Colonial avenues, Bourdillon towers and Lagos' deepest roots
Price band
LGA
Distance to CBD
Distance to airport
Nearest major road
Area type
01
Overview
Old Ikoyi is the original Ikoyi: the grid of broad avenues laid out by the British between 1900 and 1950 on the eastern tip of Lagos Island. Its spine is Bourdillon Road, running from the Alfred Rewane Road junction towards Gerrard Road, and its side streets read like a roll-call of colonial governors and officials: Alexander Avenue, Glover Road, Lugard Avenue, Ribadu Road, Cooper Road, Queens Drive, Temple Road and Macdonald Road.
The original plots were enormous, often 2,000 to 4,000 square metres, with a single bungalow set in a garden of mature trees. That low density is still visible on Alexander Avenue and Glover Road, but along Bourdillon Road it is giving way to some of the tallest residential buildings in the country. 4 Bourdillon rises 25 storeys, and Belmonte, Desiderata, The George and a pipeline of new towers have turned the road into a canyon of serviced apartments.
The area is also home to Ikoyi's institutions. The Ikoyi Club 1938, the Lagos Polo Club on Ribadu Road, Lagos Preparatory School on Glover Road, the Wheatbaker hotel and the residence of President Bola Tinubu on Bourdillon Road are all within a few streets of each other. Alfred Rewane Road, on its western edge, carries the office towers, and Awolowo Road, to the south, the shops and restaurants.
Old Ikoyi commands the highest prices of any non-island part of Lagos. BusinessDay has described Bourdillon as arguably Nigeria's most expensive street, with houses starting from about ₦1B and luxury flats renting at ₦20M to ₦40M a year; listings in 2025/2026 show three-bedroom flats in the new towers asking ₦38M to ₦70M and land at ₦3M to ₦4M per square metre. It attracts buyers who want a central address with history, and developers who want plots large enough for a tower.
02
History
After Lagos became a British colony in 1861, the administration looked east of the crowded town for a healthier residential quarter for its officers. The MacGregor Canal, cut at the start of the twentieth century, physically separated the new European Reservation from Lagos Island, and between roughly 1900 and 1950 the colonial Public Works Department laid out the avenues and built the detached bungalows that gave Old Ikoyi its character. Street names record the era: Bourdillon Road honours Sir Bernard Bourdillon, Governor of Nigeria from 1935 to 1943, and Lugard Avenue the first Governor-General, Lord Lugard. Glover Road recalls John Hawley Glover, an early administrator of Lagos.
The Ikoyi Club opened in 1938 as a social and sporting club for the colonial community, and the golf course and polo ground followed. Reclamation works in the 1920s and 1930s pushed the shoreline outward and added around 250 acres.
At independence in 1960 the government houses passed to ministers, permanent secretaries and military officers, and Ikoyi served as the seat of federal power until Abuja took over in 1991; the Federal Secretariat on the Obalende edge dates from that period. From the 1990s, families began to sell or redevelop the old compounds, and from the 2010s onward high-rise apartment blocks became the dominant new form on Bourdillon Road and its neighbours. The 2013 Lekki–Ikoyi Link Bridge, which lands at Alexander Avenue, reinforced the area's centrality.
03
Location & Neighbours
Old Ikoyi occupies the central and south-western part of Ikoyi. Alfred Rewane Road marks its western edge, beyond which lies the Obalende and Federal Secretariat zone and, across the MacGregor Canal, Lagos Island. Awolowo Road and Five Cowrie Creek bound it to the south, with Victoria Island across Falomo Bridge. To the north-east, Gerrard Road and Osborne Road separate it from the newer estates of Parkview, Mojisola Onikoyi, Dolphin and Osborne Foreshore, and Banana Island lies beyond those.
Connections are excellent. Falomo Bridge puts Victoria Island within three to five minutes outside peak hours. The Lekki–Ikoyi Link Bridge from Alexander Avenue reaches Lekki Phase 1 in under ten minutes. Osborne Road leads to Third Mainland Bridge for the Mainland and the airport, and Awolowo Road or Alfred Rewane Road lead to Obalende and Lagos Island.
Buyers typically weigh Old Ikoyi against Parkview, Banana Island, Osborne Foreshore and Victoria Island.
04
Who Lives Here
Old Ikoyi has two overlapping populations. The first is old Lagos: families who acquired their compounds in the 1960s and 1970s, including retired senior civil servants, judges, military officers and the founders of banks and conglomerates. Many still live on Alexander Avenue, Glover Road and Cooper Road, and a few properties remain official residences for federal and state office holders and foreign heads of mission.
The second is newer and more mobile: executives, returnees, entertainers and diaspora investors who rent or own in the towers on Bourdillon Road and around the Link Bridge. They want a lift, a gym, a pool, dollar-indexed contracts and a short commute to Victoria Island or Lekki.
The result is a district that is quiet and private at street level but busier than the gated estates, with staff, drivers and contractors moving along Bourdillon through the day. Community life centres on the Ikoyi Club, the Polo Club, the churches and mosques and the long-standing schools, rather than on a residents' association.
05
Real Estate
Old Ikoyi's property market is defined by plot size. The colonial grid left parcels of 1,500 to 4,000 square metres, large enough for a high-rise, and that has made the area the main battleground between preservation and redevelopment in Ikoyi. Along Bourdillon Road and at the Alexander Avenue end near the Link Bridge, towers of 10 to 25 storeys now dominate: 4 Bourdillon (25 floors), Belmonte, Desiderata Apartments, The George and The Cuddle by Cadwell, among others. On Glover Road, Alexander Avenue, Lugard Avenue and Cooper Road, detached houses on full plots still prevail, with some mid-rise blocks of six to twelve flats.
Asking prices in 2025/2026 on Nigeria Property Centre and PropertyPro show one-bedroom flats in new towers renting for around ₦25M a year, two-bedrooms for ₦30M and three-bedrooms for ₦38M to ₦70M depending on finish and amenities. Four-bedroom townhouses rent for around ₦45M. For sale, new three- and four-bedroom flats range from ₦500M to ₦1.5B, penthouses higher, and detached houses on full plots from about ₦2.5B to ₦6B. Land is the scarcest asset: mixed-use plots on Bourdillon have been quoted at ₦3.5M per square metre, and a 2,281 square metre site with a Federal Certificate of Occupancy was listed at ₦9.58B.
Investment logic divides by strategy. Developers chase old compounds for tower schemes, and end users and funds buy off-plan in those towers for dollar-linked rental income or short-let operation. Families buy refurbished or redeveloped houses on the quieter avenues for long-term holding. Two cautions apply: titles in Old Ikoyi can be Federal or Lagos State Certificates of Occupancy with different consent processes, and the 2021 collapse of a tower under construction on nearby Gerrard Road means buyers should verify planning approvals and structural certification on any new build.
Typical asking figures, updated 2026
Type
Typical asking price
Flat Rent
₦25M – ₦70M / yr
House Rent
₦45M – ₦150M / yr
Flat Sale
₦500M – ₦1.5B
House Sale
₦2.5B – ₦6B
Land Sale
₦3M – ₦4M per sqm (≈ ₦5B – ₦10B for a 1,500–2,500 sqm plot)
Shortlet Nightly
₦200k – ₦450k / night
06
Popular Estates
Old Ikoyi is a district of streets rather than gated estates, so the addresses below are the ones buyers ask for by name.
Bourdillon Road: the headline street, lined with towers including 4 Bourdillon, Belmonte, Desiderata and The George, and home to the President's private residence.
Alexander Avenue: the approach to the Lekki–Ikoyi Link Bridge, with a mix of large compounds and newer apartment blocks.
Glover Road: quieter, leafy and home to Lagos Preparatory School; still mostly detached houses.
Lugard Avenue, Cooper Road and Queens Drive: residential avenues with some of the largest surviving plots and a steady flow of redevelopment.
Ribadu Road: home of the Lagos Polo Club and the Ikoyi Club 1938 entrance.
Temple Road, Macdonald Road and Oyinkan Abayomi Drive: the southern streets towards Awolowo Road and the creek, mixing diplomatic residences, mid-rise flats and a few guest houses.
Alfred Rewane (Kingsway) Road: the western edge and Ikoyi's office corridor, with Heritage Place, Famfa Tower, Kingsway Towers and The Alliance Place.
07
Transport
Old Ikoyi is the best-connected part of the district. Falomo Bridge, at the southern end of Awolowo Road, gives a three- to five-minute run into Victoria Island off-peak, and the Lekki–Ikoyi Link Bridge from Alexander Avenue delivers drivers to Admiralty Way in Lekki Phase 1 in under ten minutes for a toll. Osborne Road, a few minutes north, leads to Third Mainland Bridge and a 35 to 50 minute drive to Ikeja and the airport outside rush hour.
Traffic inside the grid is light, but it thickens on Bourdillon Road in the morning as residents and office workers head for Alfred Rewane Road, and on Awolowo Road towards Falomo in the evening. The Link Bridge toll plaza and the Falomo roundabout are the main pinch points.
Public transport is more available here than in the gated estates: danfo buses and BRT-type services run along Awolowo Road and Alfred Rewane Road, and Obalende bus terminus is within walking distance of the western streets. Ride-hailing is plentiful. Lagos State ferries depart from the Falomo jetty on Five Cowrie Creek for Ikorodu, Badore and CMS, and the Blue Line light rail terminus at Marina is a ten- to fifteen-minute drive.
08
Schools
Old Ikoyi contains Ikoyi's most established schools. Lagos Preparatory School on Glover Road has been the classic British-style preparatory choice for decades, and Corona School Ikoyi, Greenwood House School and Home Science Association School are all within the grid or just off it. Heritage House School, a Montessori-based nursery and primary, is a short drive away.
At secondary level, Holy Child College and St Gregory's College sit on the Obalende edge within walking distance of the western streets, and Bridge House College offers A-levels and university foundation courses. The American International School of Lagos and the British International School on Victoria Island are under fifteen minutes via Falomo Bridge, and Le Poshe School in Parkview and Banana Island International School serve the eastern side.
For higher education, the University of Lagos at Akoka is reached across Third Mainland Bridge and Pan-Atlantic University's Lagos Business School is on the Lekki–Epe Expressway. The Nigerian Law School's Lagos campus is on Victoria Island.
09
Healthcare
Old Ikoyi has the district's densest cluster of private medicine. Gold Cross Hospital (GCH Bourdillon) on Bourdillon Road offers general practice, surgery and inpatient care. First Cardiology Consultants on Thompson Avenue is the leading cardiac centre in Lagos. Iwosan Lagoon Hospitals' Ikoyi facility provides multi-specialty and emergency services, and Atlantic Medical Centre and Hanoba Medical Centre cover family medicine, paediatrics and diagnostics.
Reddington Hospital and Paelon Memorial Hospital on Victoria Island are five to ten minutes over Falomo Bridge, and Queens Eye Hospital in Osborne handles ophthalmology. HealthPlus, MedPlus and independent pharmacies trade along Awolowo Road and inside Ikoyi Mall and Falomo Shopping Centre.
10
Leisure & Shopping
Awolowo Road is Old Ikoyi's high street and one of the oldest retail strips in Lagos. Ikoyi Mall, Falomo Shopping Centre, Pees Gallerian and Glover Lifestyle Mall hold supermarkets, pharmacies, banks, boutiques and cafés; SPAR is the main grocery anchor. Alara, the concept store on Muri Okunola Street, and the Palms in Lekki are the nearest destination shopping.
Sport and club life are at the heart of the district. The Ikoyi Club 1938, entered from Ribadu Road, offers golf, tennis, squash, swimming, a gym and a busy events calendar, and remains the social hub for long-established residents. The Lagos Polo Club next door hosts the annual international tournament each February. The Ikoyi Golf Club's course is the largest green space on Lagos Island.
Falomo Garden at the bridgehead and the Link Bridge walkway are popular for evening strolls and early-morning runs. Art is well served by Omenka Gallery, Thought Pyramid Art Centre and Ogirikan Art Gallery, and the National Museum, Freedom Park and the Muson Centre at Onikan are ten minutes away. Cinema-goers use Filmhouse at Ikoyi Mall or the Silverbird Galleria on Victoria Island.
11
Dining
Old Ikoyi's restaurants line Awolowo Road and its side streets. Nok by Alara leads for contemporary West African fine dining. The Wheatbaker hotel on Onitolo Road is the district's smart hotel restaurant and Sunday brunch venue. Da Vinci serves Italian, The Yellow Gate has long been a favourite for Nigerian dishes, Casa Lydia covers Lebanese, Golden Gate is the old-school Chinese option and Samantha's Bistro and Grill does steaks and grills.
For casual meals there are Café Neo for coffee, Chicken Republic and The Place for fast food and Bukka Hut for affordable Nigerian plates. New cafés and restaurants open regularly in the ground floors of the Bourdillon Road towers, so the scene is livelier than it was a decade ago. Victoria Island's wider restaurant range is five to ten minutes away across Falomo Bridge.
12
Nightlife
Old Ikoyi is quieter than Victoria Island after dark, but it is not silent. Lounges cluster on and around Awolowo Road: Cocoon, Club 57, Soul Lounge with live Afro-juju, neo-soul and jazz nights, The Creekside Lounge and Bar and Avalon Lounge. The bars at The Wheatbaker and the Southern Sun hotel suit a quieter drink, and the Ikoyi Club runs regular social nights for members.
For clubs, residents cross Falomo Bridge to Victoria Island for Quilox, Escape and the Blowfish, or take the Link Bridge to Lekki Phase 1's Admiralty Way. Residential streets impose their own quiet hours, and most apartment towers require guests to be registered at reception late at night.
13
Places of Interest
The Ikoyi Club 1938 and the Lagos Polo Club on Ribadu Road are living heritage. The surviving colonial bungalows on Glover Road, Alexander Avenue and Lugard Avenue, with their deep verandas and shuttered windows, are the last examples of the early twentieth-century Ikoyi streetscape. The disused Federal Secretariat on the Obalende edge, once the heart of Nigeria's government, is a landmark of a different kind, and 4 Bourdillon is the tallest residential tower in the country.
Worship centres include Ikoyi Baptist Church, Our Saviour's Church, the Ikoyi Community Mosque on Awolowo Road, the Syrian Mosque and ECWA and Redeemed Christian Church of God parishes. The National Museum, the Muson Centre and Freedom Park on Lagos Island are ten minutes away.
14
Security
Old Ikoyi benefits from the concentration of government, diplomatic and corporate residences, which brings a permanent police presence, checkpoints on Bourdillon Road and a high density of private guards. Apartment towers add gatehouses, CCTV and concierge control. Street crime is rare, and most reported incidents are burglaries, disputes with staff or fraud around property transactions.
Because the streets are public rather than gated, residents rely on compound-level security more than estate patrols, and some streets have organised their own neighbourhood associations. Construction traffic and workers around the tower sites are a practical nuisance. Flooding is less severe here than on the reclaimed foreshore, but low points near Awolowo Road and the creek can pool during heavy rain.
15
Pros & Cons
Pros
The most central Ikoyi location, minutes from Victoria Island, Lekki and the Mainland bridges
Broad tree-lined avenues and the district's strongest sense of history
Ikoyi Club, Polo Club, top schools and hospitals all within walking distance
Widest choice of property types, from colonial compounds to new towers
Better public transport and restaurant access than the gated estates
Cons
Among the highest prices per square metre in Nigeria
Constant tower construction brings noise, dust and heavy vehicles
No estate-level gating; security depends on individual compounds
Traffic builds on Bourdillon, Awolowo Road and at the bridge approaches
Title and approval due diligence is more complex than in planned estates
16
FAQs
What is Old Ikoyi?
Old Ikoyi is the original colonial-era core of Ikoyi, centred on Bourdillon Road, Alexander Avenue, Glover Road, Lugard Avenue and Ribadu Road. It is distinct from the newer reclaimed estates such as Parkview, Osborne Foreshore and Banana Island.
How much is rent in Old Ikoyi?
Typical asking rents in 2025/2026 are about ₦25M a year for a one-bedroom flat in a new tower, ₦30M for two bedrooms, ₦38M to ₦70M for three bedrooms and ₦45M upward for four-bedroom townhouses. Detached houses on full plots go well beyond ₦100M.
Is Bourdillon Road the most expensive street in Nigeria?
It is frequently described that way. Houses start from around ₦1B, new flats sell from ₦500M to over ₦1.5B and land has been quoted at ₦3.5M per square metre, figures matched only by Banana Island, Alfred Rewane Road and Eko Atlantic.
How much is land in Old Ikoyi?
Land is scarce and typically asks ₦3M to ₦4M per square metre. Because plots are large, often 1,500 to 2,500 square metres, total prices commonly run from ₦5B to ₦10B.
Is Old Ikoyi safe?
Yes. The concentration of official residences brings a strong police presence, and compounds and towers have their own guards and CCTV. Unlike Parkview or Banana Island it is not gated, so security is compound-based.
Which schools are near Old Ikoyi?
Lagos Preparatory School on Glover Road, Corona School Ikoyi, Greenwood House, Home Science Association School, Holy Child College, St Gregory's College and Bridge House College are all in or beside Old Ikoyi.
How do I get from Old Ikoyi to Lekki or Victoria Island?
Victoria Island is three to five minutes away over Falomo Bridge, and Lekki Phase 1 is under ten minutes via the tolled Lekki–Ikoyi Link Bridge from Alexander Avenue, outside peak hours.
Is Old Ikoyi a good investment?
Land here has risen several-fold since 2020 and remains the most sought-after development land in Lagos. Returns come from redevelopment into towers, dollar-linked corporate lets and short-lets; Naira yields are low and title checks are essential.
Enquire about Old Ikoyi
Speak with a CW Real Estate advisor for pricing, availability, and viewings in this neighbourhood.
