Columbia, South Carolina

Columbia, South Carolina's capital city, revolves around the State House, where you can spot Civil War artillery marks on its copper dome. Walk through Five Points, where University of South Carolina students gather at sidewalk cafes and vintage record stores. Watch African elephants at Riverbanks Zoo, or hike among 170-foot-tall trees in Congaree National Park. Every Saturday, you'll find local farmers and artisans selling everything from fresh peaches to handwoven baskets at the Soda City Market, while the Vista district's converted brick warehouses now house some of the city's best restaurants and galleries.

Getting Around Columbia

Three interstate highways (I-20, I-26, and I-77) lead into Columbia. You can ride the COMET bus system throughout the metropolitan area, and the Soda Cap Connector runs between downtown locations every 30 minutes. Walking works well in Five Points, The Vista, and the University district, where most points of interest sit within a 15-minute walk of each other. Uber and Lyft drivers concentrate in the downtown area and near the university.

University District and Five Points

Around the University of South Carolina campus, you'll find students filling study spots like Cool Beans Coffee Company and browsing through Papa Jazz Record Shoppe's extensive vinyl collection. The Five Points neighborhood, where Harden Street, Greene Street, and Saluda Avenue intersect, comes alive during the annual St. Patrick's Day Festival in March, when a parade and live music draw over 45,000 people to the streets.

Museums and State House

Walk through 25 galleries at the Columbia Museum of Art to see Italian Renaissance paintings and Ming Dynasty porcelain. The South Carolina State Museum's four floors inside a restored 1894 textile mill cover everything from prehistoric fossils to space exploration. At the State House, built from local gray granite, look for the six bronze stars on the exterior walls marking where Union shells struck during General Sherman's 1865 attack.

Natural Spaces and Wildlife

At Riverbanks Zoo, you can watch more than 2,000 animals including gorillas, penguins, and Komodo dragons. The zoo sits along the Saluda River, where you can go kayaking through class II and III rapids. Drive 20 miles south to Congaree National Park to walk among some of eastern North America's tallest trees on the 2.4-mile elevated boardwalk trail through the old-growth forest.

The Vista and Main Street

In The Vista district, former railroad warehouses have become art galleries and restaurants. Every Saturday morning, Soda City Market spreads across three blocks of Main Street, with 150 vendors selling local produce, crafts, and food. The area's 19th-century brick buildings now house new businesses while keeping their original cast-iron columns and arched windows.