mathiasdebrouwer
Aug 2017
Took this walking tour on a hot Saturday afternoon. The group was small and Bill was our tour guide. We arrived just on time and had not had lunch yet, but Bill allowed us to go and quickly buy something in a nearby café.
The tour takes you around the most important places of Charleston, and is very much focused on the history of Charleston. Bill himself is very knowledgeable, bringing the history of Charleston in a narrative and well-constructed way, which is something not all tour guides are capable of. He even added some subtle humour and sarcasm as well. Concerning the importance of slavery, he has a very clear point of view, which he continuously tried to transfer to us. It was extreme at times, but not bothering, and I understand his frustration. In any way it’s good for a historian to question things and not take them for granted. At times, when he is really into his own story, he starts talking very quickly, which sometimes made it a bit harder to understand everything he said as a non-native.
The only real bothering point of criticism was that there was left no time to take some photos; even if you only wanted to take one picture of a building for instance, you were already behind as the group moved on immediately after an explanation.
Despite the few remarks, I highly recommend this tour to explore Charleston and learn a lot about its history.