The 1-Hour Greenville History and More Walking Tour

5.0 (105 reviews) one hour Free cancellation

out of 5

105 reviews

5.0

Every good tour needs a photo spot, and the Camperdown Mural is the best one for this tour. This particular mural changes about every three months. — Photos: the activity supplier, via Viator

Camperdown is a major attraction in the area, but it used to be a center of manufacturing for Greenville during it's textile days. — Photos: the activity supplier, via Viator

About this activity

The biggest difference is customization. We change it up as we walk depending on what you tell us. No other tour in Greenville lets you customize every detail. We also know more about modern Greenville, SC, than anyone else in town. Every day our guides read and study more about the area. Crossed Roads Tour guides all grew up in the area. We have special insights that the many tours coming from outside simply cannot have.

And the final difference, is honesty. We'll actually tell you whether a restaurant is good or bad, and whether an activity is worth doing. Even if that means upsetting a particular restaurant or business, we'll give you the truth.

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At a glance

Duration: one hour
Confirmation: Instant confirmation
Ticket: Mobile or paper ticket accepted
Group: Up to 20 people
People per booking: 1–15
Guide: English
Operated by: Crossed Roads Tours

Ages: Infants (0–3 years) · Children (4–17 years) · Adults (18–120 years)

What is included

Included

Included: In-person Guide

Itinerary

Greenville

45 min

Crossed Roads Tours provides the best tour in Greenville, South Carolina, because we customize it for you. No other operator in the area does this. We talk with you about what you want specifically and then change our tour based on that.

All of the below events are actually optional. We travel to different areas based on your feedback, and we'll actually ask you during the tour if you're enjoying this particular path or would like to change it.
Stop 2

Passing by

The Huguenot Mill and Loft is an incredibly beautiful historic building. Expertly maintained, it was originally where the French Protestants created a new life for themselves. They became a huge part of our textile industry, and now you can check out the incredible exterior. (It now serves as private offices and a wedding spot, so we need to remain outside).
Stop 3

Passing by

The Camperdown Plaza area hosted many of Greenville's prominent textile mills. Today it hosts an incredible selection of art and fun things to do.
Joel Roberts Poinsett Statue

Passing by

This iconic statue actually has it's own page on TripAdvisor. Poinsett did a huge number of things we'll go over on the tour, but the biggest thing for Greenville was acting as our early PR guy. In his role as a Secretery of War, and in many of his other roles, he told a massive number of people about Greenville. Without him, we wouldn't have been able to grow into a real city, as no one would have heard of us. We'll save the rest of his achievements for your tour.
Stop 5

Passing by

Connolly's Irish Pub is both a piece of history, and one of the more popular bars in current Greenville. It has a very unusual history over the years. Rumors are that it was a brothel in the early 1900s, and a pharmacy a bit later on. The mural on the side gives it a bit of extra extra info for your tour, showing you a look at Greenville in the early 1900s.
Stop 6

Passing by

The old American Cigar Factory is quite beautiful from the outside, which is how you'll see it. It mostly used as office space, and no longer has the huge amount of cigars being made there anymore. Still, it is an important part of Greenville History because according to some sources, the workers made around 1 million cigars a month. It provided a strong livelihood for both men and women in Greenville during the 1900s, although many reports say that the weavers were mostly female.
Stop 7

5 min

Coffee Underground is the most popular coffee spot in Greenville, SC. It's also an awesome view of what the historic tunnels that run under Greenville look like. To this day there are dozens of sealed-up tunnels under the city, used during the bootlegging days. This store is open almost all day, so you should be able to go inside and check out the history.
Stop 8

Passing by

Brown Street was the center of a lot of early music history, including the roots of jazz. It also contains several cool restaurants, including a piano bar, for you.
Stop 9

Passing by

Max Heller was our former mayor, and a champion of both the desegregation and the revival of Greenville. He's known for bringing a lot of life and unity to the city. We don't want to spoil his entire history for you here, so look forward to it on the tour.
Stop 10

Passing by

Blu Lounge and Club was originally the Blue Martini, a famous club and speakeasy in the early 1900s. We'll see the exterior, discuss what happened there in history, and perhaps even hear about the ghosts that still haunt it.
Stop 11

Passing by

This entry is for the war monuments and memorials located on this section of main street. It contains dedications to groups from the Civil War to around World War 2. While this is an ugly side of history, it is important to most people who would enjoy a tour like this. If the topic of the Civil War offends you, please let us know and we can try to make some accomodations.

Meeting point and pickup

Everyone meets at the meeting point.

Meeting point

Look for a man in front of the Westin Poinsett with a sign. Your guide will sit on the fountain directly outside the front doors. Parking can be found directly behind the Westin Poinsett in the Poinsett Garage, and there is also the nearby Laurens Street Garage.

End point

For guests who need the tour to end in the West End area, we can actually just end at this small deli and grocery store.
We can also just end at the starting point.
We normally end here so that the guests can get something to drink or use the restrooms at this establishment. Over 200 different items, including a variety of ciders, meads, wines, and beers. They also have tons of non-alcoholic options.