College of Charleston, Charleston, South Carolina, USA

The College of Charleston is located in downtown.  Many of the college buildings are beautiful old houses converted to college use. A plaque near the main quad says it is the oldest municipal college in America founded in 1770. It has an extraordinary location downtown just off the shopping/restaurant areas of King Street. What a great location for young minds to get a sample of an elegant, clean, sophisticated city as part of their education - probably pretty good for partying, too.

Bike racks are common around campus and I observed most bicycles to be single speed with fat tires - unlike the multi-speed trail and/or street bikes typical at less urban and hilly campuses up north. Guess that's an advantage of an almost table-flat city topography.

In addition to it's academic program, the college offers excellent sailing options at the Charleston Harbor Marina.