Aiken-Rhett House Museum

Fantastic and unique look at the past through the layers of history that one property has accumulated through the years. Self guided audio tour was great and the tour of the enslaved quarters was unlike any other historic home or plantation I've seen so far.

One of my favorite House tours. The grounds and variety of areas included in the self guided tour was very extensive. Every aspect of life in a southern home of wealth is exhibited. Only a small part of the house is restored. Most is shown in a state of deteriation as it was received. One can still appreciate how grand and beautiful the architecture is as well as viewing some lovely art.

Incredible property and my group loved it best of all that we saw while there. Highly recommend. Excellent tour guide. I think her name was Jini.

This is an atmospheric way to spend a morning in Charleston. This grand old mansion was left in an unrestored state, which gives it an interesting feeling of being both a ruin but with grandeur. We saw artist David Boatwright's exhibition at the Museum and it added a light hearted element to the space. There are his paintings throughout the house and a large scale mural in the garden. There is also a dedicated gallery room that is original to the house and has a collection of period paintings on display. A lovely place to visit on a beautiful Charleston day.

Had an absolutely fantastic tour this morning. I arrived a little before 11am thinking I was just in time for the guided tour. Only to find out I got the 2 houses mixed up and this one is self tours. Well, Chrissy offered to give a private tour! That a treat! She took myself and another couple through the entire property pointing out all kinds of little details and giving so much history. She is so knowledgeable and passionate about this building. An amazing property that is being preserved and not restored. Love the touch of ringing the bell for entry, really makes you feel like you are visiting a friend at their home. Thanks again Chrissy!

We did a self-guided tour of the property. I opted to follow the prompts from their website. Although I got turned around at times, I enjoyed the narration and appreciated the opportunity to explore the property this way. The property is being preserved "as is," so it is old. It's a large estate, and there is a lot to see and learn. It was difficult to appreciate, but I'm glad I did the tour. I'm sure I will be unpacking the experience for days to come.

Great to see a property preserved in its original state. Really gives you a feeling how difficult it is to maintain such a property as well as authentic insight into what a "functioning" place like this looked like - including the living quarters for enslaved people working on the property and stables.

My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed going through this house. We went by it with a brief description on a city tour that we took on our first day in Charleston, and it sparked our interest, not only because of the history, but because it is a conservative not a renovation. Although the renovated historical homes are spectacular and we also enjoy seeing them, seeing one that remains in it’s 1858 state is extraordinary. Our tour guide, Chrissy, was outstanding! She was so knowledgeable and personable, and her tour was not a stiff, “rehearsed” monologue at all; it was a story and conversation of architecture, history, families, politics, slavery and Charleston. Engaging. And seeing the house in its stages of “disrepair” and changes was unique.

Very interesting house. Tour at your own speed.Great Docents for answering questions.

We visited here during the Christmas holiday. This was a thoroughly educational tour about this old plantation house. The Historic Charleston Foundation has owned and operated the Aiken-Rhett House as a historic house museum. They did note that a couple of rooms had been damaged by hurricane Hugo years ago. This house has a lot of beautiful architectural detail and charm still preserved after all this time. They also made sure to thoroughly touch the topic of slavery as well. The antebellum South relied on slavery heavily for economic prosperity (slave economy) and used wealth as a way to justify enslavement practices. This was how the original owners maintained their wealth; through the exploit of the free labor. We chose the self-guided tour (with a provided iPhone and headphones to guide us through each room/area of the house). Among many of the topics mentioned in the recorded, self guided tour, it was interesting hearing about the logistics of the household management/behind-the-scenes labor. Researchers are still trying to find out as much as possible about the enslaved families who lived here as their history has been mostly glossed over with that of the owners of this home. In the meantime, they preserved whatever they could find. This provides a bit of some educational value for those that desire it.

Yesterday a local mentioned this house to us. He said we had to go. Today being our last day in Charleston we went. You need to ring the doorbell for admittance into the house. At the check in we were asked if we had a combo ticket. Uh no. What's the other house? She said Nathaniel Russell. Heck we were there yesterday where we only purchased a single ticket. She asked if I had the receipt. No I already emptied my wallet. Any photos? Yes! We showed her. She graciously gave us a discount for the second house. Thank you. We got the audio. Unlike the Nathaniel Russell this house is preserved. Not restored. Hubby and I enjoyed this house so much more. We got a sense of how the elite lived at the expense of the urban enslaved. The audio walks you through the main house and the slave quarters. You learn about the inhabitants of both the main house and of the kitchen household help, the laundry help, and the stable help. We were able to access most of the rooms. Visiting this house was a history lesson. High,y recommended.

My fav house!!!!!! Loved when houses are preserved! You can feel like you are back in time Huge house- great audio tour and you can take pics- its far if ur walking from the nathaniel house so plan for this! Grab an Uber or or the taxi bikes If you dont do any house please do this one I dont want to post all the pics and give it away but it was so beautiful and everyone working there was so nice! A must

My family and I are visiting Charleston from California and would definitely recommend visiting the Aiken-Rhett House Museum if you are in the area! To start the staff was so incredibly kind and lovely to chat with! It was so obvious that everyone there was passionate and cared so deeply about the home they work in. I would like to specifically highlight the home manager for her kindness as she went out of her way to guarantee all five of us had the proper materials needed to enjoy our experience to the fullest. When you enter the house you must ring the doorbell, from here you are greeted and directed to the help desk to get started. You are given headphones and instructed to download an app so you can have a self guided tour. If you are an iPhone user they have adapters. If you are not an iPhone user they have iPods available to use or I would even recommend bringing your own headphones! The house itself was phenomenal! It felt like you were stepping into a time machine! The architecture, furniture and decor was really cool to see! It's also very admirable that such great efforts are being put forth to maintain the state of the home. I also really enjoyed the different perspectives highlighted depending on where you were in the home. This museum didn't shy away when speaking about the lives of those enslaved. I think it's really important to talk about all sides and stories of those living in this home. All in all our experience was fantastic! It was a really fascinating museum and the artifacts were very cool. I've never been to a museum like it before! I would definitely recommend attending and I am interested in learning more after my visit!!

It was ok. Our headphones intermittently went out during the tour. The preservation of the historic home seems to be a slow motion time lapse of its ultimate destruction. It's too bad they opted not to restore it or at least not provide better environmental protection. Of the historic homes we have visited thus far the Nathaniel Russell house has been one of our favorites .

Very interesting museum. For the people who say it's run down - it's preserved not restored. The audio tour explains the difference in great detail. It's a very sobering experience but presented very well. Visit their sister property also, but I'd visit this one first.

This home has not been restored. The historical society wants to present it as close to what it looked like originally. Be opened minded as much of what you will see is in disrepair. But it helps you to imagine what life would have been like. A huge amount of information is shared about the 17 slaves that lived and worked in this home. There is no written account of slave life because they weren't allowed (although we know some did learn to read & write). But the comparison of life for the white family to the slaves was mentioned many times. So this is an excellent real, historical account of life in the 1800's. Definitely worth your time!

On a girls trip - and we all LOVE a house tour, and none of us loved this one. I guess if we had done a bit more research we would have known this was not the tour for us. let's start by saying no A/C. This house is NOT renovated and left to "age", so kinda like an abandoned & wrecked historic monument. They give you a iPod and some headphones (Wish I had brought my own - I was a little concerned they were not being cleaned between uses)

Our family of five thoroughly enjoyed the tour of the house. It was nice to be able to download the app and move at our own pace through the property. It was nice to hear the story of the governor and his family, but also the history of the enslaved people who lived there as well. Hearing and seeing the house history from both perspectives made the experience more well rounded. The ladies working today were all lovely, helpful and wonderful to chat with. Thank you for preserving history- so that we can learn about it and from it.

This place cries out for guided tours by knowledgeable docents, like the one we had at the Nathaniel Russell House a few hours earlier. Also better lighting! We knew that the A-R House was an unrestored ruin, having visited it many years ago, but a good live guide could have brought it to life, talked about conservation efforts, authenticity, etc. Instead, we got an acoustiguide that was so boring and uninformative that I eventually just turned it off. It spent WAY too much time discussing the enslaved people and their quarters, IMO. Plus, most of the rooms were super-dark as well as empty and run-down. I realize maybe they keep the light levels low for conservation reasons, but... it's already a wreck, how much more damage would decent lighting do? It just made the whole house even more gloomy and depressing. I'd recommend any other Charleston house museum over this one.

My favorite historical house. Many of the original items still in the house and has quite an amazing history!

I'm super glad my husband and I took the time to visit this house. It's absolutely stunning and the preservation of it is amazing. I really enjoyed that it was an audio tour that took you room to room. It was in depth and informational. However my one con & piece of advice is to bring headphones. Unfortunately they let quite a few groups go at once which caused a lot of us to listen to different audios all at once in the same vicinity. It got a little hectic but I absolutely loved visiting!

The ongoing philosophy is not to renovate any of the spaces. A better approach would be to bring back to the most beautiful time a room or two and then enable the visitor's to better imagine the beauty and charm prior to the erosion that happened-- and still shows-- in the 1900's!

We walked over to the Aiken-Rehtt House after touring the Nathaniel Russell House. It was about 20 minute walk. We bought a discounted ticket for this house that was an option when purchasing tickets for the the Nathaniel Russell house. We only had the choice of the self tour of this house which provides iPods and headphones. The unique part about the Aiken-Rehtt House is the buildings have not been renovated or restored. The general conditions of the buildings are as they existed in the early 20th century. Age, humidity and hurricanes have taken their toll on this house. It was an interesting contrast juxtaposed against the beautifully restored and renovated Aiken-Rehtt House. The majority of the house and grounds did not have air conditioning so it can be very, very hot. It was on this day in August.

This is an amazing experience to see how this home was left and the history about the enslaved workers was really the highlight. While not as pretty inside as some of the restored homes (this is a preserved as found site), you get an idea of the massive disparities in lifestyle of the owners and slaves. Charleston is a beautiful city, but this is a reminder it was built and ran on slave labor. A dark, but important part of our past as a nation.

Really cool old house. Unrestored, so it isn't trying to be any particular era--the house just is itself. No air conditioning, but they made up for it with ample fans and a breeze from that impressive veranda (or "piazza," which is what Charlestonians call verandas). It's an audio tour, which is great because you can start it whenever you arrive--say at 11:09 a.m.--instead of on the hour or half hour. The narrator/docent does a great job. There are optional "extras" sections you can hear to learn more about specific elements of the house and its preservation. The tour includes two floors of the house and the two outbuildings--the summer kitchen/laundry/enslaved persons quarters building and the carriage house/stables. Tickets are $12, though we purchased tickets to this house and the Nathaniel Russell House for a savings of $6 total. We'd visited the Nathaniel Russell house the day before and their staff were happy to hand us iPods and headphones to borrow. I brought my own earbuds along for this tour, but I was hoping to borrow an iPod so as not to drain my phone battery with an hour of streaming before heading to the airport The Aiken-Rhett staff prefer you use your own device. They gave iPods and headphones to people who people who needed them, including headphones to my companion, so we didn't have to share, so if you've come to the Aiken-Rhett House Museum unequipped, it'll be fine. Recommended!

The self tour of this house was unique in that while the buildings have been fixed up to make them safe for tourist, the buildings have not been restored, nor have any significant pieces of furnishings been placed. The general conditions of the building are as they existed in the early 20th century. Hurricanes, subtropical weather, and time have not been kind to the home's interior. The best part of the tour is that the slave/servants quarters and other "working parts" of the large estate are on display. The tour gives you a feeling of what life may have been like for all the folks who lived there, not just the rich owners but the poor workers too. We bought a discounted ticket for this house in conjunction with the Nathaniel Russell house (a more traditional restored mansion). The price was $12 for 1 house or $18 for both houses. As the houses are very different in style and restoration, getting the discounted tour of both houses was worthwhile.

This house is in total disrepair, it's a shame! I was looking forward to visit a Charleston historic home and I was very disappointed. From floor to ceiling, everything is falling apart. Stapled wallpaper, broken pieces of furniture, rooms where you have to guess what it was because there's nothing in them. It's annoying to feel that the money you pay to visit this home doesn't seem to be used to maintain the property at all!

This was by far my favorite part of our trip to Charleston, the preservation of this house is really something special. Walking through this house is chilling as you learn about its past through your self guided tour. As mentioned, this is a self guided tour. You can either download their app onto your phone (iPhone OR Android) or you can use their iPod's with the content already downloaded and ready to go. We were going to download the app but realized we didn't have any headphones so we decided to use their iPod's. There is no additional charge to use them. You do still have to use headphones if you decide to download the app onto your phone, this is not to disturb others on the tour. Everyone moves at their own pace. I was on this tour with my husband, and while we each had our own iPod we still communicated about when we were pushing the play button so we could stay on track together. This helped us learn the same information at the same time, we would glance at each other in surprise when we learned something new. Keep in mind, this house is PRESERVED, not RESTORED. The wallpaper, artifacts, furniture, decor is all original to the home. The wallpaper is peeling, mirrors are cracked, photos are dark which is all a part of the history of this house. Everyone has their own opinion on what kind of tours they like, I personally love preservation. It makes you feel as though you've stepped back in time and you're in the center of it all. The staff was helpful and accommodating, very friendly! When we had questions about the iPod's they assisted us and got us going on the tour. I absolutely recommend touring this house, my husband and I couldn't stop talking about it for the rest of our trip. On our next trip, I'd be sure to stop by again!

Ultra glad I managed to squeeze a visit here on my last day in Charleston because this was definitely my favorite historical house in the city. I got to check out this museum since I bought a combo ticket at the Nathaniel Russell House. In contrast to many of the other homes we visited, the Aiken-Rhett house focuses on preservation rather than restoration, so much of what you see will be tattered, old, but original. The tour took about 1.5-2 hours and is audio/self guided. I'm not normally a huge fan of audio tours but this one was very descriptive and informative. I was able to get a good sense of what life was like way back in the day. I would recommend this tour to my family and friends.

I made the mistake of walking up to the front door to try and enter by pulling it a few times before my wife pointed out the pretty sign that asks you to ring the doorbell to enter. The nice lady escorted us downstairs to the former storage rooms where there is now a little store full of Charleston do-dads and lockers for your to stash your bags. Restrooms are also available down here, so consider this before walking through the house. Admission was $12 per adult, but if you buy the combo ticket to also see the other historic house tour, you save $6 per adult. If you don't buy the combo ticket, hold on to your receipt, and if you do go to the other house, and you show the receipt from this house, you're only charged $6. You're welcome. The house is very old, but has been preserved and renovated where needed. It's amazing to walk through a house like this to see how people lived over 150 years ago. Be warned for tall guys, that they didn't grow them too tall back in the day, so door frames are shorter than you'd expect. The tour is all self guided and you're provided with headphones and a handheld tour guide to give you descriptions of all the rooms that you're walking through. I didn't see any ghosts on this visit, but you can feel the history in the air as you're walking through this old rooms and hallways. It may have been the humidity, but I'll call it history.

When you get to the front entrance of the House, ring the doorbell and someone will come welcome you. You then walk down the steps, place your belongings in a locker, and obtain your audio player for the self-guided audio tour. The first audio player I was given had really poor sound quality. I figured I didn't want to miss out on any information, so after two rooms, I went back and asked for a new one. The new one was much better. The Aiken-Rhett House was actually my first stop in Charleston, which turned out to be a good idea because it really set the stage for all the history I was going to learn and appreciate that weekend. There was some good information in the audio tour, but to be honest nothing completely new other than specifics of the family. The valuable aspect of the tour was seeing the preserved state of the home. Admission was $12. The entire recording for the audio tour was about 1 hour, but allot for 1.5 hours if you plan to spend more time looking around and want to take your time. Just note that most of the nearby street parking has a limit of 1 hour. How strict they are with that limit just depends on the day.

Built in in 1820 by merchant John Robinson, this "typical Charleston double house " was sold in 1827 to William Aiken Sr.; as Robinson fell upon hard times. After Aiken Sr. passed away unexpectedly in a carriage accident, the house was passed to his wife and only son; William Aiken Jr. (former governor of South Carolina). The house remained in the hands of the family descendants for 142 years (circa 1972) and was occupied by the family until it was sold to the Charleston Museum in 1975. Only20 years later, it was sold again to the Historic Charleston Foundation in 1995 and remains under their ownership. Prior to the Civil War, the house was maintained by approximately 14 African slaves, who lived and worked in the 2 outbuildings. The 1st outbuilding had the laundry & kitchen with rooms above it on the second floor for the slave quarters. The 2nd outbuilding had a carriage house which also had rooms above it on the second floor for the slave quarters. The house itself has been preserved, not restored. Therefore, everything is exactly as it was back in the 1800's. Although this gives a great perspective on what life was like in the 1800's, it just feels like the house is sliding further and further into disrepair. The pre recorded audio tour is a must and gives tremendous insight into each and every room of the house. Without the audio tour, I would have not enjoyed this tour at all. What came as a huge surprise was the very last room (gallery) on the tour, as it had been restored to like new condition and featured many works of art that were displayed in the home. This room immediately transported you back to the 1800's and really gave you a feel of what it was like to live in this house. It also ended the tour on a very high note. Is this a must see attraction in Charleston? Maybe not. But you can see the house and walk the grounds in approximately one hour and I think it's a great bang for the buck. Besides, it is a top rated attraction and part of Charleston's historical past. FYI - there is no photography allowed inside the house, so all pictures that I have were taken from the outside and from the porch. I recommend buying the book in the gift shop if you are interested in a pictorial record of your visit here.

This was a very unique take on a house tour. The building has not been restored but left to age. In walking around, one gets a sense of how the occupants lived, without modern comforts. The tour is at your own pace, guided by an app on your phone. At times, the tour can meander a bit and it may be slow moving around different parts of the grounds. There is no air conditioning for most all of the tour. It may make sense to go early, or late in the day to avoid the SC heat and humidity.

What a PC joke! Completely ruined this architectural and historical gem with multiple layers of family history by enforcing a BLM audio tour. Sarcastic female voice was informing about not much else but slavery, inserting unwarranted remarks about injustice etc. How about families who lived here other 160 plus some years? Not worthy of mentioning? Don't waste your time on this liberal agenda. There are other beautiful historical homes in Charleston that let us, visitors, decide which aspect of history interests us the most. Don't collect 60+ bucks from a family of four just to push your one sided agenda. What a shame.

We visited this house on Sunday, Feb 28th... I purchased the Essential Charleston Passport (Enthusiast level) which allowed us to see all of 5 houses, 3 museums, and either Drayton Hall or Middleton Place plantations... We were pretty much done after an exhausting day of walking EVERYWHERE on Friday and Saturday, but decided to make the most of our passports by stopping here as well as the Joseph Manigault House! This house is a time capsule where the word "preservation" can be witnessed in its purest form as the Historic Charleston Foundation strives to stop the clock on decay so that we and generations to follow can see what life looked like in antebellum Charleston. Slaves quarters above the kitchens in the courtyard rendered stagnant by overly high walls (to prevent the temptation to run away) are as they were, the carriage house and stables are in tact as if frozen in time, small pieces of Mylar are tacked up in ballrooms and drawing rooms in a desperate (seemingly vain) effort to keep the fragments of French wallpaper from crumbling to dust... bathtubs and dressing tables are still in dressing rooms, etc... the list never ends... The ghosts of this house would still feel very much at home or enslaved as the case may be! PS - the little bookshop where you enter / purchase your tickets has clean bathrooms available, but also... take a look around the bookshop. There are lots of books by LOCAL authors and historians... in purchasing them here you are aiding the foundation and there is no tax on the items you are purchasing here so... bonus! I love the convenience of purchasing items online, but sometimes it's nice to have the opportunity for your dollars to go directly to a worthy (in my opinion) cause. I truly believe in the preservation of history (the good, the bad, and the ugly) because in preserving it in all of its forms we have tangible proof of its reality! Future generations need to know what really happened here on our own homelands.... I mean this regarding everything from Native American genocide to slavery. We are a beautiful country, but our past is as sordid as any others'.

We really enjoyed it. It was easy to get to. The people were nice. The app was very helpful as we walked through the house we could hear the narration at our pace. I would recommend

A must-see in Charleston. Very organized and informative; the audio tour was fantastic. We loved learning about this beautifully preserved site.

Don't waste your time on this house. There are so many better choices in Charleston. Although somewhat impressive from the street, the condition inside is pretty raw and mostly unfurnished. The outdoor areas are the most interesting. The staff is not at all welcoming, somewhat rude and often inept. We had a Heritage Passport which was presented upon entry, yet we were asked three times if we had paid -- by the very two people who checked us in! The self-guided tour is a joke. It's designed to work only on an iPhone, not an Android. We have the latter which is, by the way, more common. You can rent an iPod but must wear headphones throughout the tour so as not to disturb others. Not much fun if you're traveling with a partner, so we declined and just walked through. After 15 minutes, we were done. A young couple left just before us and laughed about how annoying the headphones were. The other homes we visited offered guided tours by docents who were fun, engaging and filled with interesting stories and facts. The Nathaniel Russell House, just a block away, is beautifully restored and furnished.

This is an interesting old antibellium estate that isn't restored to what it would have looked like in the mid-1800's but instead it is a preserved house. You are give a set of headsets to wear as you go on a self guided tour around the home and grounds. The history behind this estate is fascinating. I highly recommend. Keep in mind, there are free city buses that drop you off very close to the estate so no need to take a cab.

We toured the Aiken-Rhett House Museum today while taking advantage of our Museum Mile Pass. The pass is a great deal and definitely worth getting while in Charleston. We had the option of using MP3 players, downloading the tour on our phone, or reading a print out of the tour. We opted to read the tour from the print out. I liked that we could go at our own pace and weren't required to stick with a group. I learned a lot during the tour and would recommend this tour to those who are in town visiting as well as those who live here.

Worth the trip, if only to enjoy their gorgeous porch. The house seems run down at first glance, but all of the items you'll see are originals as they were found - even down to a gorgeous carriage and the stables. Definitely more unique than your typical historical home. Audio tour is easy to use from the app and a good balance of information and speed. Points out lots of interesting things you'd otherwise miss in the home. Staff was very friendly. Highly recommend for a 2-3 hour stop.

We found ourselves more educated on this trip but a couple of misses. This place is definitely not for kids or elderly because of the stairs and broken walkways. The history is quite interesting but a little slow since you are given a prerecorded tale to listen to on the tour and no chance to increase be speed of playback. The grounds show the true age of the house and furnishing as you see the real furniture unrestored and wallpaper unrestored. Bottom line...shows a real piece of history with authentic and unrestored home and furnishings. There is an audio guide included but it's a bit slow and there is no option to speed it up other than skipping through the tracks Pros Uncrowded Authentic and unrestored home and furnishings Informative tape Outside grounds are kept groom d Cons Slow audio playback

House is decrypted and falling apart. V chill tho. Somebody working there yelled at us when we walked in for existing. Kind of unpleasant, if you ask me. It's cool tho cause we got vintage iPods to listen to. I didn't listen but I assume the soundtrack was good. Got some good content for the insta.

This place is eerie but definitely worth stopping by if you're in town. There's lots to see, could be more informative explaining more about the family. The neighborhood is beautiful and historic. I highly suggest stopping by.

With my tummy full of Callie's hot little biscuits, and my teeth filled with blackberries (yeah, that was me.....the one who smiled at the docents all day with berries between each tooth), and my heart filled with joy, I ventured just a couple blocks over to the Aiken Museum. The main thing to keep in mind here is that this house is not really restored, but it is preserved. I think that is a better word. There is very little furniture. The walls are peeling. There is no heat or air conditioning. This house has seen happier days. That said, it is an interesting place to visit and I appreciated seeing the stark slave quarters, the carriage house, and the decaying ballroom that once probably held the fanciest of southern soirées. I was there on a very cold, damp, rainy December day. A good part of the tour is outside on the grounds, so bundle up if you go here in the winter. The audio tour is interesting and you can go at your own pace. There were very few other people there during my visit, so I appreciated the very private self-guided tour I had here. At times, I was a little curious, however, about whether the house was haunted, or if I was hearing background noises on my audio player. Being a big fan of ghost tours, I asked a few of the docents about it being haunted. Why do they always give the same stock response? (A big fat "no", with the exception of a couple "you didn't hear it from me, but I've heard some strange footsteps in the house before...") I've found this same reluctance to talk about it at several recent historic homes I've visited. I don't understand that. I think the juicy ghost stories make the history of the home and the tour more appealing. At any rate, it was a nice place to go on a rainy Charleston morning. There are lots of historic homes to visit, but this one was right in the neighborhood where I already was, so it worked out beautifully.

I really enjoyed this tour, for a couple reasons. First, I appreciate the self guided tour with headsets allowing you to pause if you wanted to. The audio was clear and the detail kept it interesting. I also enjoyed the fact that this plantation was not shiny and restored. It properly showed its wear with pride. It felt almost eery to think of the many generations of this family and slaves who had been here before us. Seeing how each lived and viewing some furnishings was a true learning experience.

Highlight of the trip so far, the self guided tour with music really transports you back. Would seriously recommend in combination with the Nathaniel Russell house.

Interesting historical museum/house to see in downtown Charleston. Admission was $12 and included an audio tour (at your own pace). The home has been preserved and not restored, so you will see what happens to a home as it ages "naturally" without fixing anything.

We visited the Aiken Rhett home based on a recommendation from our bus tour driver. So pleased that we did. The authenticity of this preserved home gave us an organic feel for how those lived in that era. The audio tour was informative and perfectly paced. I highly recommend when visiting the Charleston area.

Goodness this is a beautiful old home. It's very illustrative of antebellum home-building. Bricks were made poorly at that time and as a result over time families stuccoed over the brick and then scored it to make it look like stone. There are slave quarters, a detached kitchen, and a stable are part of this property, with a lot of original fixtures preserved. Also, great tours given by knowledgeable staff.

They say they open at 9am on Google but they only open at 10: it's a basic information that they should update!

Took a tour of this property which was conveniently located three blocks from our hotel right in the middle of Charleston and easy to get to. We were given headphones and a little player device and told to go explore. It was pretty interesting getting the entire history of the house and property, seeing the former slave quarters, the kitchen, carriage house, outhouses etc. Inside was beautiful and you could tell the city was trying its best to maintain it to the best of their ability. The pictures of what the house once looked like hundreds of years ago were rendered and beautiful and the artwork in the house was magnificent. It was a great tour and incredibly detailed.

If you tour any house in Charleston, this is the one you MUST see. The audio tour is comprehensive and takes you through every room. I loved that the house is pretty much left in an "as is" state and not renovated. There are actual pieces of furniture from the 1800's in this house as well as the cars, painting and wallpaper. Worth the money and the employees were super friendly. Note: You will have to store your purses in a locker so that they do not accidentally rub up on any walls/furniture. There is ample locker space with keys for this.

AH-MAZING! I've been to a few plantations in the south but most are expansive and rural. This is an urban plantation but the fact that it is simply maintained and not restored makes it that much more amazing. We also visited the McLeod plantation to get the full effect. That way we were able to see the cabins of the enslaved, and two plantation homes from different walks of life. Sit on the porch rocking chairs at Aiken-Rhett and take in the beautiful SC scenery.

Very interesting piece of history, more so if you're interested in life in the antebellum south. If you allow yourself to, you can get a real feel for what urban life must have been like back then for a wealthy southerner. As others have noted, the house is unrestored and the "tour" is self-guided using an MP-3 player and headphones for which you pay $12 per visitor. There is a small gift shop but no separate museum (other than what's contained throughout the house). There's no air-conditioning so be prepared. Lastly, leave the kids home for this one as this is more of an adult outing despite some efforts to place a few kid-friendly items throughout the tour.

One of the best tours I've ever been on. This is the first time I've been in a preserved but not restored home and I think it was the right choice. It's amazing to see this grand, old home as it is rather than as it was. You are able to use your imagination to see what it must have been like. I could have spent many hours but I was carrying around a 9 month old so I only spent about 1.5 hours. The audio tour at your own pace contains a ton of interesting info. The last members of the Aiken-Rhett family to reside here did so until the 1970s, which is so unbelievable! I would return to tour this home in a heartbeat. There is no a/c and no strollers or large bags allowed. They do have free lockers to house bags. There are stairs and the stairs in the outside kitchen/slave quarters are quite sloped.

Other than Boone Hall (which I recommend saving until the end of your trip - save the best for last, right?), this was one of my favorite things I explored while in Charleston. Out of all of the house tours in the downtown Historic district, this is a can't miss. It was considered an urban plantation back in the day and is conserved rather than refurbished. It literally feels like you are stepping back in time because you can feel the history and authenticity of the home. I love the audio tour that lets you go at your own pace. You can't take pictures inside so make sure you visit this because you won't be able to just check it out online. Definitely agree with the recommendation to go early because there is no AC so it could get hot. I happened to go on a day when it was pouring rain, so not a problem for us. This tour is pretty awesome because you get to see so much more than a home - slave quarters, kitchen, dining room, patios and piazzas, bedrooms, stables and more. Also, the staff is SO KIND. The check-in ladies spent 20 minutes after the tour giving us advice about Charleston. When leaving, a gentleman that worked there told us all of the tourist traps to avoid and gave me a bag so that my purse wouldn't get wet in the rain.

This house is "conserved" ie, basically sitting there rotting, only maintained to the point that it does not disintegrate or pose a hazard (we hope) , vs "restored" (where things are repaired to original grandeur). Personally, I have no idea why reupolstering a sofa, and repainting walls makes a home any less authentic if it is done in correct period decor.Many people don't like the "restored" houses, they are not "authentic". Those are the same prople who don't like Disneyland, and they have no place in my world. Now, that is all just personal commentary, and all of that being said, I really did enjoy touring the house (I am glad however, I did it PRIOR to visiting the far far superior Boone Hall). You are free to move at your own pace, and listen to an mp3 tour, and there is only one room that has the dreaded ropes that screech if you dare lean over them. The house is dilapadated,(though "conserved') and holes in walls, floors, peeling paint, decaying furniture etc. But the tour was interesting, and I really like to go at my own pace. The cost is $10, and there are docents available for chatting if desired. Go EARLY, it has no a/c, and it swelters. Again, while slave quarters are toured, and slavery mentioned, it is never portrayed in a negative light. Apparently this doesn't bother most people (This is still the south, and the differences in race and class continue to apall me) but I find it shocking that NEVER is in mentioned as anything but just the way of life. I am not expecting a long anti-slavery tirade for civil rights, but an acknowledgement of the evils of the past would be good.