Here’s yet another reason to come to Charleston - it's the best city in America to visit. More about that in a minute. Lately I’ve covered certain important holidays where you get free stuff or good deals. National Doughnut Day, National Fried Chicken Day, Free Ice Cream Day at Ben & Jerry’s. Well, another one is coming up again tomorrow, and it’s a fun one. It’s also perfect for hot weather. Tomorrow - July 11th (7/11) – is Free Slurpee Day at 7-Eleven. Get it? Just walk into any 7-Eleven tomorrow (7/11) between the hours of 11:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. and you can get a free small Slurpee of your choice. No coupon, code or purchase necessary. They have been doing this since 2002, and usually give out about 9 million of them each time. 7/11 is also they celebrate 7-Eleven’s birthday. Tomorrow is their 91st. 7-Eleven is the largest chain of convenience stores in America. Here’s more on the story.
It's official: Charleston is the best city in America to visit
It’s that time of year, when the powers that be list their best of rankings, and the Holy City is ranked the #1 U.S. destination, again. Travel + Leisure magazine just released the results of their annual “World’s Best” Awards, as determined by their readers’ survey. The 2018 World's Best list is the 23rd annual ranking by the esteemed travel magazine. The rankings of the best city in America are based on the following areas: sights/landmarks, culture/arts, food/restaurants, people/friendliness, shopping, and value. Those of you who have been here before, probably don’t need a survey to tell you how great the Lowcountry is. Charleston is hot, and I’m not speaking temperature-wise. Still, it’s nice to get the official recognition. Once again, Charleston has been named the best city in America to visit. This is the Holy City’s sixth time at the top spot. Nathan Lump, Editor-in-chief of the magazine had this to say: “Charleston continues its run as Travel + Leisure readers’ pick for the top city in the United States with good reason. This is a city that is not content to rest on its laurels as one of the most beautiful and well preserved historic urban environments in the country. Thanks to a creative local population intent on creating world-class experiences, there is always something new and exciting going on here, from a vibrant cultural scene to innovation in food and drink to fresh takes on style and design.” Senior Editor Jacqui Gifford made the announcement this morning on The TODAY Show. Here’s the list:
TOP 15 CITIES IN THE U.S. 2018, in order, are:
- Charleston, SC
- New Orleans, LA
- Savannah, GA
- Santa Fe, NM
- New York City, NY
- Chicago, IL
- San Antonio, TX
- Asheville, NC
- Nashville, TN
- Honolulu, HI
- San Francisco, CA
- Williamsburg, VA
- Austin, TX
- Boston, MA
- Carmel-By-The-Sea, CA
I’ve spent a good bit of time in all of these cities, and actually lived in three of them, and I have to say it’s a pretty good list. This is what they wrote about Charleston in the rankings: “The jewel of the South Carolina coast has crowned our list of favorite American cities since 2013. But that doesn’t mean the Lowcountry destination isn’t evolving. Thanks to an influx of business, Charleston is bustling with revitalized energy. A new generation of restaurateurs, helmed by Sean Brock of Husk and McCrady’s, is turning the city into an international food destination. Writes one reader: ‘I love the history, the art, the grits, and the proximity to Kiawah and other beautiful coastal areas. This is the perfect city for a girls’ weekend, a family vacation, or a romantic getaway.’” Charleston was voted the 10th best place in the world to visit. It’s the only U.S. destination to make the top 15. Here’s a link to all their rankings. They’ll list them all in their August issue, which hits the newsstands on July 27th. Here’s more on the story from the Post and Courier. Every time one of these rankings comes out, the word spreads even more about how wonderful Charleston is. That only increases the demand even more for luxury beach house rentals SC. So if you are interested in staying in one, you’d best call us here at EP as far ahead as possible with your preferred dates. All best, Lowcountry Lisa your Isle of Palms vacation blogger
Photo credit: Explore Charleston/ Charleston CVB