Cape Town- great beach city

[Diggerdog]

Cape Town unveiled as world's best destination

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Press Release Source: TripAdvisor On Tuesday May 3, 2011, 4:00 am EDT
LONDON, May 3, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- TripAdvisor(R), the world's largest travel site*, today unveils the winners of its 2011 Travellers' Choice Destination Awards, honouring the top destinations in the UK, Europe and the world. Unlike any other awards, TripAdvisor's Travellers' Choice awards are based on the experiences of millions of travellers from around the world.

It's good news for London as the capital prepares for the 2012 Olympics - travellers from across the globe have crowned it the UK's best destination. The English capital also placed well in the World and European categories - coming eighth and third respectively - but was nevertheless beaten by European rivals Paris and Rome.
Edinburgh and Bath placed second and third respectively in the UK category, while Cape Town took the top spot overall, followed by Sydney and Peru's Machu Picchu. Paris and Rome were winner and runner up in the European category.

"These awards honour the world's best destinations as decided by those judges that really matter - travellers themselves," commented Emma O'Boyle, TripAdvisor spokesperson. "Tourism is vital to the UK economy so it's encouraging to see London and Edinburgh both highly recognised as Europe's best destinations."
London shines in Olympic lead up

With just 14 months to go, the capital appears on course for a successful London 2012. News of London being voted the UK's number one, Europe's third and the world's eighth best destination according to millions of travellers is sure to be welcomed.
"This is especially meaningful as so much time and effort has gone into preparing the city for London 2012 and hopefully we'll sneak ahead of Paris and Rome before the games kick off," continued TripAdvisor's Emma O'Boyle.



Top marks for Cape Town


South Africa's tourism hot spot, Cape Town, has won the accolade of world's best destination, followed by Sydney and Machu Picchu in Peru.



"Cape Town is clearly the destination to beat," commented Emma O'Boyle, TripAdvisor spokesperson. "With beautiful scenery, great wine and gorgeous weather, it's easy to see why Cape Town, which also played host to last year's World Cup, has topped this year's list."

These were the top world destinations:

1. Cape Town

2. Sydney

3. Machu Picchu, Peru

4. Paris

5. Rio de Janeiro

6. New York City

7. Rome

8. London

9. Barcelona

10.Hong Kong

For the complete 2011 Travellers' Choice Destinations list, go to: http://www.tripadvisor.uk/TCDestinations (please note this link will not be live until Tuesday 2nd May)



Notes to Editors



TripAdvisor Travellers' Choice Destination award winners were determined based on travellers' favourite and most visited destinations, as pinned on travel maps found on TripAdvisor and on TripAdvisor's Facebook app "Cities I've Visited".


About TripAdvisor



TripAdvisor(R) is the world's largest travel site, enabling travellers to plan and have the perfect trip. TripAdvisor offers trusted advice from real travellers and a wide variety of travel choices and planning features (including Flights search, TripAdvisor Mobile and TripAdvisor Trip Friends) with seamless links to booking tools.



TripAdvisor(R) Media Group, operated by TripAdvisor LLC, attracts more than 50 million unique monthly visitors* across 18 popular travel brands**. TripAdvisor-branded sites make up the largest travel community in the world, with more than 40 million unique monthly visitors***, 20 million members, and over 45 million reviews and opinions. The sites operate in 29 countries worldwide****, including China under daodao.com. TripAdvisor also operates TripAdvisor for Business, a dedicated division that provides the tourism industry access to TripAdvisor's millions of monthly visitors. The division includes Business Listings, which allows hoteliers to connect directly to millions of researching travellers, and Vacation Rentals, which helps property managers and individual home owners list their properties and showcase hotel alternatives.

[briker]

Tourists tripping on Cape Town
May 4 2011

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REUTERS

Cape Town has come out tops against cities like London, Sydney and New York in this year’s TripAdvisor Traveller’s Choice Destination Awards.

TripAdvisor is the world’s largest travel site, and the awards are based on millions of opinions posted by TripAdvisor travellers.

Leading the pack of top 10 cities, Cape Town also beat Paris, Barcelona, Rio de Janeiro and Rome. In addition, Blackheath Lodge and Derwent House Boutique Hotel, both in Cape Town, were ranked 7th and 8th respectively in the “Top 10 Hotels for Service” category.

Cape Town attractions cited favourably included Table Mountain, Robben Island, Boulder’s Beach and the Bo-Kaap.

Walks on Table Mountain were listed as the top attraction.


Western Cape Tourism MEC Alan Winde said he was delighted. “To be ranked first out of all the cities in the world… speaks volumes. (This) will most certainly boost our tourism industry.”

[nelly_the_elephant]

To everybody,

I would seriously appreciate if you stopped raving about Cape Town. It is by far my favourite city worldwide (competitors: NYC, London, Sydney, Barcelona, Chicago, Rome and Vancouver) but I wo'nt be able to visit for the next two years. Makes me sad and this topic is ONLY MAKING IT WORSE!!!

[briker]

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[goschio]

Yes, cant' believe Barcelona is best beach city worldwide. The beaches are actually pretty average to say it in a nice way. Alone in Australia I can count 5 cities with better beaches than Barcelona.

[briker]

Can't agree more, spanish beaches are nothing to write about, but a combination of factors are taken into account. Barcelona has a great architecture, history, attractions and legendary nightlife.

[briker]

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[Diggerdog]

Yes, its not just the quality of the sand or whatever. There are plainly more gorgeous beaches in, lets say, Tahiti, than in Barcelona.
But remember, this is best beach CITY! So the award is more for the city itself, what it offers in conjunction with its beach lifestyle.
In Barcelona, you can walk out of your office onto the beach, and sit right at the waters edge with some calmar and a beer!
Now, I know you can't do that anywhere in Oz!

[Dimethyltryptamine]

you can't do that in Oz? I'll remember that when I do it tomorrow...

[briker]

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[Diggerdog]

You are not allowed restaurants on the sand of beaches in oz - at least, I never saw one. They all seem to be behind a road or something. I could be mistaken.

Anyway, I was talking about the culture and the way the beach is more integrated into the city in Barcelona.

Cool photo's Briker - Cape Town rocks!

[mj12pude]

I want to move to Cape Town sooo badly!! I've been wanting to go there now for the past four and a half years.

[Diggerdog]

mj12pude - here is an extract from www.expatcapetown.com - there are plenty of American expats here as well, so you wouldn't be alone from the states!

Expat Communities in Cape Town
There are many expat communities from all over the world in vibrant Cape Town.

Immigrants and expatriates from every corner of the world are living peacefully together with the South African citizens.

The expatriates I will refer to in my website do come here for job assignments from many European, American and Asian countries.

You will meet many expatriates in South Africa and the support in the communities usually is high, even if they might seem to be small by numbers. With their clubs and associations they provide important links to the expatriate's home country, culture and customs.

Here you will find info on the biggest expat communities living in the Mother City, their associations and clubs.





Major nationality groups in Cape Town South Africa?
British expats
The expatriates living in South Africa mainly come from the UK and South Africa counts up to 600,000 UK passport holders. This is no wonder as the British have close ties with South Africa historically being the first immigrants to the country with the Dutch.
The first British landed in Cape Town in 1795 and so the British lifestyle and customs influence still widely today’s living in the Mother City.

The British nationals surely also form the biggest contingent of expatriates in Cape Town. Therefore you find many English products in the local supermarkets and not only the British enjoy marvelous tea time at the Mount Nelson Hotel.

English is the main business language in Cape Town and many independent schools even offer teaching according to the UK curriculum.



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Germans, Austrians and Swiss community
Then there are the Germans: around 100,000 of them are living in the Cape Peninsula.
The numbers are even higher in the South African summer due to the many German pensioners coming down south to flee the cold weather in German winter.

There is a German school (DSK) in Cape Town with 750 students which celebrates 125 years of education in South Africa this year.

You will be able to find German bakeries and butcheries in Cape Town and German church communities.

If you want to learn more about the German language and culture you can contact the Goethe-Institut Cape Town and the German-South African Cultural Association SAGAA to find out more and get in depth info for this community.

There are close ties between Cape Town and the German city of Aachen, as they established a city partnership in the year 2000.

Swiss and Austrian nationals also build their own communities and have their own association with meetings in the Club House of the Swiss Social & Sports Club in Greenpoint.

The Swiss Club with around 300 members offers many activities for its members and organizes many events throughout the year.






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French expatriates
The French who are a another big group in the Cape population can look back on a long history in the Cape.
In the early settlement of the Cape when 200 French Huguenot families moved to the Southern tip of Africa they mainly settled in the Franschoek (French corner) area.

Nowadays you can meet many French expats also in the Mother City. The French have their own school: French School François le Vaillant in Cape Town since 1985 and offer bilingual education to 140 kids.

There is a French Cultural Insitute in Cape Town, the Alliance Française and the French Institute of South Africa (main office of the IFAS located in Newtown near Johannesburg) organize many cultural events.

And for your interest, Nizza is also one of the twin cities of Cape Town.



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Dutch people, Flemish expats and Belgians
And there are as well as many Dutch Flemish expatriates from the Netherlands and Belgium who usually are quick to acculturate because their Flemish language is very similar to Afrikaans, one of local languages.
See also the website www.Belgium-SA.com for info about Belgians in Cape Town.






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American expats
There are also around 5,000 Americans living in the consular district of Cape Town, mainly in the Southern Suburbs of the city as the International American School has got a primary and high school in Constantia and the American Consulate is also located in the area.



Read my Interview with an American Expat here.

You can also contact the American Society of South Africa if you look for more info about their association.





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Italian and Portuguese expatriates
About 60,000 Italians are there in South Africa and many of them are living and working in the Mother City. And they also have got their own Italian Club in Rugby/Cape Town.
In 2007 the Giovani Italo-Sudafricani, GIS, launched in Cape Town. This social club for 18-45year olds is staging regular events for the Italian community and interested South Africans.


More about the Italians in Cape Town


In Rugby, near Milnerton, the Portuguese expat communities meet as well. Find info through the Portuguese Association of the Cape of Good Hope. There are around 300,000 Portuguese living in South Africa.



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The Irish in Cape Town
Also quite a few people of Irish descent are living in Cape Town and are said to build the fifth largest group of Irish people worldwide outside of Ireland.
There is an Irish expat association in Cape Town, the ISAA-Irish South African Association which seems to be quite active and arranges various functions throughout the year with a big St. Patrick’s Day Dinner and dance as an annual highlight.

More about the Irish in Cape Town



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Jewish expats
Cape Town has a large Jewish Center and a population of 16,000 Jews.
The Jews were among the first settlers to the Cape, but only after Religious Freedom was granted in the Cape colony, they founded their first Hebrew congregation on South African soil in 1841.

Please find info on their many communities, schools, associations and organizations in Cape Town under: Jewish Web South Africa or www.jewishvirtuallibrary.co.za, where you can find Cape Town shopping tips as well.

Haifa is another one of Cape Town’s twin cities.



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Russian expat community
The Russian expat community also is growing in the recent years and many other nationals from Eastern Europe such as Bulgarians and Polish are coming to live and work in Cape Town.





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Asians in Cape Town
There are growing numbers of Chinese expats and also the Indian expat communities are increasing in numbers in South Africa.
The Chinese City of Hangzhou formed sistership relations with the City of Cape Town in 2005 and since 1998 the Shandong Province is a sister province to the Western Cape.

There are roughly 200 Japanese expatriates living in Cape Town. You will find the Cape Town Japanese Language School in Milnerton.

[Marsupalami]

FISH HOEK - Just an average Sea-Side suburb of Cape Town ... where I went to school. We used to have to run the 1km to the beach for Physical Education, and then paly rugby in the shalow surf before running back for the next period

image hosted on flickr

Fish Hoek HDR by ifijay, on Flickr

[arnau_Vic]

lol

lol

[Marsupalami]

Cape Town on a roll
2nd best beach city in the world - Trip Advisor 2010
#1 destination in the world - Trip Advisor 2011

image hosted on flickr

Longbeach by Stanleyace, on Flickr

[Diggerdog]

Not just Cape Town - but CT certainly helped South Africa get voted BEST COUNTRY in the world by UK Telegraph/Ultra travel.

Awesome news for SA...


Ultratravel 100: the favourite destination
Lisa Grainger analyses the attributes that led South Africa to win the ULTRA for the best holiday destination in 2011.


South Africa may be on the other side of the world from Britain, an 11-hour flight away at the southern tip of the African continent – and it may not be quite as enticingly cheap for Britons as it was (the pound now buys just 11 rand, and hotel prices are a good deal higher than they were before the Football World Cup).

But the Rainbow Nation has still been voted by readers as their favourite destination – and for good reason. The country has landscapes of breathtaking beauty: raw, diverse and in the main unspoilt.

Along the coasts, some of the world's largest sand dunes roll in from seas teeming with marine life (it is off KwaZulu Natal's beaches that flocks of birds gather for their annual feast during the great sardine run, and whales migrate to give birth in sheltered coves).

Mountain ranges thick with ancient trees are crisscrossed with waterfalls and rivers made for swimming. Game reserves as big as Wales – all baobabs, rolling grasslands and kopjies indented with rock caves decorated with ancient San art – protect the Plant Five, the Little Five and the Big Five. It's not unknown to see lion, leopard, buffalo, elephant and rhino in one day, alongside leopard orchids, buffalo weavers, elephant grass and rhino beetles.

And the country is not just for nature-lovers, either. From the winelands in the south to the deserts bordering Namibia, there is plenty of variety to keep most holidaymakers happy: child-friendly museums, cutting-edge hotels and 17th-century Cape Dutch b&b homesteads, gourmet restaurants, game lodges housing local art, and diversions ranging from shark diving and bungee-jumping to African herbal spas.

Best thing of all? It is all reassuringly familiar, despite being on a different continent. The people of South Africa not only speak the same language as we do (in addition to 10 others) and drive on the same side of the road, but, after years of isolation during the era of apartheid, relish overseas visitors. In this relatively new tourist destination, even the passport officers welcome new arrivals with a smile.

As a finalist for this award, South Africa had plenty of competition: Dubai, with its five-star hotels; the Maldives, with its idyllic island life; Australia, with its open bush, wine and fine tucker; and Italy, with its historical and cultural allure. Having won, the Rainbow Nation should dust off its vuvuzelas. In spite of its troubles, it is now among the winners of an Ultra – an achievement that really is worth trumpeting about.
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[alexandru.mircea]

Those beaches look astonishingly beautiful, but slightly chilly - I'd be won over if there were tons of people sunbathing on the beach and swimming, but none of the pictures show something like that. I like my beaches sunny and the water warm.

[briker]

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[Diggerdog]

Those beaches look warm enough to me! Beautiful photos, beautiful city.