Cape Town has made the Top 20 best cities in the world, beating out cities like New York, Melbourne and London! But what makes the Mother City so great?
Cape Town, South Africa (15 August 2022) – A global platform asked over 20,000 travellers from around the world to rank the best cities, and the Mother City came out tops!
Every year, Time Out quizzes thousands of city-dwellers worldwide about life in their hometown right now. They want to know about the restaurant scene and the bar circuit. The theatre and the art galleries. The nightlife and the dating apps. What the neighbours are like, and which neighbourhoods are actually cool. The idea is to create a global snapshot of city living and point people in the direction of the places locals are really raving about.
And now… the results of the Time Out Index 2022 are in!
“As ever, we’ve crunched all that data and used it to come up with our annual ranking of the world’s greatest cities. For the past two years, the list has focused on how cities pulled together through the pandemic and made life (just about) tolerable during lockdowns. But now, after two years of travel curbs, the world is opening up again, and we – like you – are itching to get back out there.”
“So while things like community spirit and resilience were two of the most important factors last year, in 2022, we’ve added extra weight to the things that make cities great places to visit as well as to live. Our top cities this year are the ones with a thriving nightlife, amazing food and drink, and art, culture and museums galore. We’ve highlighted places that aren’t boring or overly expensive, or overrated, and we’ve ensured that our top picks also score well for practical stuff like walkability, good public transport and safety, as well as sustainability.”
And Cape Town has made the Top 20, beating out cities like New York, Melbourne and London! But what makes Cape Town so great?
Well according to Time Out, good food, culture, mountains, beaches, nightlife – you can do it all in Cape Town. Few cities are better for outdoorsy types, what with all the excellent swimming spots, from Clifton and Camps Bay on the Atlantic side to Muizenberg and Simon’s Town on the Indian. Not to mention all the hiking opportunities offered up by the likes of Newlands Forest, Cecilia Forest and Kirstenbosch Garden (93 percent of locals described their city as beautiful, the second highest in the world, and for good reason). Head back into town, order a boerewors (hot dog) roll, and you’ll basically be in heaven.
“Cape Town nurtures theatre-making, and it shows. The city is known for its dance and experimental works – hit up the Baxter Theatre or Artscape.”
“The big numbers: Eighty-seven percent of those polled in Cape Town said it was easy to relax – more than anywhere else in the world. Meanwhile, 93 percent said they rated the city highly for the variety of things to do.” —Yazeed Kamaldien
But this is not the first time the Mother City has been voted as “one of the best cities” in the world. In 2019, the Telegraph voted Cape Town as THE BEST CITY in the world… a title that the city had held onto for seven years! And in 2021, the city was voted as BEST IN AFRICA!
Good things for a good city!
Here is the Top 20 list for this year’s Time Out Index (fro 2022):
20. New York – USA
19. Lyon – France
18. Porto – Portugal
17. London – UK
16. Taipei – Taiwan
15. Melbourne – Australia
14. Mumbai – India
13. Manchester – UK
12. Madrid – Spain
11. Cape Town – South Africa
10. Copenhagen – Denmark
9. Montreal – Canada
8. Berlin – Germany
7. Marrakech – Morocco
6. Prague – the Czech Republic
5. Amsterdam – Netherlands
4. Glasgow – Scotland
3. Medellín – Columbia
2. Chicago – USA
1. Edinburgh – Scotland