Charleston, South Carolina City Market Shopping

There's no better way to get a feel for Charleston, South Carolina than supporting local artists and entrepreneurs with a visit to the Historic Charleston City Market. For locally handmade items, one-of-a-kind gifts, or memorable souvenirs, downtown Charleston is the place. You will find family-friendly vendors handcrafted jewelry to award-winning fine art paintings and sculptures from local artists. There's a little something of everything here!

Established in 1807, the Charleston City Market is one of the nation's oldest public markets and the heart of Historic Charleston. With 300 friendly Day Market vendors and 120 vibrant Night Market vendors (who are all 100% local with 100% locally-made items for sale), there is always something new to discover. Fine-crafted leather, clothing items, locally-made soaps, specialty hot sauces, Christmas ornaments, stoneware, and pottery - there is so much shopping, food, culture, and fun to be had.

Take home the tastes of the Lowcountry with hundreds of delicious foods and snack choices like grits, preserves, sauces, glazed pecans, benne wafers, and pralines. Grab a postcard painted by a local artist, a Palmetto Rose, or a sweetgrass basket for the best souvenirs. With more than 50 resident Gullah artisans, the Charleston City Market is the very epicenter of sweetgrass basketry, one of the nation's oldest and most beautiful handicrafts of West African origin that have passed down through the generations. See a beautiful and masterfully crafted piece of history created before your eyes as basket weavers demonstrate their hand-weaving techniques daily.

The City Market has an air-conditioned indoor marketplace area affectionately called "The Great Hall." The marketplace houses 20 vendors with 18,300 square feet of micro boutiques, two public restrooms, large glass entrance doors, a mix of uplighting and goose-neck lights, a stunning skylight that stretches the entire length of the building, large ceiling fans, and open bays. Outside the Great Hall, outdoor seating options where locals and visitors can treat themselves to freshly baked pastries, aromatic locally roasted coffee, and refreshing organic tea from Caviar & Bananas or piping-hot, award-winning biscuits and pimento cheese sandwiches from Callie's Hot Little Biscuit.

In addition to the Great Hall, there are three charming open-air markets with ceiling fans. These markets house two long rows of vendor booths lining each wall and a wide center walkway that you can enjoy rain or shine.

The Charleston City Market is central to top dining spots within walking distance of hundreds of the country's top restaurants. There are several parking options, from metered parking spaces to parking garages. Consider a leisurely carriage ride to learn about Charleston's history and culture as you soak in the storied architecture and tranquil gardens. Conveniently, carriage tours start and end right in the market area. Discover what people have been talking about for more than 200 years!

The Charleston City Market is open every day of the year except December 25th. The Day Market is open daily from 9:30 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. and the Night Market is open Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays (April - December) from 6:30 p.m. until 10:30 p.m. (outdoors). Convenient and inexpensive parking is located nearby, see the attached parking garage map. For more information visit the Charleston city market website.