Just off the peninsula and due west of the Ashley river is the neighborhood known as West Ashley, an artsy community beloved by all ages for it's funky, local shops and restaurants, accessibility to both downtown Charleston and the north area and plenty of modern amenities for daily life like Costco and the Citadel Fashion Mall. The Avondale area is home to Charleston's oldest running German tavern, Genes Haufbrau and the Old Towne area surrounds beautiful Charlestowne Landing, a state owned historic site preserving the first permanent English settlement in South Carolina where they have a replica of a 17th century tall ship and a zoo exhibiting animals and birds indigenous to the Charleston area at the time of settlement. Take a drive down historic highway 61 to visit the historic plantations including Magnolia Plantation, Middleton Plantation and Drayton Hall.