Tokyo is one of the world’s top 10 most visited cities, and for good reason — there is an endless list of things to do. But with all the visitors in the world trying to go to the same 20 places, things get booked out far ahead of time. So I’ve compiled a list to help make booking popular destinations for your trip a little bit easier.

Located on the top floor of the Palais de Chine hotel, near Taipei’s Main Station, Le Palais was Taiwan’s only only three-star Michelin restaurant for five consecutive years. Despite hoping the restaurant would live up to the hype given that it’s run by a Hongkonger (aka, my people), it only lived up to three-star standards in price, not in flavor or creativity.

The most anticipated restaurant opening in Taipei in 2023, Chef Alain Huang’s Restaurant A opened late last year and serves fine-dining French food made with Asian techniques and influences.

COAST is a modern restaurant in Taipei, combining Southeast Asian flavor with Taiwanese ingredients. Coast is part of MMHG (MUME Hospitality Group), a group led by Michelin-starred chef Richie Lin that is quickly becoming a favorite in Taiwan. We enjoyed our experience at Michelin-starred Mume last April, and M (wisely) surprised me with a dinner at Coast for Valentine’s.

Amboise was such a cute town, and the food was amazing. In the center of town is Château Royal d’Amboise, which you should definitely make a stop at.

When you think of fairytale castles, Chateau de Chambord is the picture-perfect embodiment of that dream. The largest and most majestic of the castles on the Loire, this should definitely be on your itinerary if you’re in the area.