Nigeria doesn't show up on many "top Africa destinations" lists, which undersells a country with Africa's largest city by population, a music and film industry with genuine global reach, and a depth of culture and history that rewards travelers who go past the usual circuit. Lagos is the obvious starting point — Lekki and Victoria Island for a coastal city break, with Badagry's slave-trade history a short drive away.
Further afield, Calabar's Cross River National Park holds one of the world's rarest gorilla populations, and Abuja and Ibadan add a different, calmer pace to a trip built around more than one city. It's a country that rewards planning with a local expert over a fully independent first visit.
