Cape Town crowned best city in the world for 2025 by Time Out

Cape Town has outshone Bangkok, New York and Melbourne in happiness, fine dining and breathtaking scenery to top the annual Best Cities in the World list released by Time Out on Wednesday.

Time Out is a “global brand that inspires and enables people to experience the best of the city”.

According to Time Out, Cape Town scored “highly across the board for its beauty, overall happiness and top-notch food scene”.

The Mother City, which is rich in history and culture, climbed one place since last year when it ranked second. Cape Town’s nightlife, "impeccable green spaces and access to nature", among other things, make the city a tourist magnet.

Andrew Hallett, Time Out South Africa content director and a Cape Town resident, congratulated the city.

“To be recognised as Time Out’s Best City in the World is a huge high five to Capetonians who work so hard to create a city which can be enjoyed by locals and visitors,” said Hallett.

“Cape Town provides not only an amazing playground for those looking for the best food, best sights, and best adventures, but it is also a city where the people are living their best lives and are happy to call it their home. If you’ve never been to Cape Town, do it. You won’t be disappointed.”

Hallett said in the seventh year of Time Out’s global survey, more than 18,500 people, including regular readers, shared their views on their cities.

“Questions covered everything from food, nightlife and culture to affordability, happiness and overall city vibe. A panel of more than 100 city experts drawn from Time Out’s global network was asked to name the most exciting cities in the world. Time Out combined all the data, a total of 44 different criteria, to rank the best cities in the world for 2025.”

Cape Town mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis said: “We are delighted with Cape Town’s first place on the prestigious Time Out Best Cities in the World’ list for 2025.

"While Cape Town often features at the top of global travel destination lists, this recognition is particularly meaningful as it is largely based on responses from residents of the city themselves. In addition to all the things that make Cape Town a must-visit tourism destination — our unmatched natural beauty, blue flag beaches, wonderful cuisine, nightlife and cultural diversity — it is the overall happiness of residents that perhaps means the most in this extensive survey.

“All our work is aimed at making Cape Town the best city in the world to live in, where people are able to build lives of value and where they have a real sense of ownership of their city. We could not be prouder that this came across so strongly in the responses of our residents.”

Grace Beard, travel editor at Time Out, said the annual Best Cities in the World list shows locals know best what makes a city great.

“Thousands of city dwellers worldwide responded to our survey this year, sharing their opinion on everything from nightlife and food to public transport, green spaces and friendliness. Their collective insights, coupled with the opinions and expertise of Time Out experts around the globe, allow us to create a definitive ranking of the best cities in the world,” she said.

“From affordability to access to nature, liveability was a key factor in our survey this year. This list not only showcases the world’s most exciting cities to visit in 2025, where world-class culture, great food and exciting nightlife can be found on every corner, but also reflects the places where locals feel most at home.”

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