Nilópolis
Nilópolis is a municipality in Brazil, located in the Rio de Janeiro state's southwestern region, bordering São João de Meriti, Mesquita and Rio de Janeiro.
It is the smallest municipality in Rio de Janeiro state, with a total area of 19.39 km2. The population of 162,693 inhabitants living in an area of 9 km2 and the remaining area corresponds to the Gericinó's Natural Park. Officially, the population density exceeds 8,120 inhabitants/km2, but if calculated just 9 km2 occupied, it becomes the most densely populated city in Brazil with more than 17.400 inhabitants/km2. Currently, São João de Meriti has the highest population density, with 12,897 inhabitants/km2.
Getting to Nilópolis
From the Central Zone of the capital, one can use urban bus, van and train lines to go to Nilópolis. Bus lines to Nilópolis depart mainly from the Terminal Américo Fontenelle, and the trains that stop in stations of this municipality depart from Central do Brasil station - both the bus station and the train station are located in Rio downtown area. The vans to Nilópolis also depart from the Central do Brasil area.
Worth seeing
- 01Área de Proteção Ambiental de Gericinó-Mendanha
- 02Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Conceição
Vila Olímpica de Nilópolis (Nilópolis Olympic Village).
Things to do
G.R.E.S. Beija-Flor de Nilópolis - Rua Pracinha Wallace Paes Leme, 1025 - Centro, Nilópolis. - One of the two main samba schools of Baixada Fluminense, the other being the G.R.E.S Acadêmicos do Grande Rio, in Duque de Caxias. Parque Natural Municipal do Gericinó - Rua Antônio João Mendonça, s/n - Centro, Nilópolis. - A municipal park to the west of the urban area of Nilópolis.
Where to eat
Taberna do Peixe - Avenida Getúlio Vargas, 1225 - Centro, Nilópolis.
Getting around Nilópolis the local way
- Get in]] Ferries (barcas) connect neighbouring Niterói to Rio de Janeiro and arrive at Praça XV (see down), in the city centre.
- Get aroundAmong the public transportation modes, there is subway, heavy rail, light rail, bus rapid transit, local buses, microbuses, cable cars and ferry boats.
- Get aroundFerry boats depart from Santa Teresa Tram, Centro Corcovado Rack Railway, Zona Sul Sugarloaf Cable Car (Zona Sul) Buses are still the cheapest and most convenient way to get around the South Zone (Zona Sul) of the city due to the high number and frequency of lines running through the area.
- Get aroundExcept for minibuses, buses now have two doors: passengers get in through the front door and get off through the back (it was otherwise until 2001–2002).
- Get aroundBuses 511 (Ataulfo de Paiva) and 512 (Bartholomeu Mitre) are also popular as they take you to Urca for the station to take the cable car up the Sugarloaf mountain.
- Get aroundSince the city grew around the Tijuca Range mountains, these neighborhoods will never be served by the subway, but you now can take the integração (connection) minibuses.
- Go nextFrom Rio to Niterói it's a short ferry ride or you go by bus.
- Go nextThe most northeastern municipality of Rio metropolitan area, it is another peripheral municipality which has become an attraction for trekking, mountaineering, rappelling and other types of extreme sports and ecotourism.
From Wikivoyage: Rio de Janeiro, CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us. Last edited 2026-09.
Text adapted from Wikipedia and Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photograph: Wikimedia Commons (see Commons), Wikimedia Commons.