How to Spend a Weekend in Greenville, SC
Greenville is a wonderfully quirky South Carolina town that's packed with innovative arts, delicious eats, and plenty of outdoor adventure. Here's your guide to experiencing all this Southern gem has to offer over a long weekend.
Greenville, South Carolina, has many quirks. It has a famous βSwamp Rabbit Trailβ and rabbit emblems everywhere. It hosts a yearly charity βDuck Derby,β during which tens of thousands of rubber ducks race down the falls of the Reedy River that transects the city. Itβs the home of the poinsettia plant and a talent-packed concentration of visual artists. Greenville is at once big-city-important and small-town-cozy.
In celebration of Southwest Airlines launching a daily one-hour nonstop flight from Nashville to the Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport (GSP), weβve updated our insiderβs guide to a weekend in Greenville, SC!
If you have not been to GSP, itβs one of our favorite airports for many reasons: itβs easy to navigate, the landscaping is gorgeous, the parking is easy, and the people are so nice! Check out the new flights right here.
Weekend in Greenville DAY 1: GSP to Downtown Greenville
Over the past three years, Iβve spent two May weekends in Greenville, so Iβve seen a lot, and itβs becoming a tradition. This weekend plan combines the best of all my Greenville adventures. This year, with Furman and Clemson wrapping up their school years nearby, and tens of thousands descending for the award-winning Artisphere festival, the town was a hive of excitement.
Straight from the airport, my travel companion/mom and I checked into Marriottβs SpringHill Suites right downtown, but there is no shortage of fabulous lodging options, like the Westin Pointset, the spectacular Grand Bohemian Lodge, and the new boutique Hotel Hartness. You donβt need a car here unless you plan on exploring nearby towns; downtown has SO much to see, and itβs all walkable.
We popped into a few fabulous shops, including Vintage Now Modern (a curio-filled interiors wonderland) and M. Judson Booksellers (a charming independent bookstore and coffee shop). We felt called to the famous Reedy Creek Falls and walked over the stunning 345-foot suspension Liberty Bridge for the best GVL views.
There is no better place for a pre-dinner sunset cocktail than Juniper. The brightly colored florals and greenery that adorn the space are as irresistibly photo-worthy as the gin-centric cocktails. For dinner, we pulled up some barstools around a corner of the chefβs bar at CAMP, a reservation youβll want to lock down as soon as youβve booked your Greenville trip. The pork belly steamed baos, chicken curry, and coconut torte dessert were hits. Watching the young, meticulous chefs was the sweetest treat of all.
Weekend in Greenville DAY 2: Art! And LOTS of it!
We kicked off our first full day walking wide-eyed through the Greenville Saturday Market. More than 75 local makers and vendors are set up on the other side of the downtown from the art festival, and itβs a fabulous place to grab coffee and a pastry. We then took one of the only car rides of the weekend to Unity Park and The Commons, a funky merchant hall with craft libations at Community Tap, fresh-baked goods at Bake Room, sinfully tasty concoctions from world-renowned Methodical Coffee, and local fare from Automatic Taco and GB&D.
Any town can claim to be βarts-supportive,β but few places embrace the arts more than Greenville. Visual artists flourish there. I heard the same refrain from every artist we met at Artisphere and beyond. We had the incredible opportunity to tour OyΓ© Studios, a collective of a dozen artistsβ studios in an old church.
As OyΓ© tenant and artist Michelle Jardines walked us through each room (the studio isnβt open to the public), I found myself fangirling every time I realized whose studio I had entered β including the studios of Dorothy Shain, Glory Day Loflin, and Jessica Fields, to name a few.
There was so much to soak up at Artisphere back in town, and I had to pick whoβd receive my media award. We grabbed a local beer at the festivalβs Arts & Drafts tent to sip while we perused art by 140 juried artists in every medium imaginable, from precious jewelry and textiles to black-and-white photography and abstract sculptures. A balcony table at the modern Italian hot spot Jianna offered the perfect perch to people-watchΒ and refuel midday.
Once youβve thoroughly explored downtown, take a break and siesta, then head over to Gather GVL. This award-winning food hall is a collection of colorfully stacked shipping containers that house a bevy of food vendors. We let the Greenville locals steer us toward homemade blueberry lemonade, the chefβs kiss on top of a 20,000-step walking day.
On our walk back downtown to our 8 p.m. dinner, we couldnβt help but admire Greenvilleβs nocturnal side. While so many Southern cities shut down at dusk, Greenvilleβs shops stay open, the river lights up, and al fresco tables are full. Dinner at Jones Oyster Co. was one of the highlights of the weekend. We split β and devoured β baked oysters, cheddar hushpuppies, crab fried rice, and a lobster roll.
Weekend in Greenville DAY 3: Veer Off the Beaten Path
We kicked off our final half-day with a coffee tour hosted by Greenville guru and tour guide extraordinaire John Nolan of Greenville History & Culinary Tours. John drove us in his comfy Sprinter van to three completely distinct yet individually fantastic coffee shops: Coffee Underground, Unlocked, and Mountain Goat, where we tasted and learned all about their roasts.
Once John got us nice and caffeinated, we headed outside to Greenvilleβs Swamp Rabbit Trail. This 28-mile multi-use rail-to-trail has received many awards, including #1 Americaβs Best Urban Bike Paths by Fodorβs Travel. More than 750,000 locals and visitors ride the trail each year, and you can walk, run, or bike it to the charmingly outdoorsy town ofΒ Travelers Rest.
We grabbed a pre-flight coffee at the chic Barista Alley in the nearby town of Greer, whose European-style (and gutter-free) downtown is covered in a ceiling of string lights and flanked by shops and eateries.
As your weekend in Greenville ends, I guarantee youβll already be planning the next. Whether you go for Artisphere in May, Euphoria in September, Fall for Greenville in October, or any random weekend, Greenville and its quirks are ready to greet you.
Southwestβs daily direct flights from BNA to GSP will be available starting June 4, 2024. CheckΒ them out here.
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Zoe Yarborough
Zoe is a StyleBlueprint staff writer, Charlotte native, Washington & Lee graduate, and Nashville transplant of eleven years. She teaches Pilates, helps manage recording artists, and likes to "research" Germantown's food scene.