Cafe culture is strong in Savannah. With dozens of coffee shops and casual spots to grab a bite, it’s easy to forget about the city’s spectacular dining scene. Both are worth checking out, but if you’re grabbing a coffee, it makes sense to add a little book browsing while you’re at it! Aside from our top cafes and coffee shops to visit in Savannah, we’re also spotlighting three bookstores that are not to be missed. We hope you left some space in your luggage because it’ll be impossible not to leave with a new book or two. 

Savannah is known for many things, but the dining scene deserves more recognition. With farm-to-table concepts,  elevated low-country cuisine, and Australian-owned hotspots, Savannah has a diverse culinary scene with James Beard Award-Winning chefs and kitchens using recipes passed down from generations of grandmothers. From Asian fusion to traditional Southern comfort food, there’s something for everyone, no matter how adventurous (or not) they are dining out. We wish we had more time to dig into Savannah’s culinary scene, but until then, here is a short list of our top places to eat in Savannah.

One of the things to look forward to the most with a new year is all the new trips there are to plan. Twelve months are a blank canvas to fill with destinations, escapes, cultural immersion, and memories. Whether you prefer to go on grand adventures scaling mountains and reaching high peaks or cozy, slow travel leisurely walking down old, historic cobblestone streets, dipping in and out of bookstores and cafes while getting to know the local people, a new year is a new opportunity to fill as many moments as possible with curiosity and enriching experiences. We'd love to take off for hundreds of places in the world, but these eight are currently at the top of our minds.

What’s more magical than visiting a destination that feels like a real-life fairytale? Europe has many towns just like this, but Amboise, France, looks as if it has stepped out of Beauty and the Beast. Amboise is a small medieval town in the Loire Valley, about 140 miles outside Paris. It served as the final home of Leonardo da Vinci and features the famous Château Royal d’Amboise. The people are friendly, the food is outstanding, and if the walls could talk, we’d hear intimate conversations between da Vinci and King Francis I. 

There are cities filled with so much history that they might as well be walking time machines, like Boston. Other cities, like Washington D.C., certainly have history but memorialize it more than anything. In fact, the nation’s capitol has over 160 memorials. So, while Boston has the past oozing out of every brick and cobblestone, D.C. is more of a testament to days gone by. That’s not to say D.C. doesn’t have sites with historical impact. Most cities have stories to be told if you know where to look, and in the Capitol, that’s in old, iconic buildings. 

Visiting Paris for the first time is exhilarating. There’s so much to do that it’s easy to overestimate how much time you have to explore. The first thing to remember is to be realistic while planning. For example, the Louvre is enormous. If you think you’ll cover it in a day, think again because not even a week is enough time to see everything. Second, manage your expectations. Most people don’t realize the Mona Lisa is about the size of a large textbook rather than a giant canvas. Just like any other city, do some research before leaving. While spontaneity makes for grand adventures, having a reasonably sketched-out plan never hurts, especially if you have a laundry list of things you want to fit in and a budget to keep to.

Savannah is a bucket list item for many. People are drawn to the haunting yet enchanting beauty of the Spanish moss, the abundance of ghost stories, and the celebratory atmosphere of River Street. As one of the oldest cities in the United States, Savannah’s roots run deep, and it has seen every significant milestone in the country’s history since the Revolutionary War. Named one of the “friendliest cities in the US” by CondeNast Traveler, it’s no surprise people are drawn to this Southern beauty and continue to return year after year. 

Any history lovers out there? Boston is your city. It has buildings that date back to pre-revolutionary times and many of them have seen some pretty incredible moments in history. Most of these locations can be found on the Freedom Trail, but we’ve highlighted a few that are notable on their own. Boston is full of incredible history and historical sites so please do not stop at this list while you’re planning a visit. There’s so much it’s impossible to include everything in one go.