Things to do in Columbia
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Columbia
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Best spring window, warm before peak humidity, with festivals, baseball and fireflies at the end.
Best fall window, football, the State Fair and the coolest trail and national park conditions.
Worst heat and humidity and worst Congaree mosquitoes, redeemed by Lake Murray, tubing and purple martins.
Mild, quiet and cheap, with easy museums and the least buggy Congaree, but no lake season.
Fireflies end and purple martins begin as summer heat arrives.
What's on
- St. Pat's in Five Points Saturday nearest 17 March
South Carolina's largest one day festival, with a parade, a morning race and four music stages.
- Columbia Food & Wine Festival April, multi day
The city's chefs in one showcase, the ideal weekend for a food trip.
- Congaree Synchronous Fireflies Late May to early June
Synchronous fireflies at dusk in Congaree National Park, by lottery pass only.
- Purple Martin Roost at Bomb Island Late June to early August, sunset
Huge purple martin roost on Lake Murray, visible only from the water.
- Columbia's Greek Festival September
Greek food, music and dancing centred on Holy Trinity Cathedral.
- South Carolina State Fair Mid October, 11 days
Rides, agriculture, fair food and concerts by the stadium, with heavy traffic.
- Famously Hot New Year 31 December
Main Street street party with fireworks at the State House at midnight.
Best things to do in Columbia
Riverbanks Zoo and Garden
A 170 acre zoo and botanical garden by the Saluda River, with giraffe feeding and a skyride between the two sides.
Soda City Market
A producer only Saturday market filling four blocks of Main Street with local food, growers, makers and buskers.
South Carolina State House
The state capitol and its 18 acre grounds, with free tours, 27 monuments and six stars marking Civil War artillery hits.
South Carolina State Museum
Four floors of state art, history and science in a former cotton mill, with a planetarium and a 4D theatre.
Columbia Museum of Art
The state's premier art museum on Main Street, with European anchors, Southern modern art and national touring shows.
The Horseshoe
The university's original 1805 campus green, a U shaped lawn of 19th century buildings, oaks and brick walks.
Segra Park
A modern minor league ballpark home to the Columbia Fireflies, with theme nights and Saturday fireworks.
Nickelodeon Theatre
South Carolina's nonprofit arthouse cinema since 1979, screening independent film with beer and wine on Main Street.
Where to stay in Columbia
Main Street District
culture, dining and car free downtown days
The art museum, the Nick, top restaurants and Soda City Market are all within a short walk.
The Vista
nightlife, groups and events
Warehouses turned restaurants and bars, plus the convention centre, arena and both Gervais Street museums.
University of South Carolina
university visits and football
The prettiest part of the city by the Horseshoe, a mile from Five Points dining and bars.
Harbison
value, lake access and road trips
Newer chain hotels with free parking, close to Lake Murray, Harbison State Forest and the interstates.
Think twice about
- Five Points bar blocks for sleeping
Great for early dinner, then loud student bars, a 2am street exodus and periodic safety incidents. Sleep elsewhere.
- Two Notch Road, Decker Boulevard and Bush River Road motel strips
Car dependent, isolated at night, no walkable street life and a higher share of reported property crime.
- Williams-Brice Stadium and Shop Road outside event days
Parking lots and warehouses with nothing to walk to. Lively on game days, desolate the rest of the week.
Best restaurants in Columbia
Halls Chophouse Columbia
The Main Street celebration steakhouse, with prime and dry aged cuts, live jazz and polished service.
Motor Supply Co. Bistro
Columbia's farm to fork pioneer, with a daily changing menu built on South Carolina farms and coastal seafood.
Saluda's Restaurant
Five Points fine dining with a porch over the fountain, Southern ingredients and French and Italian technique.
Lula Drake Wine Parlour
An award-winning wine parlour on Main Street, with esoteric pours and a kitchen far beyond bar food.
Bourbon
A deep whiskey list and Cajun Creole kitchen on Main Street, steps from the State House, with no reservations.
Mr. Friendly's New Southern Cafe
A Five Points institution since 1995, serving buttermilk fried chicken, peach mustard salmon and shrimp and grits.
City Limits Barbeque
Weekend only wood fired Texas and Carolina barbecue, with brisket, beef rib and chopped pork with crispy skins.
Spotted Salamander
Downtown's best lunch, a weekday only cafe famous for deviled eggs, pecan chicken salad and fine china.
Outdoor things to do in Columbia
Congaree National Park
Old growth bottomland forest on a 2.4 mile boardwalk, and in late spring a famous synchronous firefly display.
Carolina Outdoor Adventures
Guided kayak trips on Cedar Creek through Congaree, plus sunset and tower paddles on Lake Murray.
Palmetto Outdoor
Guided Congaree canoe tours year round and Saluda River tubing with an hourly shuttle in summer.
Saluda Riverwalk
A shaded, paved 3.5 mile trail along the Saluda River, past rapids, hammock stands and Boyd Island Sanctuary.
Columbia Canal and Riverfront Park
A 2.5 mile paved trail between the Columbia Canal and the Congaree River, the downtown section of the greenway.
Lake Murray
A vast reservoir for boat days, swimming and fishing, and at dusk in summer the Bomb Island purple martin roost.
Dreher Island State Park
Island state park on Lake Murray for swimming, fishing, lakeside trails, picnicking and camping.
Cobblestone Park Golf Club
27 holes by P.B. Dye in three nines, the Gamecocks' home course and Columbia's premium public round.
Best hotels in Columbia
Hotel Trundle
Columbia's first downtown boutique hotel, colourful Art Deco rooms in restored buildings off Main Street.
The Lantern Hotel Columbia
A new boutique hotel in a historic Vista firehouse, with a Mediterranean leaning restaurant called Ladder 13.
Hilton Columbia Center
The Vista's full service main hotel, with a pool, a steakhouse in house and the convention centre next door.
Hyatt Place Columbia/Downtown/The Vista
Spacious rooms in the heart of the Vista, walkable to Gervais Street dining, the museums and the arena.
Cambria Hotel Columbia Downtown
A newer modern hotel on Lady Street in the Vista, often priced a step below the bigger downtown chains.
Graduate by Hilton Columbia, S.C.
A whimsical collegiate hotel on the USC campus by the Horseshoe, themed around the Gamecocks.
Hampton Inn Columbia I-26/Harbison Blvd.
The budget benchmark, a Harbison Hampton with free breakfast and parking, a pool and a lakeside walking trail.
Hampton Inn Columbia - Downtown Historic District
The downtown Hampton option for a cheaper central bed when a non event date keeps rates low.
Is Columbia expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | $85 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | $140 a person |
| Splurge | $260 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Williams-Brice Stadium: weeks ahead
- Carolina Outdoor Adventures: a few days ahead
- Palmetto Outdoor: a few days ahead
- Cobblestone Park Golf Club: a few days ahead
- Hotel Trundle: weeks ahead
- The Lantern Hotel Columbia: weeks ahead
- Graduate by Hilton Columbia, S.C.: weeks ahead
- Halls Chophouse Columbia: weeks ahead
- Book hotels before tickets for football Saturdays, graduation, State Fair and St. Pat's, when rates multiply.
- Reserve Halls, Motor Supply, Saluda's and Lula Drake for weekend dinners.
- Enter the Congaree firefly lottery as soon as it opens, and reserve Lake Murray boats and Cobblestone tee times a week out.
- City Limits takes no bookings, so the booking is an early arrival on Saturday or Sunday.
Is Columbia safe?
- Leave nothing visible in a parked car anywhere, and treat trailhead and greenway lots as higher risk.
- Verify rideshare by plate, make, model and colour, and ask the driver who they are picking up first.
- In summer, schedule outdoors before 11am, hydrate, and treat heat in the 90s with high humidity as a safety issue.
- Stay on lit commercial streets in the Vista and Five Points at night and keep groups together at closing time.
Columbia travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Arriving Sunday to Tuesday, when top restaurants are dark or limited and downtown feels emptiest.
- Five Points after midnight, and any greenway or river path after dark.
- Congaree without repellent, water or a same week check for flooding and boardwalk closures.
- Chain dining on Harbison Boulevard or Two Notch Road when the Vista is 15 minutes away.
Getting around Columbia: public transport and more
- Walk Main Street and the Vista, drive everywhere else, including Five Points, the zoo, Congaree and Lake Murray.
- Rent a car at Columbia Metropolitan Airport unless the whole trip is downtown and football free.
- Downtown garages are plentiful and cheap, but Soda City Saturday fills Main Street garages by late morning.
- The COMET bus serves residents, but frequencies do not make it a practical visitor system.
Who Columbia suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Great |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | Good |
| Families | Great |
| Bachelorette parties | Good |
Make Columbia your trip
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