Truly charming and historic - so it's a win win. I was amazed by the lovely decor and intricate architectural details of this historic house. The tour was fascinating as it provided a glimpse into pre-war and post- war (civil) history and how it changed not only socio-economics but also lifestyles. I enjoyed learning about the detailed restoration process. Definitely worth an hour or so of your time while visiting Charleston SC. read more

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A worthwhile tour with interesting history and antiques. One of the highlights is the cantilevered staircase. read more

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Beautiful home. Enjoyed the self guided tour. Would definitely recommend this stop during a visit to Charleston.

Another historic house. Another fairly interesting staircase. I'm pretty sure I ended up here because it was part of a combo ticket for the more interesting looking Aiken-Rhett house. You can take a regular tour or a self-guided tour where you download an app and listen through AirPods/earphones. I went with the latter, for which I am glad. The tour guide ahead of me seemed wonderful, but I've seen so many old southern houses that I don't need anything in depth, I just wanna see cool architecture and be on my way. I paid 24.72 for two houses, so definitely worth it. The people on site were super nice and helpful with helping me get the app downloaded and getting me started. A nice little gift shop. This home is best known for their three story free standing staircase and it has some nice pieces, but nothing mind-blowing. Worth a stop, but I would do the audio tour that maxes out at 45 minutes (faster if you desire). More to come on the Aiken Rhett house tomorrow . . . read more

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To buy some time waiting for our table at Millers, we decided to visit the Russell house for a quick tour. This isn't a big house by any standards. It's really just two floors, of which one room on the top floor wasn't a part of the original house and is more a general history of South Carolina. The neoclassical architecture was pretty cool to see. I was a fan of the music room personally. There are iPods given to you when touring the house. Truthfully, I tuned out of it after some time because the narratives were longer than what was in the room itself. There's the kitchen/laundry quarters behind the front desk, which was in the process of restoration of sorts. Was a bit confused with what was going on. The spiral staircase was cool, but inaccessible to visitors. The garden was nice, but also pretty small and easy to get through. After going up and down the stairs a few times, we spent about 30-45 mins max here. Just enough time until the table was ready, but maybe not necessarily worth it to see a second time. read more

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Beautiful historical mansion, the staff is incredibly welcoming and friendly. Management alway putting customers first. Highly recommend. Great way to get a glimpse of life in the Victorian era. read more

Our interest was piqued while on a historical walking tour of Charleston. The way the house was described made hubby & I want to go especially to see the three level spiral staircase. After our tour concluded hubby & I made our way back. We purchased tickets and got an audio. The audio was confusing as the house layout was tight. What room? And the narrative was too long winded for the rooms being described. I was disillusioned and turned it off completely. The biggest disappointment was not being able to go up to the third floor. It was purposely closed off as to avoid wear and tear. So much for ooh and aah of the showcase spiral staircase. And the rooms design - rectangle and square. Yawn. The house has been restored and it's very opulent. Hubby and I went through it in no time. Boring. read more

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There are 2 ways to tour the house.... 1) self guided, audio tour - where you can rent a headset w/ recorder 2) with a docent (tour guide) We opted for the tour guide. I always find it more enjoyable to have a live person tell stories and describe things on a tour. Plus, you can ask questions. It's more interactive. I enjoyed this tour because: * The rooms, decor, furniture and architecture have been beautifully maintained. * The floating staircase is a marvel. Way ahead of its time. I wish there was more like this built today. * The garden was peaceful and beautifully manicured. * There is a current excavation for artifacts, etc... happening in the kitchen area that you can see up close. * Gives you an idea of what life was like for "the rich" back then... read more

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I would recommend doing the tour with a tour guide, it was really informative and included in the price of the admission ticket. There is also a tour with head phones. They let you take pictures throughout the house. The coolest part of this tour is the restoration they have done throughout the house to ensure that everything matches as close to the original house as possible. Our tour guide explained they had to go through almost 20 layers of paint to get to the original color. The ticket to this tour also gets you half priced admission to the William aikens house. read more

Nathaniel Russell House - Dining room - Museums Near Me - Charleston, South Carolina

Came here during a trip to Charleston. If you're looking to do a tour of a historic home, I highly recommend this one! There's an audioguide you listen to in the form of an iphone, and the tour takes about 1-1.5h. They also have options to do the tour with a guide at different times of the day. I learned a lot not only about the house's history, but also Charleston's history during my visit here. read more

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Dont want to post all the pics because this is one of those houses you HAVE to see- i loved our tour guide she was the sweetest! Its a beautiful home and def transports you back in time A must see- and they let you take pics!!!! You can purchase the Aiken Rhett tickets here too which I highly recommend because you get a discount! If your in Charleston dont miss this house! About an hr long and worth it read more

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Disappointing. My friend and I are here for a girls trip. We really enjoy and love history. This is one of the reasons that we decided to spend the weekend in Charleston. We got a few recommendations that we should go and visit the Nathaniel Russell house. We arrived seven minutes early, while it was raining, they open the doors at 10 AM. The first tour begins at 10 AM. They open the doors about one minute before 10 o'clock, and let us in to purchase a ticket. You are asked to place all big purses and jackets in a locker section located in the back of the house by the restrooms. While we were purchasing tickets, there was an issue with the computers so this day with cash only. Thank goodness we had cash on us, so just a heads up be sure to keep the cash with you our cashiers name was Randi. After the tour when we asked questions, our guide was not available, so we asked Randi. She was quite nice when we originally got there, but after the tour she seemed a little snappy and annoyed that we still had questions about the house. Our tour guides name was Glenna. My friend and I were the only two people on the tour, until about 15 minutes after 10 to other people showed up. Glen seemed a little put off that two people join the tour later. When the tour begin we felt as though we did not get a good representation of who Mr. Russell was, so we asked a few questions. Glenna, annoyingly/politely Told us that she was going to get to that and we needed to wait. I felt as though when we were walking through most of the rooms there was not a lot of history of the family, but history of the time period. The tour was extremely hard to follow and it did not seem as though questions were welcomed. I felt as though we started off on the wrong foot from the moment that we arrived seven minutes early. I found this a little disheartening because we are both in our early 30s and feel as though a lot of people our age do not appreciate historical things as such. I would prefer to have done the audio tour, if I would have known that the guided tour would have gone like this. Sidenote, when we arrived at the house there was a large miscommunication on what type of tour my friend and I wanted to take. We both eagerly stated that we enjoyed guided tours and historical things, but there was a miscommunication and they thought we wanted the audio. I politely said oh no we enjoy one on one interaction, so we can ask questions. Glenna, repeatedly told me that I specifically asked for audio tour and that was what we were going to be given. I got quite annoyed at this point and politely, in my most Louisiana southern lady voice, said to Glenna, " there clearly has been a miscommunication and we do not want the audio I am certain that I said guided. We appreciate you being so cooperative with this." All in all, go to the house, but do the audio tour. read more

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The Nathaniel Russell House is a historic house at 51 Meeting Street in Charleston. It was built by slave trader and wealthy merchant Nathaniel Russell in 1808. It is recognized as one of America's most important Neoclassical houses. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1973. This house was recommended to us by our Free Tours on Foot guide. The house is in the French Quarter off Meeting Stree. One can choose between a self-guided audio tour or a tour given by a guide. We chose the guided tour as it was pretty much starting when we arrived. The rooms were not excessively roped off so we could view and photograph the detailed architectural and decor features and period furniture. The large oval staircase is the centerpiece of the house. Some of the molded and wood crown molding was incredible.The grounds and the entire house were beautiful. Certainly worth the visit. read more

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Randomly stopped here to rest while on a walk. It was cute and nice to walk around. The self guided tour was helpful. I wouldn't go out of the way to visit but if you have time it's a nice stop. read more

Had a personal tour from "Ms. Harriett." Was recommended by a walking tour guide that we had earlier in the day and glad we took the time to go. Amazing glimpse into what life was like for the rich and famous on the south side of Broad Street! House is amazing! read more

This was an excellent experience for my family visiting Charleston! We should have allocated more time for it, it requires between 45 minutes to an hour to fully enjoy the house and listen to the audio tour. The house is beautifully restored and tastefully/subtly decorated for the holidays. The people working at the front desk were very kind! read more

One of many historic homes in the downtown Charleston area, but reputedly one of the best and I can see why. The craftsmanship of the restoration/ rehabilitation shows unbelievable attention to detail. The docents leading the tours and stationed within the house provided invaluable information. Easily accessible off Meeting Street, this home was one of the highlights on our visit of historic Charleston. One can choose between a self-guided audio tour or a tour given by a guide (unless I have time constraints, my experiences have shown me that human guides provide a more enjoyable, personal tour), we chose the later. The rooms were not excessively roped off so we could view the detailed architectural and decor features. The large oval staircase is the centerpiece of the house and deservably so. Only 2 of the 3 floors were available for viewing with only 1 bedroom shown (as other parts of the house had not been restored). The grounds, while smallish, were well maintained. Tip: Discounts were provided if you purchased tix for this house in conjunction with tix to the Aiken-Rhett House. That house is an excellent example of a building undergoing preservation (vs. restoration). read more

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This was our first tour of a home built during 1808. They offered a waking tie with a docent OR an audio headset (we chose headset) It was almost completely restored. They are still researching the archeological aspects of the upstairs slave quarters (not accessible) and the laundry area (accessible but still being restored). The amazing architectural feat was the 3 story circular staircase that was built without underneath support. There is a cut-away under one stair tread where you can see the construction. Highly recommend this tour! Save your receipt and you can get a discount to tour Aiken-Rhett home (I think you can purchase both at the same time - either way you save money) read more

This was a great stop in Charleston. The furnishings and things aren't super memorable but the staircase is amazing! It sounds like an amazing engineering feat, freestanding circular stairs. But when you see it, it's just astonishing! Truly amazing especially considering the age of the home. All the math was done long hand, no computer or graphing calculator to figure it out for you. It was worth the price of admission to see it and we will definitely be back with friends/adult children to see the house again. read more

Conveniently located in the French Quarter, I took the guided tour of this house and was very impressed with this house. The tour starts off in a few plain rooms down stairs with some exhibits about the house and the enslaved people associated with the house. I thought these exhibits were well done. Moving upstairs there is a fantastic free-flying staircase in the center of the house with very elegant rooms throughout the house. Each room we saw had wonderful details and our guide answered all of the questions I could think of. read more

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We didn't think they gave guided tours anymore except for larger groups... but we arrived right when they opened and got a FABULOUS guide named Joe. The house is super-beautiful even without a live guide, but with Joe, we learned so much fascinating stuff about the house, its conservation/restoration, and its owner, including Mr. Russell's extensive involvement in the slave trade (yikes). I liked it that Joe didn't get too bogged down in family minutiae. I wish they had guides like him at the Aiken-Rhett house, which we went to later on, and which only has a weak acoustiguide. Thank you, Joe! read more

Interesting tour. Beautiful home. Very interesting audio tour. Definitely worth visiting along with its sister property.

The Nathaniel Russel house is a beautiful home to tour. The volunteers and tour guides were great. The gardens were beautiful and the 3 story staircase is astonishing. A bonus is that if you are wanting to tour the Aiken Rhett home you get a discount by showing your tour receipt from the Nathaniel House. read more

Nathaniel Russell House - Formal dining room - Museums Near Me - Charleston, South Carolina

Whenever I travel to a new city, whether it be for business or pleasure, I always trust in Yelp to show me the best local attractions. So while in Charleston, SC a few months ago, Yelp pointed me in the direction of the Nathaniel Russell House. The Nathaniel Russell House is a 9,600 square feet historic house located at 51 Meeting Street in Charleston, SC. It was built by merchant Nathaniel Russell in 1808, and is considered one of America's most important Neoclassical houses. It was built in the Federal style, which was popular between 1780-1830. I'm no architect, but trust me when I say it's a cool house / museum and is worth the price of admission. The house was constructed of Carolina gray brick and was built to emphasize the height of the house. This impressive height is definitely appreciated when you are standing just outside the brick and wrought iron fence from the sidewalk and you are cranking your neck upwards. The house is decorated/preserved/restored to its original grandeur and is as lavish as any mansion on St. Charles Avenue. Upon entering, your eyes are immediately drawn to the cantilevered spiral staircase, that ascends to the third floor. There is elaborate plaster moldings covered with 24-karat gold leaf everywhere. In the rear of the house is the two-story slave quarters that housed many of the estimated 18 slaves that were at the Nathaniel Russell House. The Historic Charleston Foundation purchased the National Historic Landmark in 1955 and the house and grounds are meticulously maintained. The Nathaniel Russell House is open, Mon-Sat, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sun, 2-5 p.m. (last tour begins at 4:30 p.m.). Tickets are $12 adults; $5 children 6-16; under six free. The only disappointment is that NO interior pictures are allowed. However, I purchased a book in the gift shop and now have an affordable copy of all the highlights of this marvelous structure. read more

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Very great tour guide, she was informative and polite. Construction is being done in some areas so I'm sure it will just become an even more interesting location to visit in the upcoming year. The foundation has put great efforts into restoring the rooms to their most original state, including time pieces and replications of previous decor. Suggest seeing this house before seeing the finale: the Aiken house. read more

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Beautiful and well preserved home with gorgeous gardens. We had a personal tour guide followed by a reception on the premises afterwards. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable and encouraged us to ask questions. He really gave us a feel for what it was like living in the house way back when. It's a great site to visit if you are into seeing beautiful ornate homes with lots of history. read more

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Great place to learn the history and the whole society semantics in the Carolinas! Loved the tour and the options to hear while watching the iPod for the tour! read more

Nathaniel Russell House - Museums Near Me - Charleston, South Carolina

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The Nathaniel Russell House was recommended to us if you are a fan of engineering / architecture. It is pretty amazing house and I imagine different from other Charlestonian homes. The rooms in front of the house are rectangular, rooms in the center of the house are oval shaped and the back of the house, the rooms are square. The center of the house a spiral staircase is free standing but not in use. It is gorgeous and impressive. Clearly, the house belonged to a "merchant elite" who did not hesitate in showing off. Opulent would be a word. The interpretative tour guide spoke of the family and mentioned interesting tidbits here and there. Our guide did not speak much about the architecture or engineering either, which was a bit disappointing. (learned about the architecture from a walking tour.) There was more focus on the interiors and restoration of the rooms. Not a lot said about the enslaved help - other than that they existed and did take care of the family. read more

The tour promises to get you "Inside The Lives of Charleston's Merchant Elite". It's half true. They do deliver on telling the story of the renovation, what it was like to live in the house back in the day, and stories about the family. What they left out was the story of the people that held up the lives of the Merchant Elite. The Slaves. 18 in all were needed to support the house. There was no mention of the others who lived and worked in the house until the very end when one of the women in our group asked if they had slaves. Thats when we learned they had 18 slaves to take care of the family and the house. I left with the feeling that the foundation overvalues the house and the contributions of the wonderful family and by omission undervalues the contributions and experiences of those 18 slaves. This foundation is dismissing their moral obligation to raise awareness and share a balanced story that would take tourist into the lives of the Charleston's Merchant Elite. read more

My wife and I visited on a quiet weekday during the off season. We were offered a tour with a guide or a self guided tour with the headsets. The next tour wasn't starting for another 25 minutes so we opted for the self-guided tour. It was the same price either way. Unfortunately, we weren't able to see the slave quarters, kitchen, or the laundry because it was all under construction. However, it was still worth the trip. The home was nicely preserved with period pieces and we learned about the family history and their role in Charleston. The home was located in the historic part of Charleston and easily walkable from downtown. read more

We visited the Nathanial Russell House after our Free Tours By Foot guide, Scott, recommended it. We arrived a little before they opened at 10am and were able to stroll through the beautiful gardens and nearby old graveyard before they unlocked the doors to the house. Once inside, we took a guided tour which was detailed and interesting. The house has very many intricate details that are fascinating to both see and learn about. However, if you have kiddos, this would not be a tour that they would enjoy. I would recommend this House your if you are seeking a relaxing tour where you can sit back and appreciate beautiful sights! read more

Nathaniel Russell House - The outside gardens... Beautiful! - Museums Near Me - Charleston, South Carolina

Though my Monday morning routine starts with Aqua-Logix at LTP Swim Club, I was hard pressed to decline when our next door neighbors asked if we wanted to join them for a tour of the Nathaniel Russell House located at 51 Meeting Street. "Sure!" I replied, followed by my usual question when thinking about going downtown, "What's the parking situation at 9:30 A.M.?" Well, rather than taking our chances to secure street parking, I opted (I was the driver) to park in the Charleston County Municipal Parking Garage on Queen Street as surely, we'd have no problem so early in the day. While it may come as no surprise to you ... I was wrong ... the entire garage was full except for a few remaining outside spots on the roof. After finally finding a spot that I could get my car into (don't you hate when someone parks over the lines and takes up two spots?) we proceeded down many flights of stairs (there's no elevator on Level 9) and enjoyed our brisk, .3 mile walk to the House. I knew that each docent-led tour is limited to 15 at a time. Several people were already queing up outside the closed Tour Ticket entrance when we arrived at 9:50. Due to the temperature, a kind member of the staff opened the door to let us in before 10:00 which was a good thing because I needed to visit the 'little girl's room' ... which was immaculate, BTW. When purchasing the tickets ($12.00/each for the 30+ minute tour) we were advised that if we thought we might have any interest in touring the Rhett-Aiken House in the future, we should save and present our paid receipt(s) to receive a $6 discount on the $12.00 tour ticket price. This tour, limited to the first two of three floors, started off with the ground rules ... no touching and no pictures except in a small room off the gift shop. How disappointing; however, I should have anticipated this constraint due to the (what should have been obvious) limited scope of pictures that were posted on Yelp. Maxwell Mowry, our erudite and competent docent, was a fantastic guide who led us through the lives and lifestyles of the upper-class families who were fortunate enough to live in the stately, Federal-style ' town house' from the time it was completed in 1808, until its sale to the Charleston Historic Society in 1955. Classified as a restoration (as opposed to a preservation), the curators of this historic site have done a superb job to research, secure and present interior decor and home furnishings, including, but not limited to, wall, window and floor treatments, accessories, tableware and even paint colors true to the period. We all enjoyed the tour and look forward to our next glimpse into the history of this wonderful city that we now call home. read more

This restored and preserved mansion is MAGNIFICENT. The furniture pieces are not original but rather true to the period. The floating staircase is quite amazing. During our tour, we learned that all the wood in the house is pine and painted to either look like marble or a more expensive type of wood. The front door is fabulous and this house is included on architectural tours and people in our group wanted to know what type of wood it was. The guide knew it was painted but did not know it was pine. She appreciated that tidbit. The tour includes all the rooms on the first and second floors. Learning how each room was utilized by the owners gave us great insight into how life was lived and enjoyed at that time in history. The family history is also covered and we were surprised to learn that currently, there are no paintings of Mrs. Russell. Their 2 daughters, sons-in-law, and Mr. Russell and the family tree are available to read in the detached house that served as a kitchen and slave quarters. read more

The Nathaniel Russell House on Meeting Street in Charleston is a beautiful historic house and garden area. The architecture of the house and the preservation of the house is great. When given the opportunity to take a tour of the property the docents are very knowledgeable and able to answer all of the questions that you have. This house is a memorable experience. read more

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Terrific, informative tour led by docent Mary Lou. Her enthusiasm and depth of knowledge made us feel like friends she could hardly wait to tell all about the wealthy merchant who built the house in 1808 and its later owners through the years. Mary Lou's behind-the-scenes details not only brought history to life, it left us appreciative of the Historic Charleston Foundation's painstaking work to restore and recreate the house, it's architectural details and its furnishings to their original, beautiful state. Don't miss this National Historic Landmark, and look for Mary Lou as guide. read more

A really beautiful home on the way out to the Battery. This is what happens when people in a neighborhood care enough to preserve and restore a historic home. Worth seeing for the freestanding staircase, the lavish and well-decorated rooms, and the time-warp feeling you'll have as these rooms transport you back to antebellum Charleston. read more

We took the last tour of the day. Our tour guide was very enthusiastic. She made the 45mn tour go by so quick. The house was beautiful with lots of architectural history. The spiral staircase was pretty cool. The 2nd floor with the living rooms and bedroom was the star of the show for me. I was enthralled with the large windows and the mirrors, the symmetry of the rooms, the paintings, the lavishness! I was glad that we were allowed to take pictures, just no flash. It was cool to hear about all the work they did to preserve the house to keep it as authentic as possible. This tour is great for anyone who is into history and architecture. read more

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- nice tour, lasting about 45 minutes - tour didnt feel like 45 minutes - got last tour of the day, didn't feel rushed - for an added bonus, u get pass to Aiken-Rhett use, usable any time read more

We visited this house on Friday, Feb 26th... 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... This house was our second stop, and it is definitely a SHOW house meant to awe and amaze. It it obvious that it was built, decorated, and furnished in such a way as to show off the family's wealth and power. FULL of optical illusions and classical architecture, it was very fun to wander. As par of the Charleston Heritage Society group of properties, this tour was not guided by a human being but by an audio tour available through my app. The ladies who were working here were ensuring limited numbers of groups, and they were spacing the groups out so that no two groups occupied the same room at the same time. Masks were worn, and social distancing was strictly adhered to. I think it was so funny that the most epic feature of the house (the grand spiral staircase) was one of the ONE places of the house no guests could touch/walk on! We were given the back staircase to access other floors. For some reason, that just cracked me up, but I TOTALLY get it! The former kitchens and slave quarters of the house are currently undergoing a period of both excavations and preservation, but the best part is that you still get to walk through it via the planks and railings at the end of your tour. I was VERY impressed. PS - take a moment to linger in the courtyard and gardens after you're done in the house... they left an impression... really a stunning place to spend an hour! read more

Not really having a plan for our short stay in Charleston, we decided to check out the Nathaniel Russell House to get a little dosage of history. We learned not only about the family and the time period, but also what is involved in preserving and restoring the various artifacts and room furnishings. Especially fascinating was the floating spiral staircase design. No surprise that we would not be taking said staircase. Instead, we did our floor traversal via the much more cramped servant passageways. I'm definitely not a history buff, but I found the tour to be interesting and informative. The guide was excellent, but I think I still expected a little more out of this visit. That's more a statement about me than the house and the tour. It's certainly a worthwhile option for some Charleston history. read more