operating hours
.10:00 am

Itinerary

1

Chucktown Tours

10 minutesAdmission Ticket Free

South Adgers Wharf (Pass By)

2

Tradd Street

15 minutesAdmission Ticket Free

3

Battery & White Point Gardens

20 minutesAdmission Ticket Free

4

Heyward-Washington House

5 minutesAdmission Ticket Free

Additional Info

  • Confirmation will be received at time of booking
  • Not wheelchair accessible
  • Service animals allowed
  • Near public transportation
  • Not recommended for travelers with back problems
  • No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
  • Most travelers can participate
  • This tour/activity will have a maximum of 15 travelers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Gallery picture 1 (from a traveler's review)
Gallery picture 2 (from a traveler's review)
Gallery picture 3 (from a traveler's review)
Gallery picture 4 (from a traveler's review)
Gallery picture 5 (from a traveler's review)

Reviews

4.9
based on 131 reviews
Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

Great tour with Cooper!

Pam_M, Mar 2026
Cooper was so knowledgeable about Charleston and its history! He shared his knowledge with us through stories, anecdotes, and personal experiences that kept us fully engaged throughout our tour!

Best tour ever.

Ann_J, Feb 2026
Learned so much from this tour. Excellent. Storytelling historian. Best tour ever. Highly recommend.

Unique tour with interesting tidbits about Charleston

Frank_H, Feb 2026
Great tour, great lively narration, hundreds of interesting tidbits of interest that you cannot get from a guide book.

Cooper was an amazing...

Robert_S, Feb 2026
Cooper was an amazing guide who gave us a thorough, informative and entertaining tour around the beautiful historic town of Charleston. He is clearly passionate about history and architecture and will also share anecdotes you won’t find in any guide. Would definitely recommend his tour.

Charleston First timer.

Ryan_N, Dec 2025
Great experience. Cooper was very good. As others said, be prepared to walk. Good shoes and water. Highly recommended.

Cooper is extremely...

jonathan_c, Dec 2025
Cooper is extremely knowledgeable about Charleston and its history. He shared a lot insights that made the tour more interesting. Especially, enjoyed hearing about some of the famous people who have lived in Charleston through the years.

A wonderful tour

Sijia_Z, Oct 2025
Professor Cooper told Charleston history in a different perspective with a personal touch. It was a lovely walk of over 3 hour in such a beautiful weather. Highly recommended.

Good time

Robert_S, Oct 2025
Great tour with tons of history. Connor knew everything and no question stumped him. Great info on the orgin of the slave trade.

We enjoyed Cooper’s...

Linda_M, Oct 2025
We enjoyed Cooper’s knowledge of and enthusiasm for Charleston. Great sense of humor. Very enjoyable walk about.

Excellent tour of Charleston

Grace_B, Jun 2025
Do not hesitate to book this walking tour- Cooper was a fantastic guide who made the tour both fun and informative. I came away knowing much more than when I started, with real history alongside seeing the beautiful architecture of Charleston. Funny as well as educational, and a great way to spend a morning.

I have been coming to...

hollis_b, May 2025
I have been coming to Charleston for 30 years and finally decided to take a walking tour. I thought I knew it all, but Cooper filled in fax with interesting stories and things that nobody ever pointed out before. I wasn’t even a weird George Washington lived in Charleston! Cooper is the best.

Best Tour in Charleston!

Elizabeth_F, Apr 2025
We loved Chuck! He was engaging, informative, enlightening and made learning about Charleston fun and memorable. Plus he has a great southern drawl!

Cooper did a great job his knowledge of dates and times in history are amazing we learned all about the history of Char

kelly_s, Apr 2025
Cooper is a very knowledgeable and funny guy his memory of dates and times in the history of Charleston are amazing would do this tour ag

Head-spinning historical...

Sally_K, Mar 2025
Head-spinning historical experience - a wealth of information. Now I’m filling space to get beyond the minimum

Terrific walking tour of Charleston

Betsy_B, Mar 2025
Our guide Chuck was so knowledgeable about the history of Charleston- he is a local and past college professor with endless stories about all things Charleston. We all learned a lot and were left with a lot to consider about this beautiful city.

Use Cooper for the best tour!

Anne_W, Oct 2024
Cooper was an excellent historian and spectacular tour guide. As one of the only Academics providing tours, his wealth of local knowledge was second to none. Great sense of humour and suggestions for local venues! Highly recommend!

Great history tour

Ron_R, Oct 2024
Great tour and Cooper was both extremely knowledgeable and entertaining. Great way to get to know Charleston

Great learning experience

Bonnie_H, Sep 2024
Learned a lot and have new perspective on Charleston and Civil War. Tour was over two hours but had resting spots.

Charleston historical tour

Maryellen_R, Sep 2024
Our guide Cooper was wonderful. We highly recommend this tour. You will learn the history of Charleston from its founding to today in a fun and informative way!

Historical tour of Charleston

Cindy_D, May 2024
We really enjoyed our tour. Our tour guide, Cooper, was great! Cooper got to know us a little bit and tailored the tour to our interests. He was very knowledgeable and peppered the historical facts with fun facts about Charleston and it's residents past and present. We highly recommend this tour and especially Cooper!

Our tour guide, Cooper,...

Audrey_K, Apr 2024
Our tour guide, Cooper, was absolutely fantastic!!!! He’s a retired history teacher who is a fountain of information about Charleston! Through his stories and knowledge we learned so much about Charlestons history. Our two and a half hour tour turned into an almost four hour tour. Cooper is very personable, with a great sense of humor!! You can tell he loves being a tour guide! He even gave us a card recommending places to eat of which we have tried two of them and were very happy! You haven’t had the Charleston tour until til you’ve taken the tour with Cooper!

If you choose only one tour, this is it!

JENNIFER_H, Mar 2024
Absolutely fascinating tour with Cooper! He told the Charleston’s story giving context to events and people that gave us a better appreciation and understanding for the region. It was entertaining and thought-provoking.

Highly Recommend

Lisa_T, Mar 2024
This tour and our guide Cooper was the highlight of our short stay in Charleston. Cooper enlightened us and entertained us with his quick wit. The walk was slow and he encouraged us to sit on a couple of stops. The 2.5 hours went by quickly. We highly recommend this tour.

History comes alive with Cooper

Janice_L, Mar 2024
Cooper was the heart of the tour. His knowledge of the history of Charleston is unbelievable. Who gets a retired history professer as your tour guide. He was the best

A Great Way to Meet Charleston

Shelly_B, Jan 2024
Cooper is a walking historian! No matter the subject he had knowledge of it and delivered it well. An extremely enjoyable way to spend our morning in Charleston!

Strolling through history made fun

Erinn_K, Oct 2023
The walking tour was so beautiful. The history that we were taught shed new light on areas of the civil war, Memorial Day, and much more. We learned so much interesting stories about the beginnings of Charleston. Cooper is personable, witty, and full of information to share. His passion and enjoyment is evident! I highly recommend this tour!

Two thumbs up historian

kathleen_f, Oct 2023
All of it Copper was amazing great learning experience and he had a great sense of humor. The most I ever learned on a walking tour

Highly recommend this tour and guide.

Sheila_J, Oct 2023
Our guide Cooper was exceptional. He was so knowledgeable and kept the tour very interesting. He had a great sense of humor and thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

Best of

Theresa_K, Sep 2023
This was much enjoyed! Good combination of history, insight and beauty of the city. We would do it again!!

amazing

Kyra_T, Aug 2023
Cooper, u did an excellent job with sharing your real historical knowledge with us. You engaged us, you challenged us all in fun. You made the tour memorable. Thank you. Kyra and Beth from Indiana.
Likely to Sell Out

From $45.00

per person

up to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)

Book ahead!
On average, this is booked 22 days in advance.

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