Cape Town, South Africa

Wanderlust readers are far from alone in admiring South Africa’s oldest city and joint capital. It regularly tops ‘best places to live’ polls, in part for its incredible setting flanked by wilderness, winelands, wildlife-rich seas, beaches and mountains. From the historic old core to chic Camps Bay beneath the Twelve Apostles, there’s no shortage of enticing districts.

It’s hard to begrudge Capetown its success either. During the pandemic it lost some £9.7 million daily in tourist income, yet seems to have revitalised rapidly, especially along the busy quaysides of the v&a waterfront. the city’s dining scene and wine scenes are also thriving – and no wonder: it’s surrounded by the six viticulture regions of the Western Cape, encompassing hundreds of wineries.

Between Table Mountain and the penguin-bustling sands of Boulders Beach, the mix of urban perks and doorstep wilderness makes Cape Town unlike anywhere else. But there’s history here, too: visit Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was incarcerated for 18 years, and the old rainbow-hued Cape Malay neighbourhood of Bo-kaap for reminders that there are more important stories here than just that of the city’s recent rejuvenation.

In silver place, Singapore has lately been at the vanguard of cities weaving greenery into its urban tapestry, from hotels overflowing with plant life to scattered fragments of preserved old-growth rainforest.

Taking bronze spot is the everpopular Tokyo, where palaces and traditional gardens stand serenely amid the hyper-hustle of one of the world’s most electrifying, intriguing and fast-changing megacities.