Awards & Accolades

In Cape Town

Cape Town continues to shine on the global stage, earning numerous awards and accolades that highlight its unique charm, natural beauty, and vibrant culture.

From being named one of the world’s top travel destinations to winning accolades for its sustainable tourism efforts, Cape Town stands out for its commitment to excellence. Explore the awards that recognize the city’s stunning landscapes, world-class cuisine, and rich heritage, and see why Cape Town is celebrated as a must-visit destination year after year.

  • Best City in the World 2025 – Time Out Magazine
  • 2nd Best City in the World – Timeout Magazine, 2024 (Top 3: 1) New York, 2) Cape Town, 3) Berlin)
  • World’s Best Cities for Coffee – Food & Wine, 2024
  • Most Desirable City in the World – Wanderlust Reader Travel Awards, 2023
  • Best City in the World – UK Telegraph Travellers Award, 2023
  • 4th Best Large City in the World – Condé Nast Traveller Readers’ Choice Awards, 2023
  • 4th Best Large City and 7th Best City Overall – Condé Nast Reader’s Choice Awards, 2023
  • Best-value Long Haul Winter Sun Destination for British Holidaymakers – Post Office Travel Money, 2023
  • Africa’s Best City Brand – Brand Finance City Index, 2023
  • Africa’s Leading City Destination – World Travel Awards, 2023
  • Africa’s Leading Festival & Event Destination – World Travel Awards, 2023
  • Third Greatest City on Earth – Daily Telegraph, 2022
  • Most Promising Muslim-friendly City of the Year (Non-OIC) – Halal Travel Awards, 2022
  • 11th Best City in the World – TimeOut Index, 2022
  • Africa’s Leading City Destination – World Travel Awards, 2021–2023
  • Voted as the Best City in the World – Readers of the UK’s Telegraph newspaper for the seventh consecutive year in 2019
  • Ranked among the Top 15 Cities in the World for its Sense of Place – Resonance Consultancy’s 2019 List of the World’s Best Cities
  • Africa’s Leading Festivals and Events Destination – World Travel Awards for Africa & Indian Ocean, 2018 & 2020
  • City with the Greatest Potential for Growth – World Tourism Cities Federation (WTCF) Awards, 2018
  • One of the Top 10 Cities in the World for Travellers – Lonely Planet, 2017
  • Ranked among the World’s Top Tech Cities – Savills Tech Cities Report, 2017 and 2018
  • Ranked among the World’s Top Cities for FDI Strategy – 21st in the Global Cities of the Future Winners 2016/17 – FDI Intelligence, division of the Financial Times
  • Best Overseas City for Restaurants & Bars, as well as Second Best Overseas City in the World – Condé Nast Readers’ Travel Awards, 2016
  • Number 1 Food City in the World – Condé Nast’s Reader’s Choice Awards, 2016
  • Luxury City Destination of the Year – Luxury Travel Guide Africa & Middle East Awards, 2016
  • International Garden of the Year – Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden, voted by the Garden Tourism Network, 2015
  • One of the Top 10 Best Beach Cities in the World – National Geographic, 2015
  • Featured in CNN’s Top 10 Cities List – CNN, 2015
  • One of the Most Eco-Friendly Cities in the World – BBC Travel, 2014
  • One of the ‘25 Ultimate Fun Cities in the World’ – GetYourGuide & GoEuro Survey, 2014
  • World Design Capital 2014 – Cape Town, 2014
  • Top Spot on the Prestigious New York Times’ List of 52 Places to Visit in 2014 – Ahead of destinations such as Los Angeles, the Vatican, and the Seychelles
  • Top Holiday Destination – Britain’s The Guardian, 2014
  • One of the Top 25 Cities in the World – Condé Nast Traveller Readers’ Choice Awards, 2013
  • One of the Top African Cities in the Category Top 10 Cities in Africa and the Middle East – Condé Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice Awards, 2013
  • Fittest City in South Africa – Discovery Health’s Vitality Wellness Programme, 2013
  • Africa’s Leading Meetings & Conference Destination – World Travel Awards, 2013
  • Best International Destination of the Year and Best Luxury Travel Destination – Voyage and MICE China Magazine, 2013

Other accolades include being crowned the World Wide Fund for Nature’s Global Earth Hour City Capital in 2014 and being nominated for the 2014 Ultimate Sports City Award alongside cities like Berlin, Melbourne, Singapore and Sydney.

Visit

Cape Town offers an incredible variety of places to visit and things to do. From Blue Flag beaches to award-winning wine and everything in between. This beautiful city is nestled at the foothills of one of the New7Wonders of Nature, Table Mountain.

Study

Cape Town is Africa’s most desirable city for students. Now that you can study virtually from anywhere, why not do it from Cape Town with some of the most picturesque college campuses in South Africa.

Work

Cape Town is among the world’s top cities for remote working. The Mother City ranked 16th out of 75 cities in a recent study by global housing rental platform Nestpick. The index score was based on factors including cost of living, infrastructure, leisure activities, and overall liveability.

Live

Cape Town is a dynamic African city that offers many of the Frills of European living while still giving that truly African feeling, this city has a little something for everyone.

Invest

The world is moving to emerging markets, looking to grow into the future, and Cape Town is at the forefront of this movement. A stable and growing economy, the province was named the 8th strongest economy in the entire continent in 2016.

Play

Cape Town is an adventure seeker’s paradise. You could stay for weeks and still not tick off all the activities on offer. From paragliding to kayaking, kitesurfing and sand boarding, Cape town offers all the high speed thrills.