Historic SitesHistory Museums

10:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Monday

10:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Tuesday

10:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Wednesday

10:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Thursday

10:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Friday

10:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Saturday

10:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Sunday

10:00 AM - 5:00 PM

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About

A National Historic Landmark, the Nathaniel Russell House Museum was completed in 1808 by merchant Nathaniel Russell. The home’s graceful, free-flying, three-story staircase is an architectural marvel and the elegant interiors with elaborate plasterwork, geometrically shaped rooms, formal gardens and collection of 18th-century decorative and fine art speak to the wealth of Charleston’s elite in the early days of the American Republic. Restored to its original splendor using forensic analysis and cutting-edge conservation technology by our curatorial staff, we ensure the highest standards of old-world expertise to replicate the finishes, fixtures and textiles appropriate for this 200-year old townhouse. The 18 enslaved Africans that lived on and maintained this property are an integral part of its history. Archaeological artifacts, educational panels and ongoing restoration of the enslaved quarters are vital to learning more about the enslaved and telling their important stories.

Duration: 1-2 hours

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Neighborhood: Charlestowne

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See what travelers are saying

cdandoy
Gilbert, Arizona1,258 contributions
Nice
Easy to find. I used the audio which is about 45 min long. It was a tad slow in places but the rooms themselves are great! Love the chamber pot chair and the staircase. Used to some rooms having chairs for those that need to sit occasionally but this only had 1 spot for sitting.
Visited October 2023
Traveled with friends
Written October 5, 2023
jandaG0lden_C0
Golden, Colorado88 contributions
Historic home to visit
. One of the highlights of our trip to Charleston. Take a guided tour as the volunteers are so knowledgeable. It is an architectural and history tour of how this wealthy family lived in the early 1800's. We did this instead of a plantation tour due to time restraints and felt that it was just as educational. Also the area around this house is a beautiful area with many great streets and homes.
Visited February 2024
Traveled as a couple
Written February 26, 2024
Noraatc
Sudbury, Massachusetts39,719 contributions
Elegant mansion with spectacular spiral staircase
The Nathaniel Russell House was free on the day of our visit and surprisingly not crowded at all. We joined the short guided tour, learned about the history of the mansion, admired its magnificent spiral staircase and elegant interior. The small garden looked lovely in February when first camellias and magnolias were blossoming.
Visited February 2024
Traveled as a couple
Written March 20, 2024
ArtsyGalBaltimore
847 contributions
Worthwhile Visit to Nathaniel Russell House
Took a tour with a guide who did a fine job in telling a story of the house and how its residents shaped their image within the Charleston community. Multiple rooms toured each distinct for some aspect of the family life and its social activity. Lovely garden entrance.
Visited June 2024
Traveled solo
Written June 5, 2024
RHmom349
Mooresville, North Carolina85 contributions
Awesome staircase to heaven!
Very beautifully restored early 1800’s home. The most impressive thing was the spiral three story staircase - you can just imagine the women in their beautiful long dresses coming down this - very elegant! We took a guided tour that was about 45 minutes long. Definitely worthwhile to visit. If you visit this home and the Aiken-Rhett House, they have a combo ticket that provides a discount. Definitely get the combo ticket since you have 6 months to use them.
Visited June 2024
Traveled as a couple
Written June 29, 2024
Renee
25 contributions
Beautifully restored mansion.
Beautifully preserved house from early 1800’s. House has only had 5 owners in over 200 years and everyone took great care of it. The house has been restored to the way it looked when it was first constructed with period pieces on 2 floors that you can see with a tour guide or if you prefer a self guided audio tour. We had the tour guide and it was a very good experience. Lasted just under an hour.
Visited September 2024
Traveled as a couple
Written October 1, 2024

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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

Popular mentions

4.5

2,083 reviews

Excellent

1,221

Very good

661

Average

164

Poor

29

Terrible

8

Ms. Salsa

114 contributions

Beautifully decorated & very well kept!

Dec 2020

We bought the combo tickets for the Aiken-Rhett House and the Nathaniel Russell House. Due to the COVID issue, both tours are self-guided tours downloaded via an app on your phone. Unfortunately, although the intention is a good one, it has to be one of the most problematic ideas currently established. During the walk thru the house, you might find yourself wanting to listen to the same recording someone else already has begun in the same area, hence, you then can't continue until the other party ends their turn. Either that, or find yourself already listening in one area, when someone else comes in and rudely starts their own recording preventing you from listening to your own. Aside from that dilemma, the house is an interesting and very beautiful one to see. Of all the mansions we visited, this one was one of my favorite ones. It captured its original setting as best as it could and it gave you a very close impression of what life was like back then.

Written January 18, 2021

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

TravelingSoccerLoon

Saint Paul, MN5,970 contributions

Beautifully Restored Historic Home from 1808

Nov 2021 • Couples

There are many historic homes to tour in Charleston and the Nathaniel Russell House was amongst the best. Federal style house built in 1808 by slave trader Nathaniel Russell one of the wealthiest men in Charleston. It has been beautifully restored to it’s original appearance. Excellent 45 minute self guided audio tour takes you in depth through each room of the house. They have only recently began to excavate the slave quarters behind the house and at this point telling the story of the enslaved who worked at the house is not as fully developed as at the Aitkin-Rhett House which is the other historical home you should not miss when visiting Charleston. We purchased the Charleston Heritage Explorer Passport for $49/person which allowed entry to the Nathaniel Russell House and 9 other houses and museums in downtown Charleston over 3 consecutive days and thought this was an excellent value.

Written December 7, 2021

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Shannon

South Carolina512 contributions

Well-worth the $15 visit

Jan 2023

It was a rainy day in Charleston and we needed something to do! I decided on visiting the Nathaniel Russell House because it opens at 10 and admission is only $15.
I really enjoyed this visit. It was more than just looking at a historic home. The audio tour combined with the beautifully restored and decorated home was very well-done.
The audio tour, device and headset included, was informative, interesting, easy to use and not too long! The ladies narrating gave just enough information without making you want to skip ahead.
Not only is the home restored to original glory, it's decorated with period pieces so you can really envision the lives of the Russells. The laundry room/enslaved quarters is currently being worked on, so it was very interested to see it in it's primitive state.
As I said, it was raining so we only briefly walked the gardens which are rather small so I didn't feel we missed too much. The whole visit took us about an hour.
Nice job, Historic Charleston Foundation!

Written January 22, 2023

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

lmphilly

Philadelphia, PA266 contributions

Beautiful Home

Feb 2020

We toured both the Nathaniel Russell House and the Aiken House, buying both tickets as a package. the Nathaniel Russell House is beautifully redone from the architechture of the home, the furnishings and the garden. We did not take the house tour due to time constraints but used the recorded guide which was fine. This is a part of Charleston's complex history which is well worth a visit.

Written February 25, 2020

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Tom V

Augusta, GA205 contributions

An Incredible House Museum

Mar 2020

We walked from the visitors center to the Nathaniel Russell house which is just across the street. It's an incredible 1808 house built by Charleston merchant Nathaniel Russell. There is an incredible 3 story, free flying spiral staircase that is amazing. The guide that gave us the tour was very good and knew a lot about the house. She had been a part of the crew that was restoring some of the paint on the walls, making sure that they are era colors and by sampling they are able to get most of the original colors. We learned not only the history of the house, but the history of the family that built the house and lived there through the generations. We were able to go up the staircase and see the upstairs as well as ground level. I recommend this tour.

Written March 9, 2020

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

2Birdsfishnfrogs

Little River, SC223 contributions

Well restored house of historical significance

Apr 2022

We purchased a Passport from the Charleston Heritage Federation for eight historic sites and museums to be toured during three consecutive days. This was one of the eight places.

We chose the self-guided tour option which meant we were given I-pods with headsets to listen and move through the house at our own pace. This worked well for our situation since we were trying to maximize our time utilization. The program can be repeated or skipped depending upon your individual interests.

We had been in the gardens during an earlier visit so we didn't linger there this time. It is a peaceful area and pleasant to sit and relax.

I would suggest going here to our friends, relatives and acquaintances who are interested in the history of Charleston and of the United States.

Written April 18, 2022

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Rachel M

North Grafton, Ma99 contributions

Unexpected surprise in the city!

Mar 2022

Highly recommended when in Charleston. This was not in my radar to do; however, my friends suggested it and even though it was a rainy day, I was so glad I did it. I would have enjoyed walking around the gardens more but you can walk in them at any time and we might go back this week when it's sunny. The tour guide was great and really kept a large group organized and under control and gave alot of content in her tour. It was very interesting and I really enjoyed it when those things can be boring at times. We booked the two house special and I look forward to going to the 2nd house tomorrow.

Written March 24, 2022

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Badforever

London, Canada1,715 contributions

A great, inexpensive tour, with or without a guide, benefits the Historical Foundation.

Mar 2023 • Couples

We just happened to show up when a guided tour was commencing. Otherwise, the tour is self guided with an audio device. Our guide was very knowledgeable speaking about preservation techniques, interior design, architecture, and, of course, history. We learned a lot and the building is quite fantastic. We appreciated that the beneficiary of our admission fee is the Historical Society and funding the ongoing preservation - and not the descendant family of someone who had built their fortune on the backs of slave labour.

Written March 13, 2023

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

JeromeSTL

Saint Louis, MO87 contributions

Outstanding example of restoration

Feb 2020

The house is worth all the accolades. Its restoration was lovingly and remarkably done. We did the audio tour, which was easy to understand and provided a lot of the basic information. Note there are one or more additional clips in every room. We did those and they gave a much fuller level of insight into the home and life there. In late February 2020 they were redoing the kitchen and slave quarters but the rest of the house was accessible.

Written March 6, 2020

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

floridian6

orlando, fl229 contributions

Not as authentic as I thought.

Mar 2020

The house has been refurbished. The stair case is beautiful and some of the furnishings is interesting. However, The doors inside appear to be beautiful wood and turns out to be painted on fake wood appearance ( not expected). Also some of the border around the ceiling is just wallpaper and not real. The garden has some pretty flowers and is better if you are there when the azaleas are blooming. It was not as interesting as some of the other historical houses I have been in, but something to do in order to see and hear about people in Charlestons history.

Written March 13, 2020

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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