48 Hours in Charleston

An easy nonstop flight from most major U.S. airports, this Southern charmer– home to world-class restaurants, gracious architecture, and achingly beautiful tree-lined streets–is our new favorite weekend getaway with friends.

- CHRIS MITCHELL

I had known about the charms of Charleston, South Carolina, but had never gotten around to a proper long-weekend visit. My wife and I even knew more than one New York couple with a second home there, which sort of screamed that it was that easy to get to. A part of me probably compartmentalized Charleston as a Southern party city like New Orleans or Nashville, which I enjoyed wonderful tastes of when I was younger but now didn't quite square with my 9:30 bedtime. So it took a combination of circumstances to get us there—namely, new friends who felt like old friends who live there and a holiday weekend when we needed a last-minute plan.

It seems silly to say now, but we really didn't know what we were missing. Small yet sophisticated, Charleston nails that food-architecture-history trifecta and has become a yearly pilgrimage for us. Here's how we roll: We take a Friday morning flight, inexpensive and frequent from New York, which deposits us in plenty of time to drop our bags at The Dewberry or Zero George (both of which are in the center of town), then borrow a couple of complimentary bikes and meet our friends for lunch at Chez Nous, a pocket-size restaurant in a two-story 1835 clapboard house tucked away in an alley. With a six-item seasonal menu that changes daily and is written in script on a single piece of paper, the French-inspired Chez Nous has become one of our favorite restaurants anywhere in the world.

Afternoon can be a short trip out of the city center to a historic home or Afternoon can be a short trip out of the city center to a historic home or park. The decision to tour a plantation can be complicated, but a few, such as Drayton Hall, do a good job of honoring their architectural and functional history while addressing their dark past. Depending on the weather, you could also make a beach day trip to