Niterói, Brazil

Niterói is a municipality of the state of Rio de Janeiro in the southeast region of Brazil. The city has the nicknames of Nikity, Nicki City and the Smile City (Cidade Sorriso). It lies across Guanabara Bay facing the city of Rio de Janeiro and forms part of the Rio de Janeiro Metropolitan Area. It was the state capital, as marked by its golden mural crown, from 1834 to 1894 and again from 1903 to 1975. It has an estimated population of 487,327 inhabitants (2010) and an area of 129.375 km (80.39 mi), making it the second most populous city in the state. Studies by the Getulio Vargas Foundation in June 2011 classified Niterói as the richest city of Brazil, with 55.7% of the population included in class A.