Cape Town ranked third best city on the planet

Posted by Taylah Strauss on 9 May 2022

In a survey conducted by The Daily Telegraph, Cape Town was ranked third best city on the planet, behind Barcelona and Sydney.

Cape Town

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.

Barcelona fared well on all factors, scoring 588 out of a possible 810 points, but was marked down due to its green-space ranking and its high population density, which is roughly about 10 times that of Cape Town.

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.

Cape Town is the only South African city on the list:

  1. Barcelona
  2. Sydney
  3. Cape Town
  4. Lisbon
  5. Venice
  6. Los Angeles
  7. Dubai
  8. London
  9. Vancouver
  10. Florence
  11. Stockholm
  12. Paris
  13. Seville
  14. San Francisco
  15. Melbourne
  16. Vienna
  17. Madrid
  18. Singapore
  19. Dubrovnik
  20. Beijing
  21. Tokyo
  22. Rome
  23. Berlin
  24. Dublin
  25. Istanbul
  26. Auckland
  27. Edinburgh
  28. Tel Aviv
  29. Havana
  30. Copenhagen
  31. New York City
  32. Rio de Janeiro
  33. Mexico City
  34. New Orleans
  35. Amsterdam
  36. Prague
  37. Bruges
  38. Toronto
  39. Buenos Aires
  40. Krakow
  41. Las Vegas
  42. Shanghai
  43. Hong Kong
  44. Budapest
  45. Chicago
  46. New Delhi
  47. Athens
  48. Bangkok
  49. Mumbai
  50. Marrakesh

Picture: Getaway Gallery

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