Rio de Janeiro, Brazil · South America
Nilópolis works well as a base: 10 minutes from São João de Meriti, 25km from Vista Chinesa.
Nilópolis is in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with about 150,000 people. You drive on the right here. The nearest town is São João de Meriti, about 4 km away.
Nilópolis (Portuguese pronunciation: [niˈlɔpoliʃ], [niˈlɔpɔliʃ], [niˈlɔpuliʃ]) 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. TheRead more
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.
The city was named after Nilo Peçanha, a President of Brazil.
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Discover famous landmarks, scenic roads, and more near Nilópolis.
Within an hour or so of Nilópolis: Autódromo Internacional Nelson Piquet (19 km), Vista Chinesa (25 km), Christ the Redeemer (26 km), Rio-Niterói Bridge (26 km).
The nearest famous roads are Costa Verde (Green Coast Road).
Nilópolis is in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, about 4 km from São João de Meriti.
Road trip
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Places within a drive of Nilópolis. Keep the ones you like and add them to your trip.
8 notable places within an hour's drive.
racetrack
The Jacarepaguá circuit in Rio that hosted ten Brazilian Grands Prix and where Ayrton Senna raced. Largely demolished for the 2016 Olympic Park, but its motorsport significance and location remain a landmark.
19 km · about 20 min drive
scenic viewpoint
A pagoda-style belvedere built in 1903 in the Tijuca forest, giving a framed view over the Lagoa, Corcovado, Ipanema and Sugarloaf. Reachable by car on the Estrada da Vista Chinesa.
25 km · about 30 min drive
landmark
Towering 30-metre Art Deco statue of Jesus Christ atop Corcovado mountain overlooking Rio de Janeiro.
26 km · about 30 min drive
bridge
13 km box-girder giant striding across Guanabara Bay: the longest bridge in the Southern Hemisphere at its opening in 1974, with sweeping views of Rio's skyline.
26 km · about 30 min drive
tunnel
Twin-bore road tunnel under the Tijuca massif linking Rio's South Zone to the North Zone, about 2.8 kilometres long.
26 km · about 30 min drive
museum
Science museum by Santiago Calatrava on Rio's revitalised Praça Mauá waterfront, adjacent to the port district drive.
26 km · about 30 min drive
cafe
An 1894 Rio patisserie of Belgian mirrors, Portuguese tiles and jacaranda cabinets, built when the city was flush with coffee money and still serving pastel de nata under a vast stained-glass skylight.
26 km · about 30 min drive
photogenic
A staircase between Lapa and Santa Teresa covered by Chilean artist Jorge Selaron in over 2,000 tiles sent from 60 countries, worked on daily from 1990 until his death in 2013.
27 km · about 30 min drive
Year-round
Tropical latitude: plan around the wet season rather than temperature.
Other places to explore near Nilópolis.
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