The French Quarter
Charleston's compact historic art district: galleries, cobblestones, the Dock Street Theatre, and the launch point for the city's best tours.
Short answer: the French Quarter is Charleston's small historic art district in the southeast corner of downtown, named for its French Huguenot settlers. In a few cobblestone blocks you get the Dock Street Theatre, the French Huguenot Church, dozens of art galleries, and some of the city's oldest streets. It is also where many food and ghost tours begin.
What's here
The French Quarter rewards slow wandering more than a checklist. Chalmers Street is one of the last cobblestone streets in Charleston, and the surrounding blocks hold the densest concentration of art galleries in the city, the heart of the monthly French Quarter Art Walk. The Dock Street Theatre, on Church Street, traces its origins to 1736 and claims to be the first building in America purpose-built as a theater. A few steps away, the Gothic Revival French Huguenot Church is the only independent Huguenot congregation left in the country.
The neighborhood runs right up to Rainbow Row and the waterfront, and the Old Exchange and Provost Dungeon sits at its edge, so it folds easily into a wider downtown walk. It is compact: you can see the highlights in an hour or two on foot.
The best way to see it
Because the streets are so atmospheric and the history so dense, the French Quarter is a natural place to take a guided tour rather than wander alone. Food tours work the neighborhood's restaurants by day, and after dark it becomes the launch point for the city's ghost walks, which double as a walking tour of these exact blocks. If you only have one evening downtown, a ghost tour here covers a lot of ground.
Tour the French Quarter
Take a food tour: French Quarter Guided Food Tour with 7+ Tastings, from $116.59. Or take a ghost walk: 90-Minute Ghost and Dungeon Walking Tour, from $40.5. See all food tours and ghost tours.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the French Quarter in Charleston known for?
It is Charleston's historic art and gallery district, tucked into the southeast corner of the peninsula. Inside a few cobblestone blocks you have the Dock Street Theatre, the Gothic Revival French Huguenot Church, dozens of art galleries, and some of the oldest streets in the city. It is also where many food and ghost tours begin.
Why is it called the French Quarter?
It takes its name from the French Huguenot settlers who established themselves here in the late 1600s, fleeing religious persecution in France. The French Huguenot Church on Church Street remains the only independent Huguenot congregation in the country, and the neighborhood kept the name when it was designated a historic district in the 1970s.
Is the French Quarter worth visiting?
Yes, and it is small enough to see in an unhurried hour or two on foot. Walk Chalmers Street, one of the last cobblestone streets in the city, step into a gallery or two, admire the Dock Street Theatre and the Huguenot Church, and you have covered the heart of it. Many visitors fold it into a food or ghost tour rather than touring it separately.
What tours start in the French Quarter?
A lot of them. The dense history and atmospheric streets make it a natural launch point for ghost walking tours after dark and for food tours that work the French Quarter restaurants by day. If you only have one evening, a ghost tour here doubles as a walking tour of the neighborhood.