Charleston’s charm still stops you in your tracks, but the city’s momentum is what keeps you lingering. With #20-ranked Sights & Landmarks, the peninsula’s waterfront is getting a headline-worthy new stay: The Cooper, a 191-room luxury harbor hotel, began welcoming overnight guests in early 2026. Nearby, Charleston International is building for the next wave of arrivals: CHS handled nearly 6.3 million travelers in 2024, and broke ground in July 2025 on its West Gates Expansion, an airport-led project priced at $105 million to add new passenger space and gates.
On the water, the long-anticipated Union Pier transformation keeps moving forward on a roughly 65-acre former port site. City council adopted Union Pier language into the city’s comprehensive plan in April 2025, setting the framework for parks, streets and mixed-use growth. That development backdrop pairs with the historic city’s very future-focused #19 Innovation ranking, helped by Google’s recent announcement to invest $9 billion in South Carolina through 2027, including continued construction of two Dorchester County data center sites serving the Charleston region.
And yes, the coastal breezes help all that hustle. Charleston’s #24 Air Quality ranking feels like a daily perk, not a statistic.