Beaufort, S.C.

By NEIL KING JR.

Where to stay: Barely 13,000 people live in the waterside town of Beaufort, but scads of movies have been shot there, from "Forrest Gump" and "The Big Chill" to "The Prince of Tides." It's easy to see why. The town, which hugs the Intracoastal Waterway, is the gem of South Carolina's Lowcountry. Lodging ranges from beachside rentals on the nearby islands to rooms in the town's posh mansions. The Beaufort Inn, a block off bustling Bay Street, offers ornate rooms in the main house plus cottages with private gardens and a four-bedroom house in back. Rates range from $159 to $500 for the house (www.beaufortinn.com; 809 Port Republic Street; 843-379-4667). Far better for location is the Old Point Inn, a rambling mansion turned bed-and-breakfast in the heart of the Old Point neighborhood. Rooms start at $150. Breakfasts are served on the veranda (www.oldpointinn.com; 212 New Street; 843-524-3177). Property owners listed at www.vrbo.com offer private homes for rent in the area. We stayed at a great one, for $150 a night, on St. Helena Island, 20 minutes from downtown.

Visiting Beaufort

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Neil King/The Wall Street Journal

An antebellum mansion in Old Point.

What to do: Few small towns in America can compete with Beaufort's abundance of antebellum mansions, most of them in Old Point. A stroll down the neighborhood's streets—lined with trees bedecked with Spanish moss—is a must. Check out the 8,000-square-foot Greek Revival manse known as The Castle, on sale for $3.95 million. Carolina Buggy Tours offers horse-drawn rides (843-525-1300). Penn Center, the school for freed slaves on St. Helena Island, now hosts a museum that traces the center's history from the first days of the Civil War through the civil-rights era. The center, covering several acres, is in the heart of the region's Gullah culture. Many of the residents still speak a creole of English interlaced with hundreds of African words. The myriad inlets and waterways offer great fishing. Several guides work out of the Beaufort marina, with half-day trips starting at $300. The quirky Parris Island Museum on the nearby Marine Corps base offers a vivid history of the Lowcountry region and the Marine Corps. For swimming, nothing beats the vast beach at Hunting Island, where some of the Vietnam scenes in "Forrest Gump" were filmed.

Neil King/The Wall Street Journal

Barbecue at Sgt. White's

Where to eat: Sgt. White's Restaurant, at 1908 Boundary Street, in the Piggly Wiggly parking lot, offers great fried chicken, fried fish, pulled pork and all the fixings (843-522-2029). A tonier setting for barbecue and a fine plate of shrimp and grits can be found at The Smokey Chef, a short hop over the bridge from downtown at 81 Sea Island Parkway (843-521-4557). The Steamer Oyster & Steakhouse, just down the road at 168 Sea Island Parkway (843-522 0210), is a favorite of visiting film stars. It offers great local seafood and is famed for its Frogmore Stew—a rich combo of shrimp, potatoes, corn, sausage and other ingredients. For milkshakes, muffuletta sandwiches and good gumbo, check out Southern Sweets in the Old Bay Marketplace arcade (917 Bay St; 843-379 0798). Afterward, duck across the street to Luther's, a pharmacy-turned-bar that has a great photo collection of old Beaufort.