Sao Paulo is the largest city in South America with a staggering population of over 20 million people and without a local person to show you around, or a clear idea of where to go, you can feel completely lost.
Sao Paulo is a city that dates back to 1554, and since this period immigrants from around the world have made Sao Paulo home. In the architecture, food and culture you’ll get a first hand insight into the influences of Portuguese, Spanish, German, African, Arab,Jewish and Japanese settlers.
To help you make the most of your trip, we have put together this guide to visiting Sao Paulo for the first time with recommendations for where to go, the top rated attractions to see and the most popular things to do before leaving the city.
Sao Paulo Travel Essentials
If you are looking to plan a trip to Sao Paulo check out these websites:
• Book cheap flights on Skyscanner
• Find the hotels with Booking.com
• Search sightseeing tours & activities on GetYourGuide
• Browse small group adventure tours of Brazil with G Adventures
Best Places to Visit in Sao Paulo
These are some of the most popular places to add to your Sao Paulo travel itinerary:
1. Walk Down Avenue Paulista
Avenue Paulista is one of the most iconic São Paulo destinations, a huge road stretching for miles with businesses, shops, museums and a park. This is very similar to 5th Avenue in New York City. On weekends traffic is stopped and the streets become vibrant with street music, performances and local people exercising and hanging around. There are also lots of art installations, cinemas, huge bookshops and lots of places to stop off.
2. Nightlife on Rua Augusta
Run Augusta is located just off Avenue Paulista and this is one of the coolest streets in São Paulo with bars and restaurants. It is very popular with youngsters and on week nights and weekends it is usually lively with live music and lots of people sitting outside bars drinking.
3. Go Up the Farol Santander Building
The Farol building is similar to the Empire State Building in New York City, a huge tower with an amazing viewing gallery at the top where you can get an amazing view of the sprawling Sao Paulo skyline. Visiting at both day and night is recommended, the interiors of the building are really impressive especially when you see the huge glass chandelier at the entrance. There are regular exhibitions at the Farol building highlighting artists from around the world.
4. See Art at Museu de arte de São Paulo (MASP)
MASP is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the center of Sao Paulo. This is one of the main cultural hubs in the city, located in a very distinctive building on Avenue Paulista. Here you can see art and collections from around the world. There are several different floors with different art from around the world, some modern and some from past eras. Every Wednesday there is free entry.
5. Parque Tenente Siqueira Campos
Located directly opposite MASP is a little hidden away park which is a great tranquility spot to escape the heat, traffic and noise from Avenue Paulista and Sao Paulo. Although this park isn’t huge, it is still very scenic and a great place to unwind surrounding by nature. If you have children there is a great play park with swings, slides and rides. There is also an outdoor exercise area.
6. Go Trendy in Vila Madalena
Vila Madalena is a really trendy neighbourhood and a great place to visit both in the day and at at night. Beco do Batman (Batman Alley) is the most famous attraction here, this is a small narrow street full of art and graffiti from Brazilian and international artists. This was one of the first ever open-air museums dedicated to graffiti and every few months new wall art is added to keep it fresh. Beco do Batman is free to enter and walk through and there are also lots of cafes and bars nearby, weekends can be very lively.
7. Relax in Parque Ibirapuera
Sao Paulo is a concrete jungle with very little green space, so Parque Ibirapuera is an oasis in the desert. Parque Ibirapuera is the largest park in central Sao Paulo and can walk around it, see lakes, grab photos or hire bikes.
This is a popular location for locals and tourists alike and it is a great destination to visit when the weather is warm and sunny, you can easily spend a morning, afternoon or whole day relaxing here.
There are lots of open spaces, a huge children play area and lots of sports pitches if you want to challenge the locals at football, basketball or volleyball. Be sure to buy a coconut water from one of the local vendors and just kick back and relax in some beautiful settings.
Inside Parque Ibirapuera, you can also visit the impressive looking Pavilhão da Bienal de Artes, designed by Oscar Niemeyer and completed in 1957, houses the excellent Museum of Contemporary Art along with special exhibitions and shows. There are more than 5,000 pieces of art to see from world famous artists like Picasso.
8. Explore Different Neighbourhoods
What many people don’t realise is Sao Paulo is one of the biggest cities in the world, it is a massive metropolis with so many different neighbourhoods. These are some of the places we recommend exploring or even staying:
Liberdade
Sao Paulo is home of the largest concentration of Japanese people outside of Japan which many people don’t realise. If you head to Liberdade you will think you are in Japan rather than Brazil, this district is where there are hundreds of Japanese, Korean and Chinese shops, restaurants, cafes and street stalls. If you love Asian food this is the place to go. It is also a great place to buy souvenirs and handicrafts.
Pinheiros
Pinheiros is a trendy neighbourhood with new shops, bars, restaurants and nightlife. Be sure to check out the Parque Villa-Lobos is located next to the Pinheiros River. This park used to be a rubbish dumb but since 1989 it has been transformed into one of the best green spaces in the city. There are over 30,000 trees here and lots of open spaces to enjoy away from the hustle and bustle of city life. Renting a bike is recommended whilst usually on weekends there are live music performances at the outdoor stage.
Higgienopolis
Higgienopolis is an upmarket neighbourhood of Sao Paulo and a great place to wander around. Higgienopolis is very safe with luxury apartment blocks, shops, embassies and more. Be sure to check out the upmarket shopping mall which is one of the best in the city.
Moema
Moema is one of the most expensive places to live in Sao Paulo with huge houses and apartment blocks. Moema has lots of cafes, restaurants, shops and it is located on Parque Ibirapuera which is one of the main benefits. Moema is very clean, you’ll see little graffiti whilst there are very few homeless people and it feels very safe to walk around even at night. There are lots of trendy bars here to enjoy some nightlife.
9. Parque de Buenos Aires
We have tried to include a lot of parks as visiting São Paulo can be a full on experience especially with so little green spaces. Parque de Buenos Aires a little hidden oasis in the swanky neighbourhood of Higgienopolis. This is a great place to relax in nature, see historical statues, do exercise, see locals walking their dogs and if you have kids there is a large impressive play park with swings, slides, a sandpit and more.
10. Parque da Independência & Musee Paulista
Local in Ipiranga you can find Parque da Independància, the location where independence of Brazil was announced by Prince Pedro in 1822. The gardens are really beautiful and here you can also visit the Musee Paulista, also known as the Museu do Ipiranga, with its impressive architecture and huge collections of art inside.
11. Street Art & Graffiti Tours
You can find amazing street art located throughout Sao Paulo, some are really impressive covering huge skyscrapers. This is one of the most unique things about the city and what makes it one of the best destinations in South America. Some local people offer street art tours for a few hours to a full day taking you to see some of the best local attractions.
12. Feira, Santa Cecília
Santa Cecília is an up and coming neighbourhood located around 15 minute walk from the swanky streets of Higienopolis. Santa Cecilia isn’t a neighbourhood that you would probably normally visit in Sao Paulo, it can be quite edgy with a lot of homeless people here. But it is also quite trendy area with busy cafes, bars, art galleries and shops.
If you are looking for a very local experience in Sao Paulo be sure to check out a feira, a type of local street market, and the one held every Sunday morning in Santa Cecilia is one of the biggest in the city. There are lots of food stats where you can buy groceries, fruit or try the local takeaway food and drink like pastel, a type of fried cheese treat and cale de cana, a delicious suger cane drink.
13. Minhocão
If you’ve ever been to New York City, you will have probably come across the High Line, a disused old railway line turned into one of the most popular tourist attractions in the city. Well Sao Paulo has something a little similar, every weekend traffic is closed on one of the busiest motorways running through the city and people are free to use it for exercise and sightseeing. The route is two miles long and you can expect to see locals riding bikes, walking dogs and just hanging out. There are also so many cool street art installations to see along the route too.
14. Watch a Live Football Game
Local people are fanatical about football in Sao Paulo and every month there are usually live games. Some of the most famous and largest supported teams you might want to see live include Palmeiras, Corinthians, São Paulo and Santos whilst there are also smaller local teams. Prices for tickets are cheap compared to European games and the atmosphere is amazing. You can check the football fixtures online.
15. Museo do Futebol (Football Museum)
If you love football you should add the Football Museum to your itinerary. Located in central Sao Paulo here you can see information, pictures, videos and memorabilia about the beautiful game from Brazil and around the world. There are also fun interactive games where you can play football and score penalties.
16. Municipal Market
Sao Paulo’s Municipal Market is a huge indoor space where you can buy food, drink and souvenirs. There are lots of stalls, selling everything from fruit, vegetables, fish and the local treat, the baloney sandwich. We recommend visiting over the weekend, buying a snack and eating on the top balconies to get a high view over the bustling market.
17. Pinacoteca do Estado
Pinacoteca do Estado first opened way back in 1905 and it is the oldest art gallery in São Paulo. The building has beautiful architecture and inside you can see thousands of artworks including drawings, paintings, and sculptures from past and present including from some of the most famous Brazilian artists.
18. Edificio Italia, Sao Paulo
Edifício Itália is a 168m (541 ft) tall skyscraper located in República, central Sao Paulo.
This is the third tallest building in Brazil and the second tallest building in Sao Paulo with 46-levels and viewing platform on the top which is the main tourist attraction. If you want to get photos of the never-ending Sao Paulo skyline, Edificio Italia and the Farol Santander buildings are where to go.
To maximize your experience book to eat at the Terraço Itália Restaurant, which is located on the 41st floor of the Edifício Itália building. There is also Bar do Terraço, a bar with live music located on the 42nd floor. The views from both are amazing both during day and night.
19. Watch a Live Performance at Theatro Municipal
If you have ever seen any postcards of São Paulo, you will have likely seen the Municipal Theatre. This is one of the most iconic places in São Paulo, and was built in 1903 and based on the Paris Opera House. Over the decades Theatro Municipal has gone through several renovations and still looks in fantastic condition with a traditional 1900s style. There are regular performances of music and dance which you can buy tickets to see, or even when there are no live events you can enter to have a look around to see the beautiful interiors.
20. Mosteiro de São Bento
Mosteiro de São Bento is one of the oldest buildings in the city which was constructed in 1598. The current church which is located on the site was built between 1910 and 1914. If you have an interest in religion, or just seeing a contrast in styles between new and old Sao Paulo, Mosteiro de São Bento is a symbol of great importance in the city, with history dating back 400 years.
21. Parque da Juventude, São Bernardo do Campo
You won’t see this location mentioned on many Sao Paulo travel guides, but if you love to skateboard, rollerblade or bmx, a trip to the O Parque da Juventude in São Bernardo do Campo is highly recommended.
This is the largest skate park in South America and a must visit destination for adventure sports enthusiasts. Even if you don’t take part, it is still great free live entertainment to watch the pros show off their tricks and skills.
There is a large area dedicated to outdoor skating whilst there is also a huge half pipe, climbing walls, a zip line, a childrens play area, an exercise track and a stage where there is often live music events.
Parque da Juventude is located around an hour from Sao Paulo city centre, and can be reached by bus or taxi.
22. Beach Trip to Santos or Guauja
The coast of São Paulo is spectacular with beautiful white sandy beaches. There are so many places we could recommended especially if you travel up the coast towards Rio de Janeiro, the area around literal Norte has some of the best beaches in the country.
But in terms two of the closest and easiest beaches to get to from Sao Paulo, we recommend Santos or Guauja.
Santos is a late city with a population of around 400,000 people whilst Guauja is less developed with lush nature and a beautiful coastline. Both destinations are very relaxing compared to central Sao Paulo and we recommend staying in either location for at least a few days which will give you time to try and see as many beaches as possible.
Praia Tombo in Guauja is one of the best areas to stay, this beach is a lot less built up and developed compared to others in the area.
Frustratingly for tourists there isn’t a train to the coast from São Paulo city centre, so taxi or bus is your best option. Please note during summer and the holidays, traffic can be insane, a journey which usually take 2 hours can take up to 10! Plan ahead.
Visiting Sao Paulo can be a really fun experience especially if you love big cities.
Other places which are worth trying to see in Sao Paulo city centre if you have time include Largo de São Francisco, SESC, Sé (Cathedral) and Pátio do Colégio.
Before departing you might also like to view our top tips for visiting Brazil for the first time or check out some basic Portuguese phrases for travel which will really help make your trip to Sao Paulo easier as not many local people speak English.
