A Weekend Getaway to Greenville, SC

We love our little weekend getaways. Especially ones that take us to scenery that’s different from our own at home.

I had to share an aerial view to really do Greenville justice, but as I don’t personally own a drone, I’ve shared this photo. Credit goes to OurUpstateSC from VisitGreenvilleSC.

We’ve visited Greenville many, many times (because we love it so much) but I think it’s especially beautiful this time of year when you have this perfect mixture of Fall colors and Christmas decorations brightening up the entire town, side by side, as if they’re unashamedly competing for your attention.

We made it into Greenville by lunchtime on the Friday and promptly went to Reid’s Fine Foods & Gourmet Market for a bite of lunch. Reid’s has quickly become one of our favorite food spots in Greenville, with its cozy coffee shop on one end of the store, gourmet grocery in the middle, and hot food and pastry counters on the opposite end. It’s a delicious mixture of so many good things and we savored every bite. One of their best deals is the $4 coffee and pastry combo on offer all day, every day.

This particular picture was actually taken from our previous visit but I just love Sophie in this one so I’m including it!

From there we carried on to Main Street and casually made our way in and out of the shops.

My visit to Greenville is never complete without popping in at Vintage Now Modern. It’s full of the best vintage pieces and antiques, and you never know what you’ll find.

And if you have little ones with you, Greenville has a built in feature on Main Street to help keep them excited as you’re out walking. Several years ago a local high school student came up with the idea of hiding little mice statues in random places along Main Street, and finding them together makes for such a fun activity to do with your kids as you’re walking along. Sophie absolutely LOVES finding all the mice and always talks about it for days afterwards.

One of our favorite mountain town stores is the Mast General Store. It’s one of those classic old stores that has a little bit of everything – clothes, outdoor gear, toys, home decor, food, and a huge selection of vintage candy. We usually find our way back to the Mast General Store a few times on our visit.

If you continue strolling along the bustling Main Street, it eventually leads you to the most beautiful downtown park.

Greenville sits on both sides of a river that winds its way past hotels, restaurants, and shops before finally spilling over a huge bed of rocks and turning peacefully into a much smaller version of itself along the park.

We went for a long, leisurely walk on the park trails. Sophie was very much in her element collecting sticks, leaves, and lots of little acorns.

If you stay on the trails long enough they eventually begin blending with the surrounding residential part of town – a mixture of the old and the new, but always beautiful homes make for a nice stroll for those who like that sort of thing (me me me!)

After the long walk we found our way back to Main Street to a cozy bookshop and café called M. Judson Books. You can walk around, browsing books while warming up with a hot drink, or you can sit at one of the many tables nestled into a cozy corner.

One of my favorite features in the store are the walls of books lining the entrance. It’s two walls MADE OUT OF BOOKS.

The coffee shop is also inside Greenville’s old Courthouse, so it’s in a beautiful, historic building to boot.

We ended our first day with a delicious dinner at The Lazy Goat, one of our favorite restaurants in Greenville. We shared a smorgasbord of bites and everything was so fresh and mouthwateringly delicious. Plus The Lazy Goat sits right on the river, so you can have the meal AND the view at this spot.

If you ever find yourself at The Lazy Goat, do yourself a favor and order the pistachio and honey fried goat cheese. Just do it.

I always like a messy table picture. This is real life, with a kid’s jacket thrown over the seat, toddler plate sticking out in the corner, everything pushed to the middle of the table where it can’t be pulled off and tossed on the floor, and everything very much being enjoyed and gobbled up.

A short walk through town, underneath all the twinkling lights, back to our hotel was just what we needed before climbing tiredly into bed.

Every year around Christmas time Greenville transforms this little park space into an ice rink and then they top it off with lots and lots of lights.

We stayed at The Westin Poinsett, our favorite hotel in the Greenville area. We love staying in older hotels and The Westin fits that bill perfectly, with its high ceilings, wrought iron stair railing, and old school piano bar off of the lobby.