Property

Best city in South Africa revealed in new report

Staff Writer

 ·11 Nov 2025

Resonance Consultancy has revealed its annual list of the Top 100 cities in the World, and only Cape Town made the cut.

The annual World‘s Best Cities report, now in its eleventh year, used perception-based data from 21,000 global residents for its rankings.

The cities are ranked based on public perception, combined with a wide range of factors which affect residents.

These factors are selected based on their strong correlations with attracting the prime-age population, visitor expenditure, and business formation.

“For leaders shaping tomorrow’s urban landscape, the report offers more than rankings,” said Chris Fair, President and CEO of Resonance Consultancy.

“It provides strategic intelligence, risk assessment, and a roadmap to the cities and opportunities defining the next decade of global growth.”

This information helps leaders with capital allocation, location strategy, infrastructure development, and destination marketing.

“Our Best Cities ranking is lauded as the world’s most thorough and trusted,” Fair said in a press statement.

He added that it identifies cities that are most desirable for locals, visitors, and businesspeople alike.

London ranked as the world’s top city for the eleventh consecutive year, followed by New York and Paris.

The other cities in the Top 10 are Tokyo, Madrid, Singapore, Rome, Dubai, Berlin, and Barcelona.

The United States leads the world in the number of cities in the Top 100, with 19, followed by Germany with eight and China with seven.

Cape Town is the top city in South Africa

Cape Town is the only city in South Africa which ranked among the top 100 cities in the world in this report.

Resonance Consultancy stated that the city boasts numerous assets, including a new waterfront and urban development that showcases its growing wealth.

There has also been strong growth in Cape Town’s tourism sector, with visitor access to the city surging on all fronts.

The city closed its record 2024/25 cruise season with 83 ship calls and a 16% increase in passengers and crew.

Airlines are following suit, with Norse Atlantic extending its London–Cape Town season and scaling to up to six weekly flights at peak.

“Expect the city’s dismal airport ranking to improve in short order, especially as Cape Town International begins a multi-year runway and terminal expansion in 2026,” it said.

On the ground, the city is packaging new urban infill and burnishing a top 14 ranking for Nature and Parks.

A mixed-use project in Green Point began public consultation in 2025, situated steps from the Sea Point Promenade and DHL Stadium.

The Table Bay Hotel’s full refit relaunches as InterContinental Table Bay in December  2025, anchoring a broader push on the V&A Waterfront.

International brands, including Dolce & Gabbana, from the LVMH stable, and Gucci, will inhabit a new, dedicated luxury wing that’s three times as large as previously.

Resonance Consultancy stated that this was a reflection of the growing wealth in South Africa’s second-largest city.

Top 100 cities in the world

Cape Town photos