Connecting African Culture Through the Seas
The Amazing Journey of Bill Pinkney Imagine leaving your life and the familiar touch of soil beneath your feet to sail across treacherous seas around the globe with only a …
Lagos is the frenetic, dynamic heart of Nigeria and its largest city, with over 20 million people. As the economic powerhouse of both the country and west Africa, Lagos is a place where international business travelers come to wheel, deal and make dollars. Few leisure tourists go there, but that’s slowly changing as Nigeria increasingly markets itself as a leisure tourism destination. Since the city caters more to the business traveler than the leisure traveler the hotels are on the pricey side, though a few budget options can be found too.
Probably the most famous area of Lagos, Victoria Island is the city’s upscale hub for shopping, beaches and international-caliber hotels, restaurants, and bars. Most tourists end up staying here, but other neighborhoods get their fair share of tourist love, from the up-and-coming Lekki, to the swank Ikoyi and bustling Ikeja. Just don’t expect to get from one neighborhood to the next quickly – the traffic in Lagos is legendary, though there are ways to manage it, and your sanity.
There’s not a ton of tourist attractions in the city besides the National Museum of Nigeria, the Remembrance Arcade, and Lekki market, the perfect place to find authentic African souvenirs. But there’s plenty of dining and the city offers a wide range of high-end restaurants, as well as street stalls that offer up tasty treats like kilishi and suya. Lagosians do like their beaches, and on any given day or night throngs of people can be found sunning and strutting at Bar Beach, Tarkwa Bay, Elegushi, and Eleko. If you’re a music lover, make a pilgrimage to the New Afrika Shrine, which was made famous by the late Fela Kuti and where every Sunday night fans of Afrobeat congregate.
If you find the city a bit too hot and hectic, there are several places you can escape to just outside of Lagos. The Lekki Conservation Centre is a great place to see crocodiles, duikers and birds, and Badagry is a must for history buffs, as it’s one of the largest former slave-trading ports in west Africa and the site of numerous museums and monuments.
SAFETY: While many parts of Lagos are safe, plenty of areas aren’t. It’s good advice to stay near the tourist areas and hotels and not to wander around too much after dark by yourself, though these considerations are similar for most cities in sub-Saharan Africa. Driving after dark should also be avoided due to police checkpoints and bribes.
The Amazing Journey of Bill Pinkney Imagine leaving your life and the familiar touch of soil beneath your feet to sail across treacherous seas around the globe with only a …