Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel is produced annually as a guide to the top destinations, trends and experiences for the upcoming year. The cities in this category for 2014 include Paris, France; Trinidad, Cuba; Cape Town, South Africa; Riga, Latvia; Zurich, Switzerland; Shanghai, China; Vancouver, Canada; Chicago, USA; Adelaide, Australia and Auckland, New Zealand in that order. The Mother City has seen a flurry of accolades this October. In addition to the Lonely Planet win, the city took first place in the category Top 10 Cities in Africa and the Middle East and was ranked eleventh in the Top 25 Cities in the World by Condé Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice Awards. The World Travel Awards also placed Cape Town top of the pile as Africa’s Leading Destination and also as Africa’s Leading Meetings and Conference Destination. Cape Town’s place on Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel 2014 Top 10 Cities list is largely due to its status as World Design Capital 2014.The international travel guide writes; “Expect sculpture-lined green spaces, sustainable projects that are more than just a pretty face, and further regeneration of former industrial districts.” Lonely Planet says that the reasons for selecting certain destinations vary—it could be that there is something special going on that year or that it’s an up-and-coming destination that travellers should visit before the crowds do. They continue to say that 2014 “marks the twentieth anniversary of South African democracy – honour it by exploring the city’s history”. CEO of Cape Town Tourism, Enver Duminy, concludes; “This month we’ve seen Cape Town win three separate awards and what a coup they are. From top city in Africa to third top city in the World, Cape Town has plenty to celebrate in 2014.” For a full list of Lonely Planet frontrunners, click here