Lifestyle

South African city named one of the most beautiful places in the world to stay

Staff Writer

 ·15 Aug 2026

Cape Town has been named as one of the most beautiful places in the world to stay, with the city renowned for its luxury architecture.

Research by British interior design company Sharps revealed that Cape Town had the eighth-best homes in the world for travellers.

The rankings are based on a list of homes across over 200 global tourist destinations, identifying which destinations offer the most luxurious, design-led homes for travellers.

Each location is then ranked according to the volume of available stays, the average nightly cost, and a reputation score.

All of these are then combined into a “Beautiful Base” Score, which serves as the basis for the rankings.

Cape Town scored an overall 96.2, with 122 luxury homes, an average nightly price of £1,109, and a 98 reputation score.

“Like many other luxury properties, Cape Town homes also heavily feature glass walls, which help to showcase the jaw-dropping views of the Atlantic and Table Mountain,” said Sharps.

“Built from natural, local sandstone and softened with indigenous plants brought indoors, expect a mix of African textiles and minimalist Scandinavian-style furniture.”

Overall, South Africa beats several major international locations, including Miami (93.3), Palm Springs (90.9), Ibiza (89.5) and Malibu (89).

Cape Town is well-regarded in several international competitions, having been named the best city in the world.

This includes topping the Time Out Best City in the World 2025 list. The city was also named the best city in the world by The Telegraph in 2025, which was the seventh time in a row.

On top of its pristine beaches and a relatively affordable lifestyle compared to its global peers, it was also named the 11th-best city in the world for food in 2026 by TimeOut.

The overall rankings

Bali took the top spot across the rankings, with a 100 beautiful base score. The island is known as the Island of the Gods, with tourism showing no signs of slowing down on the Indonesian island.

“Bali’s design philosophy is an example of something many of us are trying to achieve in our own homes, bringing the outside in,” said Natalie Prince, interiors expert at Sharps.

“The open-air concept of the homes, paired with natural materials and furniture that sit effortlessly against the landscape, is the key to creating the considered feel of the space.”

Paris was a close second (99.5), followed by the Yucca Valley/Joshua Tree in California (99).

Other popular tourist hotspots in the top 10 include London (96.7) and Los Cabos in Mexico (97.1)