This Report Ranks Onikan, Lagos 3rd Coolest Neighbourhood in the World

The historic Onikan, Lagos State has been ranked as the third among the world’s 50 coolest neighbourhoods by Time Out, a publication of CNN Travel.

Time Out described coolest neighbourhoods as places to spend a vacation, famous attractions or gorgeous natural wonders.

Time Out stated that Onikan was chosen as a result of being home to artists, writers, designers and Nollywood actors. The report stated:

But if you really want to get to know a city like a local, your best bet is to look for the neighbourhoods where they hang out, where the most interesting new restaurants, art galleries and coffee shops emerge.

You might spot some of them hanging out in cool Onikan, where past, present and future collide effortlessly.

Time Out had this to say about Onikan, Lagos.

Past, present and future collide effortlessly in Lagos’s historic district of Onikan. A cool wind blows through the private green spaces of its military barracks and its narrow streets, which represent an architectural catalogue of the city’s history: the colonial houses of the pre-independence era, the boom of the ’70s and today’s Western-style steel and mortar structures. The landscape is still changing: larger buildings are sprouting upwards, including a football stadium and multi-storey car park, even as creatives flock to the area in search of authentic surroundings. We know the story of rapid urbanization when we see it, but Onikan is weirdly different: the energy of this place is built on a cycle whose bedrock is community, constantly regenerating itself.

Check out the complete list below:

1. Arroios, Lisbon

2. Shimokitazawa, Tokyo

3. Onikan, Lagos

4. Wedding, Berlin

5. Historic Filipinotown, Los Angeles

6. The Waterfront, Hobart

7. Strasbourg-Saint-Denis, Paris

8. Astoria, New York

9. Embajadores, Madrid

10. Pilsen, Chicago

11. Peckham, London

12. Soi Pridi Banomyong/Phra Khanong, Bangkok

13. Footscray, Melbourne

14. Zhongshan, Taipei

15. Kerem Hatelmanim and Shuk HaCarmel, Tel Aviv

16. Kypseli, Athens

17. Jalatlaco, Oaxaca

18. District 3, Ho Chi Minh City

19. Juárez, Mexico City

20. Poblenou, Barcelona

21. Jamestown, Accra

22. Verdun, Montreal

23. Overseas Chinese Town, Shenzhen

24. Holly, Austin

25. Bom Retiro, São Paulo

26. Katendrecht, Rotterdam

27. Ancoats, Manchester

28. Corktown, Detroit

29. Gemmayzeh and Mar Mikhaël, Beirut

30. Barranco, Lima

31. Dogpatch, San Francisco

32. Vesterbro, Copenhagen

33. Naeja-dong, Seoul

34. Yppenplatz and Brunnenmarkt, Vienna

35. Easton, Bristol

36. The Junction, Toronto

37. Kadıköy-Moda, Istanbul

38. Kelvinbridge, Glasgow

39. Oltrarno, Florence

40. Old Havana, Havana

41. Melville, Johannesburg

42. Stoneybatter, Dublin

43. Bartók, Budapest

44. Downtown, Miami

45. Tanjong Pagar, Singapore

46. Nové Město, Prague

47. Bandra West, Mumbai

48. Sai Ying Pun, Hong Kong

49. Old Xuhui, Shanghai

50. Dorćol, Belgrade

Photo Credit: CNN Travel