7 ways to experience the best of Greenville, SC

Falls Park on the Reedy / Liberty Bridge

It’s hard to believe that Greenville’s crowning glory was once hidden underneath an overpass. Luckily, times have changed, and this “green” re-prioritization is a movement that Greenville is leading. (The name is not a coincidence.)

It wasn’t until 2004 that the scene looked like what it does today: the 345-foot-long span of Liberty Bridge curving over Reedy River Falls, and Falls Park uniting the river with public gardens and easy access to downtown. When you visit, you’ll find yourself here more often than you might realize.

Photo: VisitGreenvilleSC/Firewater Photography

Main Street

Hop on Greenville’s Main Street, and you’ve found your North Star. It’ll take you most everywhere you want to go: Falls Park on the Reedy, the Peace Center, and tons of shops and restaurants, for starters. And you’ll get there beneath trees and string lights, by public art, and on pedestrian-friendly sidewalks (the paths are wide, the street signs are huge, and arrows constantly point the way to nearby attractions). Getting those 10,000 steps in will be a breeze.

Photo: VisitGreenvilleSC/Chelsey Ashford

The trolley and pedestrails

As if getting around Greenville wasn’t easy enough, there’s a free trolley that runs four routes around downtown, Thursdays through Sundays, year-round. You can’t miss it — it’s red, blue, and open-air with serious vintage vibes. To find it, just download the trolley tracker app, and wait at the nearest stop.

Beyond the trolley, Greenville’s full of “pedestrails,” or paths built for pedestrians. Get anywhere near the river, and the paths — and gardens and green, rolling hills — spill away at your feet.

Photo: VisitGreenvilleSC/Chris Leyland Photography

The 110+ cafes and restaurants

Hitting one a day, it would take you almost four months to get through just downtown’s restaurants and cafes — never mind the entire city. And that’s without repeating your faves.

We’ve covered a whole bunch in this guide already, but for a more comprehensive list, click here.

Photo: VisitGreenvilleSC

TD Saturday Market

The TD Saturday Market is but one of Greenville’s five farmers markets, but the upgraded name should give you a hint as to the weight class of this particular happening. It’s a pretty big deal, and you’ll find it Saturday mornings from May through October on the corner of Main and McBee. You’ll probably be in the area anyway, so swing on by. You’ll need picnic-friendly, on-the-go fare for whatever adventure you’re concocting.

Photo: VisitGreenvilleSC/Blake Belcher Photography

Classic Southern

Here, going on a biscuit quest is just research — to see if any restaurant can do it as well as Grandma. With big aprons to fill, Southern fare is a welcome challenge in 21st-century chef kitchens: family, comfort, and tradition must balance delicately with innovation. And Greenville is a city that checks all the boxes.

You’ll find your favorites — and new faves — at places like Biscuit Head, Sassafras Southern Bistro, Southern Culture Kitchen and Bar, Husk, and Soby’s New South Cuisine. Brunch comes standard on most menus, too, giving you a fourth chance to eat every day you’re in Greenville.

Photo: VisitGreenvilleSC/Table 301

BBQ

Lest we forget, this is South Carolina, widely accepted as the birthplace of barbecue. Okay, so maybe that one’s hard to prove, but what we know for sure is the state has one of the oldest BBQ traditions in the country. That generally (though not always) means pork and pork only, with a side of “Carolina Gold,” a barbecue sauce made with yellow mustard, vinegar, brown sugar, and spices.

Get your BBQ fix at Henry’s Smokehouse, Bacon Bros. Public House, Sticky Fingers Ribhouse, Bobby’s BBQ, or on the South Carolina BBQ Trail — where you can choose a jaw-dropping 220 restaurants to eat your way through.

Photo: Bacon Brothers Public House

Fresh as it gets

All this talk about classic Southern and BBQ might make Greenville seem like a “comfort food” kind of city, but the emphasis on the outdoors here also means that locals prioritize fresh and healthy. And who says the two have to be opposites?

Farm Fresh Fast, Happy + Hale, Tropical Grille, Fork and Plough, and Hare & Field are just a few options for your fill-up post run, hike, or bike session — none of which you have to leave town for, btw.

Photo: VisitGreenvilleSC

International cuisine

Name one other 70,000-person city — that’s its own place and not a spin-off ‘burb — with the kind of international menu Greenville has, and we’ll eat our hats. In other words, name a cuisine and you’ll likely find it here. You’ll find ones you can’t name, too.

Passerelle Bistro (French), Hans & Franz Biergarten (German), Ji-Roz (Greek), and Pomegranate on Main (Persian) are just a few standouts — but you can also just Yelp whatever you’re craving or get downtown and let your senses do the legwork.

Photo: VisitGreenvilleSC/Pomegranate on Main

Dessert

Your dessert in Greenville doesn’t always have to be delicate. A cake pop can hit the spot, sure. A sweet crêpe is nice to sit down to with afternoon coffee. But sometimes you just want a slice of cheesecake — on top of a giant milkshake with whipped cream and sprinkles. Your needs are respected here. Greenville understands.

Tandem Crêperie and Coffeehouse, LTO Burger Bar, Upcountry Provisions, Encore Gastrolounge, Grill Marks, and Molly and Myles Ice Cream are all dangerously good places. Just try not to hit them all in the same day.

Photo: VisitGreenvilleSC/LTO Burger Bar

Beer

If nearby Asheville’s winning the Southeast craft beer race, it can certainly feel the heat from its southern border — Greenville’s coming up on its tail, and coming up fast. Well over a dozen breweries have cemented that Greenville as a craft-beer city, and the awards and top-10 lists just keep coming. And so do the innovative twists.

Check out Fireforge, Birds Fly South Ale Project, Quest Brewing Co., 13 Stripes Brewery, and Liability Brewing Co., for starters. Pro tip: Keep a keen eye toward the saisons.

Photo: Fireforge/Meredith Varn Photography

Juices

Lord Have Mercy. Hippie Lettuce. Root Shine. Black Magic. Suffice it to say, the craft juices at Southern Pressed Juicery are creative (and delicious). When’s the last time your juice didn’t come out of a bottle that’d been sitting on a shelf for…how long?

And then there’s Kuka Juice with the puns: Kale Yeah. Unbeetable. Skinny Genes. They also do the most amazing veg food this side of a cucumber — for when that inevitable walnut meat craving hits (and now you just have to know).

Photo: Carter Tippins Photography / Kuka Juice

Coffee

At its heart, Greenville is an artists’ town. And where there are artists, there’s always get-out-of-bed-for coffee. But don’t look at the high-and-mighty cup of joe as mere energizing fuel — look at it as the centerpiece of community.

You’ll find that frame of mind at places like Due South Coffee Roasters, Methodical Coffee, Spill the Beans, and Coffee Underground. Most of these places also slide in sweet treats, healthy bites, and the occasional glass of wine to their menus, too.

Photo: VisitGreenvilleSC

Cocktails

Sometimes you just wanna get high with a quality cocktail. High up, fresh air, great views — it’s not a lot to ask for. At least here.

So start high: UP on the Roof is a brunch, noon, or night endeavor; SIP Whiskey & Wine Bar will get you feeling sophisticated; and W XYZ Bar — with outdoor space on the 6th floor of the Aloft Greenville Downtown — is pet-friendly with a wicked happy hour.

Then go low: Vault & Vator, Greenville’s only speakeasy-style haunt, is buried in the original Vault and Elevator building. No password required. Trappe Door is another cool place to go underground — don’t let the Belgian-style beers and Belgian-style cuisine distract you too long from their absinthe bar.

Photo: VisitGreenvilleSC/Vault & Vator

State parks

These are the kinds of state parks you wish you grew up with as a kid. The kinds with “Devil’s Kitchens,” soaring overlooks, vertigo-inducing ascents, whooshing waterfalls, and Appalachian granite to climb, wander, and conquer.

Within an hour or two of Greenville, there are options every which way you go. Put Caesars Head, Paris Mountain, Jones Gap, or Table Rock State Parks in the GPS, and make a day of it.

Photo: VisitGreenvilleSC/Michael Gibbons Media

Prisma Health Swamp Rabbit Trail

The folks around Greenville took an old railroad corridor and made it one of the best multi-use trails in the region. The Prisma Health Swamp Rabbit Trail runs for 22 miles along the Reedy River, through Greenville, to Furman University, and all the way to Travelers Rest.

Start downtown (rent from Reedy Rides), take a detour along the lake at Furman, and finish up in TR, as they call it, celebrating with a crêpe at Tandem Crêperie, ice cream at Pink Mama’s, or a smoothie back at Swamp Rabbit Cafe & Grocery. The trek is mostly flat and mostly shaded — you’ll be surprised how quickly the afternoon goes.

Photo: VisitGreenvilleSC/Firewater Photography

Guided adventures

Sometimes an adventure is so grand and so intense, you shouldn’t do it alone — Greenville has that size, too.

The Gorge Zipline takes you along the highest and steepest canopy-based zipline in the country, and Blue Wall Adventures gets you into serious mountain biking and hiking terrain. There are also plenty of history and culinary tours, but that’s a whole other kind of adventure (and your palate does half the guiding there).

Photo: The Gorge Zipline

Waterfalls

Where there are granite mountains, there are waterfalls, and South Carolina has ’em in spades (the count is 30+ in the Upcountry alone).

Reedy River Falls — right in the middle of Downtown Greenville — is your obvious first stop. Yes, it’s real, and yes, it’s awesome. Then you have your options of just-off-the-road stops (like Lower Wildcat Falls), moderate thigh-burning treks (like Rainbow Falls), or longer approaches (like Raven Cliff Falls in the Mountain Bridge Wilderness Area). Whichever ones you don’t pick will still be there on your next visit.

Photo: VisitGreenvilleSC/Nature Walk Photography

Peace Center

This is where the aforementioned Hamilton toured, and the rest of the season’s names are about as big, too. The Broadway lineup especially will raise a few brows — for non-locals, at least. Everyone else already knows that the Peace Center anchors Greenville’s massive arts scene, with smaller theaters, restaurants, and an event pavilion part of its six-acre campus. You could go to Atlanta or Charlotte, but with a venue like this, you certainly won’t want to.

Photo: Jacqueline Kehoe

Village of West Greenville

Another way in which Greenville’s big-city offerings belie its small-town size and charm? It has distinct districts. Take The Village of West Greenville, which serves as the city’s artists’ enclave. You’ll find 60+ creative galleries, shops, and restaurants here, giving the neighborhood a vibe altogether different from that of downtown.

First Fridays in the Village is a good introduction to the area. It runs from 6 to 10pm on the first Friday of the month and sees galleries and studios throw open their doors inquisitive visitors.

Photo: VisitGreenvilleSC

Heritage Green

Just three blocks from downtown sits the epicenter of culture in Greenville: Heritage Green. Plan to stay awhile, especially if you have kids. Here, you’ll find the Hughes Main Library, the Greenville County Museum of Art, the Greenville Theatre, the Upcountry History Museum, the (Smithsonian-affiliated) Children’s Museum of the Upstate, and the Carolina Music Museum. You don’t have to hit them all, but you should definitely try.

Photo: VisitGreenvilleSC/Firewater Photography

95+ public art displays

Greenville can feel like one big open-air art museum. The first piece you’ll probably notice — if you’re coming to Falls Park from its north side — is “Untitled 2002-2003,” by Joel Shapiro. (It’s also known as the “running” or “dancing” sculpture.) If you’re approaching from the Main Street entrance, look out for “Falls Lake Fall,” by Bryan Hunt, the only piece of its kind on the continent!

And that’s just the very start — there are nearly a hundred others. Gotta catch ’em all!

Photo: VisitGreenvilleSC/James Wellman Photography