☰Lagos Island

Lagos Island is the original heart of the city — the place the Portuguese named Lagos (lakes) in the 15th century, and where the British set up the colonial government in the 19th. It still functions as the dense commercial and administrative core of the metropolis. Today it is a hot, noisy, hustling few square kilometres of markets (Balogun, Idumota, Jankara), mosques, churches, the National Museum, Tinubu Square, Freedom Park, and the long colonial-era waterfront of the Marina. Most visitors do not stay here — but a half-day exploration with a knowledgeable guide is the best way to understand how Lagos became Lagos.