Sao Paulo (city)

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São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil and one of the largest in the world, with a population of about 17 million. Located in the Southeast, it is a beehive of activity and offers a jovial nightlife.

sao paulo (city) Travel Guide : 1 Districts 2 Understand 3 Get in 3.1 By plane 3.2 By bus 4 Get around 4.1 By bus 4.2 By subway 4.3 By taxi 4.4 By car 5 See 5.1 Museums 5.2 Theaters 5.3 Churches and public buildings 5.4 Public Art 6 Do 7 Learn 8 Buy 8.1 Markets 9 Eat 9.1 Budget 9.2 Mid-range 9.3 Splurge 10 Drink 11 Sleep 11.1 Budget 11.2 Mid-range 11.3 Splurge 12 Contact 13 Stay safe 14 Cope 15 Get out

Districts

Following Sao Paulo's extraordinary growth during the 20th century, most of the old city buildings have given way to contemporary architecture. This means that most tourists sights are concentrated around the center, where 17th-century cathedrals stand in the shadows of skyscrapers. The traditional ethnic neighborhoods are also fairly close to the center. Shopping and dining, though, are spread throughout the city.

• Downtown
• Paulista - the main business, cultural and shopping district
• Cerqueira César - an upscale residential area
• Bixiga and Mooca - the Italian districts
• Liberdade - the Japanese district
• Jardins and Higienopolis - high-class residential and commercial areas
• Berrini - the newest business center of the city
• Morumbi - high-class residential area
• Itaim Bibi
• Campo Belo - District of the Congonhas Airport, a lot of restaurants.
• Moema
• Santana
• Tatuape
• Vila Mariana

Understand

A large sprawling city can present numerous challenges to sensibilities. The population and environment of São Paulo is diverse, and districts within it range from luxurious shopping areas to hovels housing the poor and destitute. There is minimal pollution control regulations for buses and cars, smog can get pretty thick.

Traffic is congested, even at night in some districts. Bus displacements within the main urban area can take easily up to one hour, so a British punctuality is not a very realistic expectation.

Don't be surprised at the diversity of paulistanos and paulistas. For example, São Paulo is home to the largest Japanese population outside of Japan. The city's Italian influence is also very strong, and there's a large Arab population as well. During the 20th century, coming from every country where there has been a war, immigrants found a new home in Brazil, mainly in SP.

Therefore, enjoy in SP one of the richest gastronomy diversities of the planet - around the clock, for all kinds of prices: German, Spanish, French, Greek, Korean... you name it.

The citizens of São Paulo have a reputation as hard-working and industrious, or alternately, shallow money-grubbers (certainly to cariocas).

Get in

By plane

São Paulo's main international airport is Guarulhos International (GRU), located 25 miles (40 km) from downtown. Two terminals are served by the Brazilian airlines Varig, TAM, Gol and BRA, and by the international United, Delta, American, Continental, Air Canada, Air France, British Airways, TAP Air Portugal, Iberia, Alitalia, KLM, JAL, South African and many other airlines. Shuttle buses will let you off at the west side of Praça Republica in the center of the city. In addition there is excellent Airport Bus service to Paulista and Congonhas.

Congonhas (CGH) is located 15km (9 miles) from downtown and handles only domestic flights and the popular São Paulo - Rio shuttle. Its architecture is worth seeing. Note that domestic flights also fly out of GRU.

Campo de Marte is a small airport close to downtown and is used by small aircraft and helicopters.

Viracopos International (VCP) Located 14 kilometers from the city of Campinas and 99 kilometers from downtown São Paulo, it is mainly used for air cargo transport.

Assistance to airport users and tourists:

• Deatur - Centro 3104-0209
• Deatur - Cumbica International Airport 6445-2221
• Deatur - Congonhas 5090-9032
• Deatur - Viracopos (19) 3725-5001

By bus

The long-distance bus station is in Tietê, a short distance from the center. It's connected directly to the Metro system.

Get around

By bus

Buses are the most popular way to get around the city. They may not be the fastest way to get around, but reach every neighborhood. Tickets are around R$2.00 a piece, on ticket per bus. You can pay tickets inside the bus or use bus card with crs bought before boarding.

If you are carrying suitcases try to avoid rush-hour traffic as the busses become standing room only.

By subway

The city's Metro (http://www.metro.sp.gov.br/ingles/) system has three lines, with some links to the above-ground train network. (Downloadable map (PDF) (http://www.metro.sp.gov.br/ingles/network/mapa.pdf)). The Metro uses a simple fixed-price ticketing scheme; you can get one-trip or book-of-ten tickets from machines or counters. One-trip and return tickets are valid for inter-line changes on the 3-line Metro system. There are schemes to share tickets with the above-ground network.

From most districts, it makes sense to consider using a taxi to get to a metro station. This sounds counter-intuitive but it winds up saving overall on the cost of a taxi ride right into town, and is usually faster.

Dialing 156 and then 3, you get information about all bus itineraries in the city (in Portuguese only). Note: A real person answers which bus you have to take to go from where you are to where you want to go.

By taxi

Two kinds of cabs: cheaper street-hail and radio taxi. White taxis often found at stands near city squares, big venues. Use your hotel or ask reception at the museum etc for help to call a radiocab. Cash fare.

Regular taxis will cost about USD 10 (BRL 24) for a 20 min (10 Km) ride, which will get you pretty much anywhere you´ll want to go. Meter is always on and drivers are fairly reliable and know their way around well.

Fares go up after 9PM and on Sundays and holidays (all metered).

You will always be able to get a nice and safe cab outside of clubs, bars and restaurants, no matter how late; and they won´t charge you extra for that.

By car

As is the case with most cities of this size, getting around by car is borderline crazy. Although it is the only manner to experience more of the nightlife since most famous bars and night clubs remain afar from the subway system and buses stop running at 1 a.m.

See

Museums

• The São Paulo Art Museum (MASP) 1 (http://www.masp.art.br), Av. Paulista 1578, +55 (11) 251-5644. Displays a collection of works ranging from the Rennaissance to Contemporary Modern. Visitors walk through rows of paintings that are hung from the ceiling. Open Tuesday to Sunday 11AM to 7PM, admission is R$10. The Museum offer discounts for students.
• OCA Museum in Ibirapuera Park is by Oscar Neimeyer, and has good exhibitions and several international seasonal exhibitions.
• Crime Museum (Museu do Crime), Pça Reinaldo Porchat, 219, Cidade Universitária (São Paulo University). Contains a collection of artifacts used to perform crimes and a number of conserved cadavers and body parts.
• Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil, R. Álvares Penteado, 112, Centro 3113 3651. Movies, theater, exhibitions.
• Modern Art Museum (MAM) at Ibirapuera park, located near the OCA Museum.
• Contemporary Art Museum (MAC) 2 (http://www.mac.usp.br) at USP (São Paulo University)
• Lasar Segall Art Museum 3 (http://www.spguia.com.br/museus/lasarsegall/lasarsegall.html)
• Sacred Art Museum (Museu de Arte Sacra) 4 (http://www.saopaulo.sp.gov.br/saopaulo/cultura/museus_sacra.htm), Av.Tiradentes, 676.
• Pinacoteca, Av. Tiradentes. Located very near of the Mercado Central, big traditional city market which had been recently restored.
• Centro Cultural do Liceu de Artes e Ofícios, R. da Cantareira, 1351.
• Immigration Museum (Museu da Imigração) 5 (http://www.memorialdoimigrante.sp.gov.br/Inicial.html), Rua Visconde de Parnaíba, 1316 ? Moóca

Theaters

• Ágora Centro de Desenvolvimento Teatral, Rua Rui Barbosa, 672, +55 11 284-0290, (90 people)
• Centro Cultural São Paulo 6 (http://sampa3.prodam.sp.gov.br/ccsp/ccsp/index0.htm), Salas Adoniran Barbosa, Jardel Filho e Paulo Emílio Salles Gomes, Espaço Cênico Ademar Guerra. Programação. Av. Vergueiro,1000, close to subway station Vergueiro, +55 11 3277-3611
• Cine Teatro de Arte Recriarte Bijou, Praça Roosevelt, 172, +55 11 257-2264
• Galpão do Folias, Rua Ana Cintra, 213, close to subway station Santa Cecília, Santa Cecília, +55 11 3361-2223
• N.Ex.T. - Núcleo Experimental de Teatro, Rua Rego Freitas, 454, +55 11 259-2485
• Sala Cinemateca 7 (http://www.cinemateca.com.br), R. Sen.Raul Cardoso, 207, 5084-2177. Movie theater
• Sesc Pompéia 8 (http://www.sescsp.com.br/sesc/), R. Clélia, 93
• Sala São Paulo 9 (http://www.osesp.art.br/), 3337-5414. Concerts - acoustically, one of the best in Latin America.
• Teatro Alfa10 (http://www.teatroalfa.com.br/), Rua Bento Branco de Andrade Filho, 722, +55 11 5693-4000
• Teatro Alfredo Mesquita, Av. Santos Dummont, 1770, +55 11 6221-3657
• Teatro Aliança Francesa, Rua General Jardim, 182, +55 11 259-0086
• Teatro Alfredo Mesquita, Av. Santos Dummont, 1770, +55 11 6221-3657
• Teatro de Arena Eugênio Kusnet, Rua Teodoro Baima, 94, +55 11 256-9463
• Teatro Arthur Azevedo, Av. Pais de Barros, 955 - Móoca, +55 11292-8007
• Teatro Augusta, Rua Augusta, 943, +55 11 3151-2464
• Teatro Brasileiro de Comédia - TBC11 (http://www.mre.gov.br/cdbrasil/itamaraty/web/port/artecult/teatro/tbc/), Rua Major Diogo,315, +55 11 3104-5523
• Teatro Bibi Ferreira, Av. Brigadeiro Luís Antônio, 931, +55 11 3105-3129
• Teatro Cacilda Becker, Rua Tito, 295 - Lapa, +55 11 864-4513. São Paulo, SP.
• Teatro Célia Helena, Rua Barão de Iguape, 113 - Liberdade, +55 11 279-0470
• Teatro Clowne Plaza, Rua Frei Caneca, 1360, +55 11 289-0985
• Teatro Cultura Artística, Rua Nestor Pestana, 196, +55 11 258-3615
• Teatro Cultura Inglesa, Rua Deputado Lacerda Franco, +55 11 814-0100
• Teatro FAAP - Rua Alagoas, 903, +55 11 3662-1992. São Paulo, SP.
• Teatro Fernando Azevedo, Praça da República, 53 - Centro, +55 11 255-1384
• Teatro Flávio Império, Rua Professor Alves Pedroso, 600, +55 11 6621-2719
• Teatro Hilton, Av. Ipiranga, 165, +55 11 259-6508
• Teatro Imprensa, Rua Jaceguai, 400, +55 11 239-4203
• Teatro Itália, Av Ipiranga, 344, +55 11 257-9092
• Teatro Jardel Filho, Av. Brigadeiro Luís Antônio, 884, +55 11 3107-3364
• Teatro Jofre Soares, Rua Major Diogo, 547, +55 11 3105-9463
• Teatro Lucas Pardo Filho, Rua Gravataí, 47, +55 11 3862-9403
• Teatro Maria Della Costa, Rua Paim, 72, +55 11 256-9115
• Teatro Martins Penna, Largo do Rosário, 20, +55 11 293-6630
• Teatro Municipal 12 (http://portal.prefeitura.sp.gov.br/secretarias/cultura/theatromunicipal), +55 11 3334-0001
• Teatro das Nações, Av. São João, 1737, +55 11 220-8012
• Teatro Nelson Rodrigues, Rua 13 de Maio, 830, +55 11 288-3887
• Teatro Oficina, Rua Jaceguai, 520, +55 11 3106-2818, Political resistance epicenter in the 60's
• Teatro Ópera, Rua Rui Barbosa, 266, +55 11 3171-1277
• Teatro Paiol, Rua Amaral Gurgel, 164, +55 11 221-2462
• Teatro Paulo Eiró, Av. Adolfo Pinheiro, 765, +55 11 546-0449
• Teatro Pirandello, Rua Major Diogo, 578, +55 11 232-3393
• Teatro Plínio Marcos, no Shopping Pompéia Nobre - ao lado do SESC Pompéia - Rua Clélia, 33, +55 11 864-3129 - capacidade: 90 lugares
• Teatro Popular do SESI, Av. Paulista, 1313, +55 11 284-3639.
• Teatro Procópio Ferreira13 (http://www.teatroprocopioferreira.com.br/), Programação, ingressos e informações. Rua Augusta, 2823 - bairro de Cerqueira César, +55 11 883-4475/282-2409/3061-9260
• Teatro Renaissance, Alameda Santos, 2233, +55 11 3069-2233
• Teatro Ruth Escobar, Rua dos Ingleses, 209, +55 11 289-2358
• Theatro São Pedro, Rua Barra Funda, 171 - Barra Funda, +55 11 3823 9660
• Teatro Sérgio Cardoso, Rua Rui Barbosa, 153 - Bexiga, +55 11 288-0136
• Teatro Sesc-Anchieta, Rua Dr. Vila Nova, 245, +55 11 256-2281
• Teatro Sesc-Vila Mariana, Rua Pelotas, 141, +55 11 5080-3147
• Teatro Studio 184, Praça Roosevelt, 184, +55 11 255-6153
• Teatro Taib, Rua Três Rios, 246, +55 11 227-9719
• Teatro da Universidade de São Paulo, Rua Maria Antônia, 294, +55 11 255-5538/255-7182 ramais 41 e 42
• Tom Brasil, Casa de espetáculos -
• TUCA - Rua Monte Alegre, 1024, +55 11 3670-8453

Churches and public buildings

• Mario de Andrade Library 14 (http://www.prodam.sp.gov.br/bib/mario), Pça. Dom José Gaspar
• São Bento Monastery 15 (http://www.mosteiro.org.br) (Mosteiro de São Bento), Largo de São Bento. Gregorian chants on Sundays at 11AM.
• Municipal Cathedral, Praça da Sé - Centro
• Orthodox Church, at Paraíso Subway station
• Zen Temple, R. São Joaquim, 273 - Liberdade. (11)278 4515
• Edifício Copan - building by Oscar Niemeyer
• Pátio do Colégio, São Paulo´s first school
• Latter Day Saint (Mormon) church and temple - Av. Professor Francisco Morato, 2390 Caxingui - Sundays 9:00 AM, 1:00 PM.

Public Art

• Subway stations
  • República ? paintings by Antônio Peticov
  • Sumaré - paintings by Alex Fleming

Do

• Ibirapuera Park usually has a lot going on. Nearest Metro is "Vila Mariana" and then a short taxi ride, a bus or a 20 minutes walk down the 'Sena Madureira' Avenue.
• São Paulo Jockey Club, Av. Linneu de Paula Machado, 1263, www.hcj.com.br
• Parque da Luz, Av. Tiradentes 16 (http://www.prodam.sp.gov.br/dph/servicos/rotjdluz.htm)
• Stroll along Vila Nova Conceiçao (home of the rich).
• Stroll along Vila Madalena neighborhood which concetrates several Bars and Nicht Clubs, famous for its wide selection of bars and forms of entertainment. The region practically never sleeps with most clubs being open till 5 a.m. Travelling by car is advised but expect to pay for parking along the streets,
• Stroll along Vila Mariana neighborhood considered mostly residental but in the last year has attracted most of the new bars being oppened in the city. It is mostly cheaper than Vila Madelena and abridges two big Art and Marketing universities (Belas Artes and ESPM). The crowd varietes from university students to 30-35 years old visitants. Travelling by Subway to Paraiso Station and then a short walk down the bars is advisable.
• Drive along Pinheiros neighborhood which contains most of the famous and popular night clubs in the city. The crossing from Av. Faria Lima and Av. Juscelino Kubschek is a good place to start. Driving along the Faria Lima and surrounds, visitors will be rejoiced by a wide selection of bars and night club. Travelling by car only.
• Take the elevator to the top of Edifício Itália, once the tallest building in São Paulo, for a nice view of the city. It's located at Avenida Ipiranga, 344 (on the corner with Avenida São Luiz), close to Metrô República. There's a restaurant on the top floor.

• Guia SP (http://www.guiasp.com.br/) has up-to-date listings on theater, shows and nighlife.

Learn

• The University of São Paulo  (http://www2.usp.br/ingles/) (Universidade de São Paulo) is the largest in the country, and third largest in Latin America.

Buy

There´s not a single main Shopping Area in São Paulo, as the city is very large. Every region of the city (Central, Southern, Northern, Eastern and Western) has one or more Shopping Areas.

The majority of shopping malls can be found on the Southern Region (Zona Sul), like the Shopping Ibirapuera (famous for its high-class stores and variety of places to eat), Shopping Morumbi, Shopping SP Market Place, Shopping Villa-Lobos and Shopping Metro Santa Cruz (above the station with the same name and offers a good variety of Cinemas, but goes not much further than that.).

The Central Region (Centro) has nice shopping options too. Oscar Freire street, neighbour to Avenida Paulista, has luxury clothing stores like Armani, Versace, Louis Vouitton and Gucci.

Markets

• Central Market, (nearest metro stop São Bento) is bustling food market, covers about 5 streets. very down-market. Off Av. Cantarira is a covered cast-iron market square which is nice to see but hard to find.
• Praça Republica has a crafts and arts market on Sunday, until 2pm with good cheap food from stalls, stamps, geological stalls, T-shirts and the like.
• The Feira Oriental (Oriental Market) is held on Sunday afternoons in front of the Liberdade metro station.

Eat

Budget

One restaurant found throughout the city is Habib's. It is easily recognizable with a genie as its mascot on the sign. It is a fast-food restaurant with Arab food. The esfiha is very cheap and is somewhat like a very small pizza. It comes with a variety of toppings. A handful of these can be a quick and cheap way to fill up.

Mid-range

Perhaps the most famous type of Brazilian restaurant is the Churrascaria. These types of restaurants are found all over the city and inside of some shopping malls. They include all-you-can-eat meat of many different varieties and usually include a salad bar as well. A marker on the table has a green end and a red end. When you want the meat servers to come, turn the green end up. When you would like some peace and a chance to eat without interruption, turn the red end up. Come hungry.

Splurge

Drink

Sleep

Budget

• Albergue de Juventude Praça da Árvore, Rua Pague 266, 0xx11-50715148. This HI-Hostel is set way out of the center, but in a safe neighbourhood and close to metrostation Praça da Avore. Has a pleasant and quiet atmosphere.
• The Pousada Dona Ziláh 17 (http://www.zilah.com/) is located on Alameda Franca.

Mid-range

• Estanplaza Nações Unidas (http://www.estanplaza.com.br), Rua Guararapes, 1889 Brooklin Novo, 55 11 3055-0000 ,fax 55 11 3055-0009. Has a WISP (http://www.wisp.com.br) hotspot and cheapish rooms. It's close to a train line, and the IT office district. Nearest Metro is Sao Judas, 10 minutes by taxi.

Splurge

• Maksoud Plaza, Alameda Campinas 150, +55 (11) 3145 8000. Five star hotel conveniently located in the heart of the business and commercial sector.
• Crowne Plaza - São Paulo (http://www.sao-paulo.crowneplaza.com), Rua Frei Caneca 1360, Cerqueira César. (Near Paulista Ave.) Tel: +55 9110 3253 2244

Contact

The biggest daily newspapers are O Estado De São Paulo (http://jpdf.estado.com.br/), Folha de São Paulo (http://www.folha.uol.com.br/) and Diario de São Paulo (http://www.diariosp.com.br/). The newspapers websites are usually good source of information about the city events.

Stay safe

Visitors need to apply caution when wandering about areas outside of the main shopping and hotel districts. Leave your jewelry and excess cash in the hotel's safe, for example.

Police are approachable.

English is not always widely spoken.

Cope

Get out

• Just to the south is the city Embu das Artes a city full of talented artists. If you are looking for authentic Brazilian art, crafts, furniture, or other handiwork, or just want to see some really cool shops, this is the place.
• Paraty - A historic town in the neighboring state of Rio de Janeiro

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