We haven’t sparked a Jo’burg v.s. Cape Town battle for a couple of weeks so we had been wondering how to poke the bear a little and get some conversation going. Then, this beauty of a research project popped up.

Times Live have reported that a recent survey conducted by CN Traveler magazine has ranked cities worldwide in terms of their friendliness. Now, before getting into their results, Capetonians are widely considered a pretty cliquey bunch, while Joburgers are often thought to be somewhat brash and aggressive. However, many South Africans will agree that Joburgers are not really unfriendly – particularly when compared to Capetonians… right?

Well not according to CN Traveler!

Here are the top 10 friendliest cities in the world, in order, as listed by CN Traveler:

1. TIE: Auckland, New Zealand; Melbourne, Australia
3. Victoria, British Columbia
4. Charleston, South Carolina
5. TIE: Dublin, Ireland; Sydney, Australia
7. Siem Reap, Cambodia
8. Cape Town, South Africa
9. TIE: Savannah, Georgia; Seville, Spain
11. TIE: Budapest, Hungary; Salzburg, Austria

Top 10 unfriendliest cities in the world:

1. Johannesburg, South Africa
2. Cannes, France
3. Moscow, Russia
4. Paris, France
5. Marseille, France
6. Beijing, China
7. Frankfurt, Germany
8. Milan, Italy
9. Monte Carlo, Monaco
10. Nassau, Bahamas

Just to be clear, here is what readers said about Jo’burg and why it scored the lowest on friendliness (remember this is the city rather than the actual people of the city):

Though Johannesburg is “one of the most beautiful cities in the world,” safety still remains a serious concern. “It is not safe to travel in Johannesburg independently,” one reader warned, while others called it “dangerous” and “a city of crime and contrasts.” In one instance, a visitor was “pressured to give a tip for personal service, which was not received.” Despite its iffy reputation, South Africa’s largest city remains a burgeoning cultural capital with a stunning urban landscape, “excellent breweries,” and “great shopping.”

There you have it. Click here for Cape Town’s review and browse through the rest of the top 10 on each list. you can also find the list at Time Lives.

Let the dog fight begin…