The Telegraph Ranks Cape Town the Third Greatest City on Earth

Come to Cape Town to find your freedom in the Third Greatest City on Earth! This is according to the Daily Telegraph’s survey, which assessed cities based on multiple metrics. The Mother City took a podium position primarily because of its sensational topography and geography. It was the only African city to make the list.

Cities were assessed based on the following aspects:

Population density in urban areas
Disabled accessibility
Homicide rates per the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
Annual hours of sunshine
Biggest park size
Age of oldest building
LGBTQ+ safety
Museums and galleries
Highest observation point – including natural vantage points
Five-star hotels
Michelin-starred restaurants
Distance between city centre and closest airport
Unesco World Heritage Sites
Clean air per Carbon Disclosure Project environmental performance index

Bonus points were given to cities with a beach, a bike or scooter-sharing scheme, a metro system with more than just buses and railways, a canal system, harbour or river and a symphony orchestra.

Alderman James Vos, Mayoral Committee Member for Economic Growth at the City of Cape Town says: “It’s accolades like this that really bring home just how special our city is! They firmly entrench what we all know: Cape Town is a best-in-class destination that offers unparalleled beauty, culture, and creativity. We’ve seen a positive increase in visitor recovery numbers – international and domestic arrivals – over the last few months. This positive news is the result of targeted and effective campaigns and strategies implemented by the City and Cape Town Tourism that capture the variety of our destination and we will continue working hard to ensure we reach greater heights. We’re sure this will be a wonderful catalyst to continue this trajectory.”

Enver Duminy, CEO of Cape Town Tourism confirmed that they have been working hard behind the scenes to make sure these numbers increase.

We’ve been working hard to play our part in this as well. Our recently launched Find Your Freedom Travel Experience is a choice-driven, immersive travel experience that lets visitors virtually explore Cape Town, their way. Players choose their persona – the Fearless Foodie, Nature Warrior or Urban Adventure – and are taken down a rabbit-hole of rapid videos showcasing the best Mother City offerings linked to their interests. We’ve seen a tremendously positive response to the experience so far, with many people going on to book their bucket-list trips through Expedia, which has a host of Find Your Freedom-linked deals.

We are extremely proud of yes another global accolade. To us, it’s the greatest city on earth and the perfect place to Find Your Freedom

Cape Town’s outstanding topography and geography made it stand out from other cities, but because of a high crime rate and poor safety record, it did not place higher on the list.