Plan A Great Weekend In Greenville, SC (Itinerary)
As Asheville locals, we visit Greenville, South Carolina monthly for the city’s festivals, concerts, and great downtown area. This is how we would spend one weekend in Greenville, SC to experience its foodie scene, culture, and the great outdoors.
This post may contain affiliate links that earn us a commission at no extra cost to you. If you love these free guides, support Uncorked Asheville with a small tip.
Table of Contents
Weekend In Greenville Itinerary
Get a quick snapshot to plan your trip. Then, be sure to keep scrolling for more details, including bar, restaurant, brewery, and shop recommendations.
Day 1
- Hotel check-in
- Drinks and snacks at a brewery, coffee shop, or bar
- Dinner in Downtown Greenville
Day 2
- Bike riding the Swamp Rabbit Trail
- Visit the local shops
- Stroll Falls Park on the Reedy
- For families, head to the Greenville Zoo
- Attend a local festival, concert, or theater performance
Day 3
- Brunch
- Activities skipped on Day 2
- Explore nearby Travelers Rest, including cafes, shops, and more
- Enjoy Paris Mountain State Park (if time allows) or head into Western North Carolina
Day 1: Arriving In Greenville
Asheville to Greenville is only one hour and 20 minutes by car. If you are coming in from the Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport (GSP), expect around a 20-minute drive into Downtown Greenville. This Greenville itinerary will include options with and without a car.
Check-In
We don’t love leaving our overnight bags in any vehicle, especially in larger cities. For safety, we try to check in immediately or at least leave our luggage at the hotel. With one weekend in Greenville, we also highly recommend staying downtown for its convenience and to fully enjoy the city.
Is the Grand Bohemian worth it?
A few centrally-located, Downtown Greenville hotels we recommend include:
- The Grand Bohemian Lodge ($$$ – $$$$) for a romantic weekend getaway or special occasion on Falls Park on the Reedy
- The Westin Poinsett ($$$) for historic charm and theater-goers, located on Main Street
- Hampton Inn & Suites Greenville-Downtown-Riverplace ($$) for the best value within walking distance of Downtown Greenville
- Home2 Suites by Hilton Greenville Downtown ($$) for concerts at the Bon Secours at a great price
Celebratory Drinks
Living up to our namesake, we always get to know a city by its beverages: coffee, local craft beer, and hand-crafted cocktails. However, we appreciate more low-key places versus happening nightlife spots.
From rooftop bars to breweries, these are a few memorable places for drinks in Greenville:
- Up on the Roof – Spy Greenville from above with sprawling rooftop views, boozy drinks that come in cute bottles, and both a graze and full restaurant menu complete with sliders, seafood, and veggie sharables.
- Liability Brewing Co – As a half-Celiac household, Liability’s gluten-reduced beers work for us; we love the murals and vibes of this local craft brewery. You will need transportation here, though, as it is not walkable from Downtown. Yee-Haw Brewing Company is another option for a walkable Downtown brewery.
- Lobby Bar at the Grand Bohemian Lodge (or Spirit & Bower downstairs) – We usually try to avoid hotel bars, but this one is a bit more special. Located at the Grand Bohemian, grab drinks overlooking Falls Park on the Reedy. We just love that blazing fireplace in the winter, too.
- Coffee Underground – We cannot resist a good coffee shop, and this one boasts both an underground theater and a coffee cafe. It’s a hipster cultural hotspot with later evening hours.
We are slowly working our way through Greenville’s bars and breweries, and our readers also love Better Than… cough, cough. It’s a dessert restaurant with hilariously fitting and provocative names.
Dinner Downtown
Especially for Downtown Greenville, we highly recommend making advanced dinner reservations where accepted. If you aren’t snacking at one of the above bars – Up on the Roof is great for dinner – our top casual choice is Nose Dive.
Nose Dive is a cozy Main Street restaurant with indoor and seasonal outdoor seating. Expect casual bites, great drinks, and a restaurant that caters to food intolerances and allergies. I always crave their hummus plate and order their burger or fish and chips. Tom loves a GF burger and tender BBQ chicken.
A few more Greenville restaurants to consider include Roost (even though it’s attached to a hotel, we eat here a lot for quality and service), Tupelo Honey (it’s a franchise also in Asheville, but they are popular and good), Grill Marks (a jumping burger joint), and Sassafras Southern Bistro (Southern fare).
Day 2: Full Day In Greenville
There is so much to do with one day in Greenville. These are just a few options, depending on who you are traveling with and your interests.
Outdoors Lovers: Swamp Rabbit Trail
I’m in love with the Swamp Rabbit Trail, which keeps growing in length (it’s about 28 miles now). For road bikers and low-key mountain bikers, this is a great way to spend the morning and afternoon in Greenville with nice weather. Whether you rent bikes or bring your own, pass through public parks, food and drink areas, and Greenville landmarks. The trail is family-friendly with restrooms along the way.
Our Favorite Swamp Rabbit Trail Sights: We have an entire article about enjoying the Swamp Rabbit Trail and have biked it from different starting points. A must is grabbing lunch along the trail at the Swamp Rabbit Cafe & Grocery. We also enjoy Pangaea and Southernside breweries. The trail even goes through the Greenville Zoo.
For The Family: Greenville Zoo
Zoos may or may not be for you. While they aren’t necessarily our jam, we have dropped into the Greenville Zoo to see some of their well-cared-for animals like the baby giraffe and orangutans. Meet a very large tortoise, and watch the monkeys. Just be sure to check their hours, especially in the winter with closures. It’s also a few dollars cheaper if you purchase in advance online.
First-Timers: Falls Park on the Reedy & Downtown
If this is your first time visiting Greenville, we suggest staying downtown and enjoying Falls Park on the Reedy. This is a breathtaking and surprising city space filled with falls, a walkable park, and plenty of areas to relax. Of course, you can’t miss Greenville’s biggest attraction, Liberty Bridge, a single-suspension bridge over the falls.
Then, stroll the downtown area or take a popular guided segway tour, dipping into our favorite bookstore, M. Judson Booksellers. Downtown Greenville is filled with boutique shops for clothes and candles, ice cream cafes, and more.
For Culture & Fun: Festival, Concert, or Theater
Having lived near Hartford, CT (NYC and Boston are right there), Jakarta, Indonesia, and the Tampa/Orlando, Florida areas, I’ve been spoiled with terrific theater and concerts.
Greenville is truly a happening city for music and theater lovers. Be sure to see what band (or event) is coming to the Bon Secours. Watch an off-Broadway play at the Peace Center. Or, attend a popular festival like Fall for Greenville. We include annual Greenville events on our Asheville/Nearby Areas events calendar.
Day 3: Before You Go
No Greenville weekend itinerary is complete without brunch and a little nearby exploration on your way out. While Greer, SC and Hendersonville/Flat Rock, NC are fairly close, Travelers Rest is a hidden gem. But first, brunch!
Sunday Brunch
Whether you are looking for a quick and cheap meal on the run or a nice brunch out, Greenville has quite a few places to grab breakfast and brunch. If you are staying at the Grand Bohemian, try their delicious restaurant overlooking the falls, Between the Trees (our food was delicious!).
Tupelo Honey and Biscuit Head are just as popular in Greenville as Asheville. Bonjour Main, Stax Omega Diner (live waitlist on their website), Roost, Southern Culture Kitchen & Bar, CAMP, and Soby’s are just a few more options. Like Asheville, we have a large Greenville restaurant bucket list even though we’ve been in the area for almost 5 years.
Visit Travelers Rest
Travelers Rest is a small city about 20 minutes by car from Greenville. However, you can also access and easily explore the area from the Swamp Rabbit Trail; some establishments have bike racks.
With much smaller vibes, a few of our favorite stops in Travelers Rest include:
- Swamp Rabbit Brewery & Taproom
- As The Page Turns (my personal favorite used and new bookstore; I’ll drive the hour from Asheville just to donate our books and shop here)
- Farmhouse Tacos (margarita flight!)
Before You Go…
While we write from a local standpoint for our Asheville articles, we are 100% consistent visitors to the Upstate. We’d love to know your favorite way to spend a weekend in Greenville, from restaurants to bars and special events. We are always trying new places. Let us know in the comments!
More Helpful Posts For Your Greenville Itinerary
Christine Frascarelli
Christine (pronouns: she/her) is the owner and lead writer of Uncorked Asheville. After falling in love with those gorgeous Blue Ridge Mountains, Christine and her husband Tom decided to call Asheville, North Carolina home. When her pointy Italian nose isn’t stuck in a book, Christine is adopting all of the kitties, getting lost in the forest, and drinking an ESB. She has a BA in English and History from Smith College, her MLIS from USF-Tampa, and is a former U.S. Fulbright Scholar - Indonesia. Christine also owns The Uncorked Librarian LLC with books and movies to inspire travel.
Great insights into Greenville! For music fans be sure to checkout the Chicora Alley Sun afternoon Jazz jams, Wed night live jazz at Blues Alley, and in Traveler’s Rest, Thurs night live jazz at Topsoil (just nominated for a James Beard award!). Thanks!
These are terrific suggestions, Adam. Thanks so much! We’ve been eyeing Chicora Alley every time we drive by and have heard great things. We will have to stop in very soon. Our readers will especially enjoy these music recs too.