Things to do in Nigeria
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Bangkok Restaurant
With the best Thai food in Lagos, the Bangkok is a treat. The cooks and waitresses are all Thai, and offer you a broad menu of fragrantly spiced dishes. Portions are very generous, and if you can't finish your meal, they're used to sending people home with a doggie bag.
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Osun Sacred Forest
The Sacred Forest is a large area of rainforest on the outskirts of Oshogbo. Within the forest is the beautiful Shrine of Oshuno, the River Goddess. In addition to natural beauty, there are many stunning sculptures by Suzanne Wenger (known locally as Aduni Olosa, the 'Adored One'), an Austrian painter and sculptor who came here in the 1950s.
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Eleko Beach
The new favourite with fashionable Lagosians is Eleko Beach, a big 60km trip east of the city. You can rent a beach hut for the day here, and get someone to make a barbeque for you. There's also a small market selling interesting art. You'll need to hire a drop taxi to get there.
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Lekki Conservation Centre
Run by the Nigerian Conservation Foundation, this centre has a huge tract of wetlands set aside for wildlife viewing. Raised walkways enable you to see monkeys, crocodiles and various birds; early morning is the best time to visit. There is a conservation centre and a library.
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Nimbus
Part of the Nimbus art gallery, and cultivating the same slightly Bohemian air, this is a lovely place for a drink - mellow in the day and happening at night. At weekends there's usually live music, so there's a cover charge to get in.
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Sherlaton
Vegetarians suffer a lot in Nigeria, but this Indian restaurant really comes to the rescue. With tasty and filling portions at good prices, the Sherlaton is generally considered to be the city's best curry option.
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Double Four
Offering mainly Lebanese dishes, the menu at Double Four tries to throw everything into the mix - Nigerian, Continental, a bit of Indian - so if you're unsure where to dine, this might be the place. It seems to work, as the place is always packed.
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National Museum
The National Museum is definitely worth seeing, but note - no cameras are allowed. The star attractions are the brasses from Benin City, which get their own gallery. The Nok Terracottas are also well represented. Another gallery dedicated to traditional symbols of power contains carved ivory and a royal host of crowns. A less fortunate symbol of power is the bullet-riddled car in which Murtala Mohammed was assassinated in 1976. This museum also operates a nonprofit crafts centre, which stocks a good range of batik cloth, woodcarvings and textiles at fixed prices. There's a fine range of intricately decorated calabashes from across Nigeria.
The museum has a small crafts…
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Yankari National Park
Yankari is Nigeria's best park for observing wildlife. With a bit of luck you may come across buffaloes, waterbucks, bushbucks, hyenas, leopards, plenty of baboons and the odd lion. While the park's animal population has suffered from poaching it still has some big drawcards like the 500-strong population of elephants and the bird-watching is excellent.
The best time to see animals is from late December to late April, before the rains, when the thirsty animals congregate at the Gaji River. You're permitted to drive your own vehicle if you take a guide, otherwise the park has a safari truck that takes two hour tours.
Yankari's other great attraction is the incredibly…
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Tarkwa Beach
You'll need to travel slightly outside Lagos to reach the best beaches. Tarkwa Beach is popular, as there's no undertow and it's safe for swimming. There are sun lounges and umbrellas, and a few stalls selling suya and chop. It's accessible by launch from along Walter Carrington Crescent in VI. The price is negotiable. Make arrangements to be picked back up in the afternoon.
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Sungbo's Eredo
Sungbo's Eredo is Africa's largest construction, a 160km/99mi-long, 1050-year-old, 20m/65ft-high linear boundary rampart that once surrounded the ancient kingdom of Ijebu. Built over two centuries, it's now largely covered by rainforest. Use the guiding services of locals to explore it, and respect the shrines and other crumbling remnants.
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Sungbo's Eredo
Just one hour from Lagos, this ancient rampart is Africa's largest construction. It's 1050 years old, 160km (100mi) long, and 20m (66ft) high. It once surrounded the ancient kingdom of Ijebu. Built over two centuries, it's now largely covered by rainforest; use the guiding services of local farmers.
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Tafawa Balewa Square
Named for Nigeria's first prime minister, this is Lagos' commercial heart and has some remarkable monuments. They include statues of gargantuan horses, the Remembrance Arcade (with memorials to WWI, WWII and civil-war victims) and the 26-storey Independence House, built in 1963.
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National Theatre
The National Theatre is the huge round building you see on the drive in from the airport. It has galleries of modern Nigerian art, Nigerian crafts and other African arts. The best time to visit is between 10:00 and 15:00 Tuesday to Saturday, when all three galleries are open.
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Eko Hotel Gatehouse
There are some good crafts on offer at the Eko Hotel Gatehouse, including carvings, calabashes and some unfortunate animals' skins. For batiks, Njoku St on the western side of Falomo Shopping Centre in Ikoyi is good. They're sold on the street and the selection is extensive.
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Jankara Market
Jankara Market is the largest market in Lagos and sells everything from tie-dyed cloth, trade beads and jewellery to pirate cassettes, pottery and clothing. There is also a fetishes market where you can buy herbs, traditional medicines and juju potions and powders.
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Museum Kitchen
At the National Museum in Onikan you'll find the Musuem Kitchen, a good place to try traditional Nigerian cuisine. To the strains of local music, you can sample dishes like yam soup, pepper soup, fufu (fermented cassava), stockfish and snails.
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Olumo Rock
At Abeokuta, 70km north of Lagos, the sacred Olumo rock has commanding views of Lagos and the surrounding country. There are also caves and a shrine in the area, and at the market you can buy adire cloth and plenty of juju material.
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New Afrika Shrine
The spiritual home of Afrobeat, Fela Kuti's original Shrine was burned down, but this replacement is run by his son Femi, who plays on Fridays and Sundays when he's in town (cover charge payable). It's a huge shed, but the music blows the roof off.
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Ghana High Buka
Just outside the Ghanaian High Commission, this 'food-is-ready' place serves up great Nigerian dishes, such as egusi and iwesu, and as much pounded starch as you can eat. It's always busy and you'll likely come back for more.
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Ikoyi Hotel suya
Why make all the effort to get to this hotel just for suya? Well, Lagosians do, as it's the best in town and offers not just beef and goat, but chicken, liver and kidney, plus some great fiery pepe to spice it all up.
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Santa Fe
A splurge place by Ikoyi standards, Santa Fe sells Tex-Mex food and has décor that almost has you expecting a Nigerian John Wayne to walk in and slam his gun on the bar. The live band, sadly, doesn't play mariachi music.
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Pat's Place
Pat's is popular with expats, and serves excellent pizzas, hamburgers and British pub food like steak and kidney pie. It has a well-stocked selection of imported American and European beers, and occasional live bands.
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Ocean View
Almost on Bar Beach - the name is a bit of a misnomer really - this airy restaurant has lots of glass and a long bar kept cool under delicious air-con. The menu offers a mix of international dishes; steaks are good.
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