Middleton Place

Middleton Place

Middleton Place
4.5
Historic SitesPoints of Interest & LandmarksGardens
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Monday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Sunday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
About
Middleton Place National Historic Landmark is home to America’s oldest and most important landscaped gardens. Began in 1741, the historic site today encompasses 110 acres including the Gardens, House Museum, Stableyards, and Eliza’s House. Together they tell the inclusive history of all who lived, worked, and died here. The stories of the Middleton family including two Founding Fathers and generations of enslaved people are interwoven throughout the property. Visitors have opportunities to experience those stories with both guided or self-guided tours.
Meets animal welfare guidelines
Suggest edits to improve what we show.
Improve this listing
Tours & experiences
Explore different ways to experience this place.
What is Travellers’ Choice?
Tripadvisor gives a Travellers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travellers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.

Top ways to experience Middleton Place and nearby attractions

See what travellers are saying
  • feifeidad
    Boston, Massachusetts94 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Beautiful place to visit
    What a beautiful place! We visited in Feb and the temperature was 58 degrees. But the garden was already decorated with blooming magnolia and camellia flowers. We saw at least 10 alligators lying around the banks of the river or ponds. The slavery history and stories were fascinating and heavy hearted. We took the garden tour and the history tour, both of which were free. Highly recommended!
    Visited February 2024
    Travelled with family
    Written 22 February 2024
  • Amy L
    Minnetonka, Minnesota16 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    A beautiful place with a rich history
    I really enjoyed this spot. Beautiful scenery and flowers weren't all out yet, but the greenery, live oaks, turtles and gators and the river as the backdrop were outstanding. highly recommend the 40 min story telling of the enslaved at the plantation. Our presenter was so well spoken, it was very moving. The restaurant on site is fantastic!
    Visited March 2024
    Travelled with family
    Written 10 March 2024
  • Susan L
    Durham, North Carolina516 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Gorgeous in mid-March!
    Simply beautiful! We went in mid-March and the camilias were still in bloom and the azaleas had just started to come out. Gorgeous! We didn't get the 'combo' tickets for the gardens and house because the "house" was destroyed and so the building you go into is a small outer building that survived. We spent about 2 hours at the site and we did take advantage of the garden overview tour which was free and lasted about 30 mins.
    Visited March 2024
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 15 March 2024
  • ycarney
    Vero Beach, Florida389 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    An incredible experience!
    I cannot say enough about these gardens. We toured the gardens and grounds on our own, and although we spent hours there, I'm sure there was lots we didn't get to see. The place is absolutely magnificent. Just walking around makes you feel at peace and totally as one with nature. There were birds and alligators, not to mention the incredible trees and foliage. They do such an incredible job maintaining the miles of paths and walkways. We also had the opportunity to be among sheep, and actually could touch the since they walked among us in another area of the gardens. What a wonderful experience which I would recommend to anyone whether you are alone or with friends or family. A must see.
    Visited April 2024
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 11 April 2024
  • Ada
    Winston Salem, North Carolina2 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Great experience!
    The best part of our visit to Middleton Place was the Beyond Slavery presentation. Gary did a great job of presenting the plantation's role in slavery in a factual and unbiased manner. The lady introducing the house tour was extremely helpful. The docents in the house were friendly and informative.
    Visited April 2024
    Travelled with friends
    Written 16 April 2024
  • Reed B
    Richmond, Virginia23 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Middleton Place Is A Must!!!!
    After walking all over Charleston for 2 days, we decided to drive 30-40 minutes to Middleton Place. I am so glad that we did! The beauty is spectacular here. We toured the gardens on our own and did a 30 minute house tour. Lots of walking paths. You will see beautiful gardens, wildlife, Spanish moss, huge live oak trees and lakes. Make sure to eat lunch at the restaurant that serves a delicious, low country buffet. Amazing fried chicken and service. We also enjoyed touring and learning the history of the Middleton family. If you want to go off the beaten path and enjoy nature for a day- go to Middleton Place.
    Visited May 2024
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 3 May 2024
  • Howard P
    Chevy Chase, Maryland34 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Fabulous Visit, Beautiful Place, Great Docent
    Wonderful Visit to Middleton Place. Beautiful grounds and gardens, a story (good and bad) about one of the prominent families of the South, and we had a fabulous docent. Jerry spent 45 minutes filling us with tales about the family, the enslaved people and the place of beauty where it all happened. A great visit! Plus there is a good restaurant, reasonably priced. Go! You will truly enjoy your day!
    Visited May 2024
    Travelled with friends
    Written 4 May 2024
  • Robin S
    35 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Beautiful Place and Enlightening Talk
    The grounds were stunning and it was a great example of southern plantation living. The Slave Experience lecture was fabulous. The speaker is so gifted - a great communicator and story teller. Middleton Place doesn't gloss over slavery - it tackles the topic head on with a realistic, accurate perspective. They acknowledge it as a dark part of our history that needs to be talked about.
    Visited May 2024
    Travelled with friends
    Written 6 May 2024
  • Neillibin
    La Mesa, California470 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Amazing plantation
    Amazing property, could have spent all day visiting. Great tour of the house, knowledgeable staff gave lots of information. Beautiful gardens, loved the meticulous upkeep. The grounds are fabulous. Had the buffet lunch, enjoyed it very much.
    Visited May 2024
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 29 May 2024
  • Debra J
    South Dakota189 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Well worth the trip from Charleston
    The gardens are truly beautiful. We did the garden tour, which packed a lot of information into a half hour. We also did the house tour, which probably would have benefitted from an actual guide but was still interesting, and the docents on each floor were quite knowledgeable. The "Beyond the Fields" lecture was a highlight. Jerry did a fantastic job explaining how slavery was integral to the global economy, and how the consequences of slavery persist today. I appreciated that there was so much acknowledgement throughout of the enslaved people who built and maintained the plantation.
    Visited June 2024
    Travelled with family
    Written 29 June 2024
These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.

Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

Popular mentions

4.5
4.5 of 5 bubbles4,430 reviews
Excellent
2,835
Very good
1,105
Average
322
Poor
108
Terrible
60

sdb273
12 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2023 • Couples
Of all the things we did in Charleston, this was our favorite (and the others were all good). The grounds are beautiful and peaceful; there are no bad views anywhere. We opted for the general admission which included some free tours; we did the Guided Garden Tour and the Beyond the Fields: Enslavement at Middleton Place. Both were well done and interesting. Lunch at the restaurant was very good though the menu is somewhat limited, and the buffet is a bit expensive. The views from the restaurant, however, cannot be beat. We did not visit any other plantations in Charleston, so we can't compare Middleton to the others, but we enjoyed this one very much.
Written 19 October 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Kevin W S
San Clemente, CA2 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jun 2024 • Family
The Middleton plantation was absolutely fantastic. I would suggest going as early as you can in the morning to avoid traffic and the lines for tickets. We visited the gift shop the restaurant which was very good and the air conditioning worked fantastic. We also walked the grounds and paid extra For the family house. Better than I expected with very prepared and knowledgeable guides. The artisans like the woodworker tell you the stories of the old days and really enjoy their jobs. A great walk back through history and definitely a sightseeing tour not to be missed at least one time. Thanks again. Kevin Smith. Realtor Southern California.
Written 6 July 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Farfromhomes
Clarksville, MD82 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2024 • Couples
We visited during a very rainy day and had the front garden to ourselves. Even though December isn't a month where there are a lot of things blooming, there were some winter plants like pansies that were blooming, and the grounds were still very picturesque.

Unfortunately, due to the heavy rains, most of the garden paths were flooded, looking like moats around gardens. So you had to walk on the grassy embankments and hop over narrower rivers of water to get to areas of the plantation you want to see.

The animals (sheep, chickens and ducks) were free-roaming in the front (or is it back?) yard, which was surprising and welcome feature to see.

With general admission ticketing, visitors can visit the out buildings (kitchen replica, etc) that all have interpretive signage and exhibits. There was also a grounds tour that was at 11:00, but we decided to stroll around on our own rather than travel in a clot of tourists in the rain.
Written 31 December 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

marz
Massachusetts5 contributions
2.0 of 5 bubbles
Jun 2023 • Friends
2 of my friends and myself took the Middleton Place with lunch tour with Pineapple Tours yesterday. For what we saw the tour was good the lunch not so much. The tour guide for Pineapple Tours and the person who greeted us when we arrived advised that we were on a schedule and needed to be at the house and restaurant at least 5 minutes before the time as they were very strict about the schedule. We were a little early for both, the issue is it took us 45 minutes to get served our meal and the quiche was cold and the shrimp and grits was warm. We were fearful of sending it back as we didn’t know how long it would take to get it back. Needless to say by the time we finished our lunch we needed to head back to the bus. Our driver was very apologetic and explained that he had notified them well in advance of our arrival so there should not of been any issue. We spent $91 for this trip and didn’t see half of what was promised very disappointing,
Written 19 June 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

OneHappyCouple2007
Las Vegas435 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2023 • Couples
After looking at all the reviews online, I actually found a better deal by going to the Drayton Hall website where I was able to find a combo tour of both Middleton Place and Drayton Hall at a 25% discount.

So, after picking our day we showed up to a near empty Middleton Place. Staff were very friendly and eager to answer any questions we had. Middleton Place offers several guided tours that are free of charge. The house was not open on Monday so we just enjoyed all the gardens and history. After taking all of Middleton Place in, we headed down the road 5 miles to see what Drayton Hall had to offer. Even though Drayton is much smaller, you get to what the house looked like back in 1784. Charles Drayton did a great job of keeping notes in his diary, which allows us now to look back in history.

Just so you are aware, if you plan to visit, it will easily take you around 5 hours to see both venues (and that is without getting lunch) so plan ahead.

We truly enjoyed visiting both Middleton Place and Drayton Hall and hope to incorporate some of their beautiful garden themes at our own home. ;o)
Written 26 August 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Debra J
South Dakota189 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jun 2024 • Family
The gardens are truly beautiful. We did the garden tour, which packed a lot of information into a half hour. We also did the house tour, which probably would have benefitted from an actual guide but was still interesting, and the docents on each floor were quite knowledgeable. The "Beyond the Fields" lecture was a highlight. Jerry did a fantastic job explaining how slavery was integral to the global economy, and how the consequences of slavery persist today. I appreciated that there was so much acknowledgement throughout of the enslaved people who built and maintained the plantation.
Written 29 June 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Kathleen
Pittsburgh, PA287 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Sept 2024 • Couples
We took all the tours offered! It was well done and we had a very enjoyable day at Middleton - it is worth the trip. They do acknowledge the slave past, but having visited plantations extensively in the deep south, there are other plantations that do a better job presenting the slave experience and reckoning with the past.
Written 5 October 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Sara J
1 contribution
5.0 of 5 bubbles
May 2022
The grounds are absolutely stunning and there are enough tours and exhibits to keep you busy for a good chunk of the day. However, the house tour costs extra and is NOT worth it. One guide gave a quick summary of the family outside the house, and then inside another guide talked about the family portraits in the hall. After that we were set loose to tour the house ourselves. I can see why they did that--the house is not very big and it would be impossible for a whole group to look at most of the rooms at once. However, I don't feel like I got much out of the tour, and the most interesting parts (the photograph of the ruins before the earthquake knocked them down, the photos and details about enslaved people who worked on the plantation) were available in other parts of the grounds that were open to general admission.

Also, while the tour guides made sure to always acknowledge that the wealth and grandeur of Middleton Place was only made possible because the family owned slaves, I felt like they often fell short of imparting what their lives were like. We attended the Beyond the Fields: Enslavement at Middleton Place tour and it was rambling and far-ranging. It often went on tangents that had nothing to do with the slave trade and the experiences of enslaved people.
Written 2 May 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Cristi67
Evans Mills, NY50 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Apr 2022 • Couples
Absolutely stunning! We visited in the middle of a very stormy, windy rainy day and yet were still not disappointed. Definitely recommend taking the tours because you’ll learn so much and further appreciate your visit. The house tour was short and very informative. If you skip this tour you’ll miss the opportunity to see/hear some amazing history. Our incredible garden tour guide was not only highly informative but he also braved the weather with us and didn’t cut his talk short one bit. Be sure to wear walking shoes that you don’t mind getting a bit muddy on rainy days. We visited Magnolia the next day and were struck by how very different the two gardens are and how glad we were that we did both. The market had hot beverages that warmed us up after and light lunch & snacks had we wanted those too.
Written 4 April 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Rubicon_Johnny
Myersville, MD248 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2022
Middleton Place was a wonderful stop on our Charleston vacation this March. We planned ahead and scheduled a private VIP tour which included a carriage ride on the grounds, a credit towards lunch at the restaurant, and tickets to the house tour. The carriage ride was fantastic and we really learned a lot from our tour guides during the ride. The Middleton Place house tour is interesting, but not absolutely a must see, and the same for the restaurant. It was tasty, but also priced a bit steep for the quality and options that are served. Perhaps the best thing about Middleton Place are the gardens. The gardens are absolutely breathtaking and massive. If you visit Middleton Place but don't spend at least 2/3 of your time taking in the gardens, then I'm afraid you may have missed out on the best part.
Written 12 March 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Showing results 1-10 of 4,364
*Likely to sell out: Based on Viator’s booking data and information from the provider from the past 30 days, it seems likely this experience will sell out through Viator, a Tripadvisor company.
Is this your Tripadvisor listing?
Own or manage this property? Claim your listing for free to respond to reviews, update your profile and much more.
Claim your listing

MIDDLETON PLACE (2025) All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (with Photos) - Tripadvisor

All Charleston HotelsCharleston Hotel DealsLast Minute Hotels in Charleston
All things to do in Charleston
Day Trips in Charleston
RestaurantsFlightsHoliday homesTravel StoriesCruisesCar Hire