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Niterói
Municipality in the State of Rio de Janeiro

Niterói

Niterói is a municipality in the state of Rio de Janeiro, in the southeast region of Brazil.

Plan a trip to Niterói→From São Paulo

It lies across Guanabara Bay, facing the city of Rio de Janeiro and forming part of the Rio de Janeiro Metropolitan Area. It was the capital of Rio de Janeiro, as marked by its golden mural crown, from 1834 to 1894 and again from 1903 to 1975. It has an estimated population of 515,317 inhabitants (2020) and an area of 129.375 km2 (49.952 sq mi), making it the fifth most populous city in the state. It has the highest Human Development Index in the state and the seventh highest among Brazil's municipalities in 2010. Individually, it is the municipality with the second highest average monthly household income per capita in Brazil and appears in 13th place among the municipalities of the country according to social indicators related to education. The city has the nicknames of Cidade Sorriso.

Get in

Getting to Niterói

From the center of the state capital, it is possible to go to Niterói by urban bus, van and ferry lines. Several bus lines to Niterói depart from Terminal Menezes Côrtes, in Castelo, and from the Candelária region - both in downtown Rio. The ferries depart from Praça XV station. Vans to Niterói depart from the Central do Brasil area.

See

Worth seeing

  1. 01
    Niterói Contemporary Art Museum
  2. 02
    Parque da Cidade

    An amazing view of Rio de Janeiro (city).

  3. 03
    Fortaleza de Santa Cruz
Do

Things to do

Shopping - Icaraí is where the upper middle class lives. So there are plenty of nice shops for all tastes. "Paulo Gustavo" (1st street parallel to the beach) is the most popular shopping street in town. Here you will find exclusive and expensive boutiques such as Animale, Agilita, H.Stern, Salinas (beachware) all the way down to little t-shirt shops.

Eat

Where to eat

All restaurants are reasonably priced by American and European standards. A Mineira, Av. Quintino Bocaiuva, 353 (at the end of São Francisco Beach). Open flame regional cuisine of Minas State in a cozy chalet style restaurant. Large portions. Caneco gelado do Mário - Very rustic fish restaurant in the center of the city. Recommended by all of the travel guides as a restaurant not to be missed. Open only for lunch.

  1. 01
    Seu Antônio

    Heleno de Gregório, 312 - Cafubá (from São Francisco beach, take the Charitas-Cafubá tunnel, turn first left after roundabout, turn first right at Rua Ver.

How locals move

Getting around Niterói the local way

  • Get inFrom the center of the state capital, it is possible to go to Niterói by urban bus, van and ferry lines.
  • Get inThe ferries depart from Praça XV station.
  • Get inThe ferry between Rio and Niteroi is a pleasant and affordable trip.
  • Get aroundTo get to the Oceanic Area you'd better have a car, otherwise take a municipal bus at the Bus Terminal next to the Ferry Station.

From Wikivoyage: Niterói, 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 file page), Wikimedia Commons.