Sao Paulo

Quick Facts

Type: City
Best Date to Visit: May – Sep
Expense: Fair
Things to Do: Shopping, Dining, Visit Museums/ Galleries/ Parks
Places of Interest: Museu de Arte, Teatro Municipal, Ibirapuera Park, Contemporary Art Museum, Parque da Independància and Museu Paulista and more
The Good: A huge artistic cosmopolitan city
The Bad: Although safer than other parts of the country crime still present

Brief

Sao Paulo is a city in the south east region of Brazil about 500 km from Rio De Janeiro. The city is the most wealthiest and populous in the country. Furthermore it is largely influenced by many different nations (largely by Arabic, Italian and Japanese immigrants) and it is seen by the city’s communities, food and even architecture.

Visiting Sao Paulo

Brazil is a beautiful tropical nation which boasts one of the largest and most diverse rainforests in the world. However Sao Paulo is anything but a place to see the natural world and you would be disappointed if you went to the city to see nature. Nonetheless Sao Paulo is a very important city as it is deemed to be the financial centre for Brazil.

In a tourism aspect Sao Paulo offers fewer than its neighbouring municipality ‘Rio De Janeiro. It is centered on its culture, museums, monuments and arts although the city does have its green space for tourists to unwind.

The Place to Roam

Firstly one of the main places to visit in Sao Paulo is ‘Paulista Avenue’ this is Brazil’s version of time’s square (how it was described to me). It is their business district which stretches more than a mile and hosts many financial institutes, museums, churches, shops and restaurants. Sao Paulo’s ‘Museum of Arts’ resides here and in my opinion the museum doesn’t really have a brilliant exterior but inside which has some of the most notable artwork in brazil is where the brilliance is, so for those art fanatics this could be the place to visit. Apart from that the strip itself is a pleasure to roam for shopping and dinning and should be a place to go while staying in Sao Paulo.

Did you know?

Sao Paulo is South America’s largest city by population.

Central

Another place to visit in the city is ‘Centro’, where you can find ‘Sao Paulo Cathedral’ which is considered as one of the city’s main attraction.

Another point of interest around Centro is the popular ‘Municipality Market’ which was built on 1933 and till now the building itself trades fresh fruits, vegetable and other Brazilian products. This area is a bit more dangerous than Paulista Avenue as there are plenty of dodgy homeless people, but a little vigilance and everything should be fine as there are plenty of security and police around. It is advised not to visit this area at night as it could be very dangerous

For Street Art

Another area of interest is Vila Madalena which is popular for its street arts, music and nightlife. This is the area where the majority of backpackers stay.

World’s Greatest Sport

Football is huge in Brazil and Sao Paulo has one of the countries most important stadiums in the ‘Estadio Municipal Paulo Machado de Caravalho’ or ‘Estadio do Pacaembu’ which is more popularly known as, is the city’s resident stadium. The big four resident football clubs that use this stadium are Sao Paulo, Corinthians, Palmeiras and Santos who share the ground for their respective games. Away from matches the stadium still has one of the most sought out football museums in Brazil, a definite place to visit for football fans.

A Different Culture

Sao Paulo has a very high influx of Japanese immigrants and this has resulted in a popular area within ‘Liberdade’ known as the little Tokyo. Here there are plenty of Japanese shops, restaurants, cafes and even Japanese gardens. A very popular place for tourists to visit, buy souvenirs and even have a snack.

Did you know?

Sao Paulo is the only city outside Japan with a gymnasium exclusive to Sumo wrestling

There’s a place to relax

Last but not the least away from the city rush, there is an excellent place to unwind in ‘Ibirapuera Park’. A peaceful location away from the hustle and bustle of the city, this is a green space where many unwind, run, cycle, picnic, skateboard and do other leisure activities in their free time. Furthermore the park is also home to a few museums and important monuments such as the ‘Monument of Bandeiras’ a famous sculpture at the entrance of the park to commemorate the settling expeditions of inner Brazil.

My Take on the City

Sao Paulo is a beautiful city that distances itself away from the bad reputation of Brazils crime rate. Although tourists still need to be vigilant, I felt safe enough to bring out my camera and phone (except for Centro). I was also fine with using the ‘metro’, it was easy, cheap and safe to use just like any metro system in Europe. Food in the City is also very easy to find and you will be spoilt for choices with either local, fast food or international cuisine. Overall do make sure you visit this lovely Brazilian metropolis but staying here longer than 2 or 3 days could result in boredom, out of town excursions would be a good idea.

Categories: Profile, South AmericaTags: Blog, Brazil, Profile, South America