Luxury traveller magazine, Condé Nast Traveler, has released the results of its annual readers’ choice awards – revealing Cape Town as the best African city.
The annual list, which is now in its 26th year, compiles information on the best cities, hotels and global destination. This year, the magazine claims to have compiled the most comprehensive list, based on 1.3 million votes on 16,000 destination.
World’s best cities
According to the magazine, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico took the top spot as the best city in the world, followed by Budapest, Hungary, and Florence, Italy, which tied for second place.
Four of the top 25 cities listed can be found in Italy – aside from Florence (2nd), Rome (8th), Siena (9th) and Venice (24th) were also included.
Cape Town was voted 11th overall, tied with Bruges, in Belgium.
City scores are an average based on six categories, rated out of 100. These categories are:
- Culture
- Friendliness
- Atmosphere
- Restaurants
- Lodging
- Shopping
Top 25 Cities in the world
| # | City | Country | Score |
| 1 | San Miguel de Allende | Mexico | 84.6 |
| 2 | Budapest | Hungary | 83.8 |
| 2 | Florence | Italy | 83.8 |
| 4 | Salzburg | Austria | 83.3 |
| 5 | Charleston | USA | 83.2 |
| 5 | San Sebastián | Spain | 83.2 |
| 7 | Vienna | Austria | 83.1 |
| 8 | Rome | Italy | 83.0 |
| 9 | Siena | Italy | 82.9 |
| 10 | Québec City | Canada | 82.7 |
| 11 | Cape Town | South Africa | 82.3 |
| 11 | Bruges | Belgium | 82.3 |
| 13 | Vancouver | Canada | 82.2 |
| 14 | Kyoto | Japan | 81.6 |
| 15 | Prague | Czech Republic | 81.3 |
| 15 | Krakow | Poland | 81.3 |
| 17 | Victoria | Canada | 81.2 |
| 17 | Sydney | Australia | 81.2 |
| 17 | Santa Fe | New Mexico | 81.2 |
| 20 | Seville | Spain | 81.0 |
| 20 | Beirut | Lebanon | 81.0 |
| 22 | Paris | France | 80.8 |
| 22 | Melbourne | Australia | 80.8 |
| 24 | Venice | Italy | 80.5 |
| 24 | Barcelona | Spain | 80.5 |
Looking at Africa, Cape Town was the only African city to make it into the top 25 – making it the best city on the continent, according to Condé Nast.
Cape Town’s category scores are:
- Culture – 85.2
- Friendliness – 82.9
- Atmosphere – 86.8
- Restaurants – 83.4
- Lodging – 86.9
- Shopping – 67.9
Marrakech, Morocco was voted the second best city in Africa, tied with another Moroccon city, Fez.
Top 5 cities in Africa
| # | City | Country | Score |
| 1 | Cape Town | South Africa | 82.3 |
| 2 | Marrakech | Morocco | 68.6 |
| 2 | Fez | Morocco | 68.6 |
| 3 | Essaouira | Morocco | 67.2 |
| 4 | Luxor | Egypt | 65.7 |
In the “Top 100 Hotels and Resorts in the World” category, La Residence in South Africa took the top spot – tied with Lodge at Kauri Cliffs in Matauri Bay, New Zealand.
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