• Tour Charleston's historic churches in this town nicknamed ‘The Holy City'. Among the most historic are the First Baptist Church (website: www.fbcharleston.org), French Huguenot Church (website: www.frenchhuguenotchurch.org) and St Philip's Episcopal Church (website: www.stphilipschurchsc.org).

• Take a guided tram tour at Charles Towne Landing (website: www.charlestowne.org), site of the first permanent English settlement in South Carolina. Board a 17th-century trading ketch replica, or explore 11km (7 miles) of pathways through beautiful English gardens.

• Admire the Spirit of South Carolina (website: www.scmaritime.org), a replica tall ship docked at the north end of Union Terminal Pier.

• Explore Fort Sumter (website: www.nps.gov/fosu), where the first shots of the Civil War were fired from Fort Johnson in 1861. Boat tours to Fort Sumter leave from Liberty Square and Patriots Point Maritime Museum (website: www.patriotspoint.org).

• Rediscover the history of the South at the Confederate Relic Room and Museum (website: www.state.sc.us/crr) in Columbia. The museum features weapons and memorabilia, including flags, newspapers, clothing, pictures and money.

• Tour the Columbia Museum of Art (website: www.columbiamuseum.org), where contemporary art shares the spotlight with masterpieces of the baroque and Renaissance.

• Trace the history of the American soldier at the Fort Jackson Museum (website: www.jackson.army.mil/museum), where a special exhibit focuses on the life and times of President Andrew Jackson.

• Explore Brookgreen Gardens (website: www.thewebstation.com/brookgreen), a showplace of art and nature on the site of four colonial rice plantations. Over 550 of America's finest 19th- and 20th-century sculptures are scattered throughout the gardens.

• Visit the South Carolina Hall of Fame in Myrtle Beach, and see interactive video displays that salute outstanding citizens of South Carolina.

See Contact Addresses for further tourist information.