'We’ll put up with the occasional discomfort' - Cape Town voted world's best city for a record 7th year
Tourists love Cape Town, so much so that they consider inconveniences like not being able to take a bath or the odd spat of load shedding well-worth the visit.
Some 39 000 readers of The Telegraph, Britain's national daily published in London, have voted the Mother City their favourite city in the world - for a record 7th consecutive year.
"We can reveal that the greatest city in the world is a coastal gem, lying in the shadow of a cloud-hugged mountain. Here wine flows, penguins waddle and – not too far away – majestic beasts roam," the publication describes Cape Town saying it is much like dating a Mercurial model, "We’ll put up with the occasional discomfort for the sheer joy of waking up with a real, natural beauty."
New entries included in the 2019 list of Best Cities were Kyoto, New Orleans and Havana, "all disrupting the rankings and entering the top 20". Perth also rose in popularity, as did Singapore and St Petersburg. See the full list here.
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When describing why Cape Town is the Best City in World, the Telegraph noted some of the Mother City's marked attractions that make it an ideal holiday destination:
Shopping and entertainment at the sprawling V&A Waterfront and Silo District.
Boulder’s Beach and its famous African Penguins.
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From Worcester to Franschhoek, wine-tasting across the splendid Winelands.
Can't forget iconic Cape Point.
Or our award winning Kirstenbosch Gardens.
The standout heritage of the Bo-Kaap.
And our World Travel Award winner for Africa's top natural wonder, Table Mountain.
"The original Khoi inhabitants named the iconic flat-topped massif 'Hoerikwaggo', Mountain of the Sea, and it is precisely this unique geography- towering mountains that drop, at times perpendicularly, into the vast blue- that is so seductive,’ says the Telegraph.
Cape Town also came in second on The Telegraph readers' Bucket List of must-see destinations, beaten only by New York.
Bring on Summer 2020 in Cape Town!
See the full Telegraph readers’ top 20 cities in the world:
1. Cape Town
2. Vancouver
3. Kyoto
4. Sydney
5. St Petersburg
6. Singapore
7. Venice
8. Luang Prabang
9. Seville
10. New Orleans
11. Havana
12. New York
13. Bagen
14. Florence
15. Istanbul
16. Rome
17. Dubrovnik
18. Tokyo
19. Krakow
20. Buenos Aires
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