Everything's prettier in pink— especially churches. The French Huguenot Church is the nation’s only independent Hugeunot church and the oldest Gothic Revival church in South Carolina, standing apart with its pastel pink exterior topped with rows of shiny black pinnacles and framed by twin palmettos. The Gothic aesthetic is completed with a graveyard just within its iron gates. Today, the church still holds regular services, though only once a year are they in French.

Saint Michael’s Anglican Church, on the corner of Broad and Meeting Street, is the oldest church in the city, and one of its most iconic. The church, which was visited by George Washington on his visit to the city in 1791, is recognizable from all the way down King Street for its emblematic white clocktower.

Another one of Charleston's oldest churches is the 1681-built Circular Congregational Church. It's also perhaps the most unique. Designed by the famous South Carolina architect Robert Mills, the church stands on the site of three earlier churches, all held by the same congregation. As the first major domed building in North America, it was described in 1818 as "the most extraordinary building in the United States."

It’s only fitting that one of Charleston’s great restaurants is located in a 106-year-old former house of prayer. Desanctified in the 90s, the building’s interiors now feature the words of Sun Tzu’s The Art of War written across the vaulted roof, and leather booths line the walls beneath a row of colorful arched stained-glass windows. Meticulously restored, the space has retained its ecclesiastical grandiosity, though not without lively nighttime revelry after 8pm.

This church in Charleston's charming historic district was originally part of a Federal arsenal, built between 1825 and 1832 by the U.S. government, and later used to educate orphaned and destitute boys after the Civil War. With a manicured courtyard, vibrant stained glass windows, and striking white walls, the church remains one of Charleston's most popular wedding venues and holds a free recital series open to the public.

The mother church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Charleston, this grand church is the city's biggest and most ornate. Designed by Brooklyn architect Patrick Keely, it's constructed of Connecticut brownstone and designed in the Gothic Revival style, with towering ceilings and one-of-a-kind stained glass windows by German company Franz Mayer. For nearly a century, the church lacked the funds to build a steeple; it wasn't until 2010 that the full renovation was complete.

Dating back to 1817, Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, or "Mother Emanuel," is one of the oldest Black churches in the country, and it has long been a center for civil rights organizing. In 2015, tragedy struck the church when a mass shooting by a white supremacist killed 9 African-Americans who had gathered at Mother Emanuel for Bible study. The shooting sparked a national conversation about white supremacy and the Confederacy's enduring stronghold on the American South.

In the hip Upper King design district, facing the greenery of Marion Square, sits the elegant St. Matthew's Lutheran Church, recognizable by its terracotta-colored facade, black-and-white checkerboard patio, and cherry red doors. At 255 feet, its steeple is the highest in the Holy City.

Don't forget to look up at this National Historic Landmark, where the intricate blue fan-vaulted ceiling steals the show. Built in 1787 and renovated in the mid-19th century in the English Perpendicular Gothic style, the church's stained glass windows are among the finest of the era. The 1.3 acre campus includes a quiet churchyard that functions as a little oasis in the heart of Charleston.

The oldest surviving church building in South Carolina is a humble colonial parish right outside the city of Charleston. Scholars believe the original structure was built in 1708, burned in 1764, and rebuilt the same year. Its white exterior, semicircular fan windows, and six-panel doors are emblematic of the style of mid-18th century parishes.