Beaufort's 18th- and 19th-century homes, many of which are large and lavish, remind visitors of the town's prosperous past ties to Sea Island cotton planters. The charming homes and churches have been preserved, making this a graceful antebellum getaway. Many private houses in the historic district are open to the public just twice a year, during the annual Fall House Tour in mid-October and the Spring Tour of Homes and Gardens in April or May.

If that doesn't suit your schedule, book an overnight stay at one of several historic bed and breakfasts. (A popular stopover with New York-to-Florida commuters, Beaufort is also a favorite among early retirees, many of whom have converted grand homes into B&Bs.) Among the choices for your home away from home in Beaufort are: Rhett House Inn, an 1820, three-story, 14-columned structure that was once a rich planter's home; Cuthbert House Inn, a 1790 bay-front home with original crown molding and fireplaces, and the understated Craven Street Inn, with high ceilings, long porches and hardwood floors.

Depending on your mood, you can take a self-guided walking tour, a carriage tour, a van tour, a water tour or rent a bicycle. On Bay Street, the restored John Mark Verdier House Museum, built about 1790, is furnished as it would have been between 1790 and the visit of Lafayette in 1825. It was the headquarters for Union forces during the Civil War.

The Beaufort Museum, housed in an arsenal once home to the Beaufort Volunteer Artillery, has prehistoric relics, native pottery and Revolutionary and Civil War exhibits. Examine the gravestones of St. Helena's Episcopal Church: During the Civil War, the church served as a hospital, and the gravestones were brought in to double as operating tables. Quaint shops and art galleries line Bay Street, the town's main thoroughfare.

Break for lunch at a restaurant along Beaufort's famous Waterfront Park, seven landscaped acres along the Beaufort River with a sea-wall promenade, crafts market and marina. A few blocks away, the Beaufort Inn Restaurant serves a fabulous brunch each weekend, including a Frogmore paella of shrimp, rice, sausage and corn (try it with a side of potato and onion pie), pecan peach pancakes and French toast stuffed with brie and sun-dried peaches. You'll float out of the restaurant.

For sightseeing of a different sort, drive out to Parris Island, about 10 miles south of Beaufort. About 17,000 U.S. Marine Corps recruits pass through here each year. Graduation ceremonies are almost every Friday morning, and it's quite a spectacle. The Parris Island Museum exhibits uniforms, photographs and weapons chronicling military history since 1562, when the French Huguenots built a fort on St. Helena.

St. Helena Island, a few miles down U.S. 21, is one of the few sea islands where Gullah, a musical language that combines English and African languages, first developed. The island is still mostly rural and dotted with historic sites. The Penn Center, established in the middle of the Civil War as the South's first school for freed slaves, is the unofficial headquarters for Gullah culture. The center now provides community services and is host to special events. It includes the York W. Bailey Museum, with displays reflecting the heritage of Sea Island African-Americans. The Gullah Festival each fall celebrates Lowcountry and West African culture.

Nearby, Hunting Island State Park has a quiet beach, nature trails and varied fishing. The 1,120-foot fishing pier is among the longest on the East Coast. There's a 140-foot lighthouse (built in 1859) with 181 steps that you can climb for sweeping views.

For more information call:

Greater Beaufort Chamber of Commerce at (843) 524-3163.