Cape Town ranked the 46th ‘most festive city’ in the world in 2019

Oh the weather outside is frightful, but it’s not snowing in the south-western tip of Africa. The wind’s howling and four seasons are constantly swapping places. So it’s no surprise then that Cape Town is this year ranked as the 46th “most festive” city in the world.

According to Big Seven Travel, the company that also named South Africa the fifth most Instagrammable country in the world earlier this year, Cape Town is the jolliest city in SA this time of year.

The decision is made based on a number of factors that doesn’t seem to include snow, the presence of reindeer or the smell of fruit cake wafting through the air.

Instead, rankings are based on things like “Christmas light displays, local traditions, Christmas markets and previous awards”.

As for other global cities, somehow, the North Pole (which Big Seven states is in Alaska) only ranks 24th. We’d imagine that would be the epicentre of festive cheer?

Australia’s Adelaide ranks 10th, while Manila, the capital of the Philippines, ranks fifth.

Only one other African city joins Cape Town on the list, and that’s Nigeria’s southern city of Calabar.

“The Calabar Carnival takes place each December when hundreds of eclectic figures take to the streets to dance, sing, and celebrate the year. The celebration begins on November 30th year and lasts the entire month of December,” writes Big Seven.

Have a look at the full list here.

Feature image: the Cape Wheel at the V&A Waterfront, Cape Town in 2011, by Derek Keats via Flickr (CC BY 2.0)