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Vila Militar
Neighbourhood in Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Vila Militar

Vila Militar is a planned neighbourhood located in the West Zone of the municipality of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Plan a trip to Vila Militar→From São Paulo

Its construction began in 1904, driven by the need to renovate the facilities of the Military School of Realengo. The works were supervised by the then Minister of War, Marshal Hermes da Fonseca, during the presidencies of Rodrigues Alves and Afonso Pena, with support from Rio de Janeiro's mayor, Pereira Passos.

How locals move

Getting around Vila Militar 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, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photograph: Imagens SM (see Commons), Wikimedia Commons.