Niterói, formerly capital of Rio de Janeiro state, lies on the east side of Guanabara Bay, opposite the city of Rio de Janeiro, with which it is connected by the Presidente Costa e Silva Bridge (15.5km/9.5mi long, 60m/200ft high).
Bus station
Rua Fróes da Cruz
History
The town was founded in the 16th century under the name of São Lourenço on a piece of land granted by the Portuguese king to an Indian chief named Araribóia, an ally of Portugal against França Antárctica, a colony in Guanabara Bay founded by Nicolas Durand de Villegaignon. In 1819 the settlement was granted the status of vila, and in 1835 it was declared a town. Until 1875, when the states of Guanabara (previously a federal district) and Rio de Janeiro were combined in a single state, it was capital of Rio de Janeiro state.
Beside the Praia da Boa Viagem are the city districts of Boa Viagem and Ingá, with the Museu Antìnio Parreiras. It occupies the house which once belonged to the artist of that name and contains many of his works.
The most interesting beaches and most of the city's sights lie to the south of the center and can be reached on the coast roads running round the bay. 2km/1.3mi from the city center, on the promontory of Ponta da Gragoatá, are Fort Gragoatá (1610) and the church of São Domingos, built from 1652 onwards.
3km/2mi from the city center is the Praia da Boa Viagem, which is linked by the Ponte Benjamin Sondré with the Ilha da Boa Viagem ("Island of the Good Journey"). On the island are the church of Nossa Senhora da Boa Viagem (1683) and a fort.
Between the Praia de São Francisco and the Praia de Charitas is the church of São Francisco Xavier (1572). Nearby is the hill of Viração, on which is the Municipal Park (views).
A few blocks from the sea are the access ramp to the Rio-Niterói bridge and the Jesuit church of São Lourenço dos Indios, built from 1560 onwards on the hill of São Lourenáo. The high altar has a Mannerist retablo of the early 17th century.
A few blocks inland from the beach, between Icaraí and Santa Rosa, is the Campo de São Bento, a spacious tree-planted park with a lake, a fountain, a children's playground and the Pascoal Carlos Magno Cultural Center. There is a craft market in the park at weekends. Beyond this is the Caio Martins Sports Stadium.
In the center of the city are the Estação das Barcas (Marine Station), the landing-stage used by ships sailing between Niterói and Rio, and the Cathedral of São João Batista (1754).
In the Ingá district, housed in the former Palácio do Governo (Government Palace), is the City Historical Museum (pictures, everyday objects and furniture of the imperial period).
8km/5mi from the city center Avenida Quintino Bocaiuva runs past the beaches of São Francisco and Charitas. Beyond this are the beaches of Preventório, Várzea, Cais and Jurujuba (11km/7mi), with fish factories and fishing villages.
To the north, near the hill of Armação, is the promontory of Ponta da Areias, where whaling ships were built in the 17th century; it is now a fishing center, with boatyards. Here many old houses have survived the passage of time, including some of the 17th century.
Beyond the Boa Viagem beach are the Praia das Flechas, with the Itapuca Rock, and the Praia de Icaraí, with the Indian's Rock. At Icaraí is the main campus of the Universidade Federal Fluminense, the State University of Rio de Janeiro.
Beyond the Praia de Icaraí the Fróis road runs along above the bay, skirting the hill of Cavalão, to the Saco (Bay) de São Francisco (which can also be reached through a tunnel). From the end of the Praia de São Francisco the Estrada da Cachoeira continues to the beaches at the mouth of the bay.
The Itaipuaçu beach, 25km/15mi south-east of Niterói, extends from the Ponta de Itacoatiara almost to Maricá. It is cut in two by a channel which drains the Maricá lake district. The beach is reached on a road which branches off the roads to Itacoatiara and Itaipu. It can also be reached from farther inland by taking RJ 106 to Inoã and an unsurfaced track from there.
13km/8mi south-east of Niterói are the beach and lagoon of Piratininga, reached by a side road branching off the road to Itaipu. On the opposite side of the bay can be seen the Praia Vermelha and Mt Leme, at the end of Copacabana beach. One of the most popular stretches of the Piratininga beach is the Praia da Prainha, a small inlet with calm water between the sea and the lagoon, with the Baleia Crag.
The Praia de Camboinhas, next to Piratininga beach, is fringed by immense dunes which until the 1970s remained almost untouched, with only the occasional fishing village. These villages, however, have a long history: on the road to Piratininga is the church of Nossa Senhora do Bom Sucesso, which dates from 1684. They are now surrounded by the most densely populated suburbs of Niterói.
Estradas da Figueira, da Cachoeira and Dr Caetano Monteiro meet in Large da Batalha, from which Estrada Velha de Itaipu leads to the beaches at the mouth of Guanabara Bay and to the lagoons, also fringed by beaches, enclosed by granite rocks reaching out into the sea and by long lines of dunes.
At Ubatiba, 7km/4.3mi from the town, are the chapel of Nossa Senhora da Saúde (1850) and the handsome Fazenda Rio Fundo, which dates from the colonial period. At São José do Imbaçaí (8km/52mi) is the church of São José (1675).
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Fort Santa Cruz
Niteroi
