By air
São Paulo–Guarulhos (GRU), ~25 km
South America · Brazil
São Paulo, Brazil
A giant of food, art and nightlife
Getting there
Best time to visit
April to October — drier and milder
Don't miss
Avenida Paulista
MASP
Ibirapuera Park
The Pinacoteca
Things to do
The Municipal Market
Avenida Paulista on Sundays
MASP
Ibirapuera Park
Where to eat
Sources: Photo: Thomas Hobbs · CC BY-SA 2.0
What to pack
Layers, an umbrella
A quieter corner
Beco do Batman, an alley of murals in Vila Madalena
Questions travellers ask
When is São Paulo most comfortable to visit?
April to October, when it's drier and milder. Bring layers and an umbrella.
What are the must-eats in São Paulo?
The mortadella sandwich at the Mercado Municipal, pizza, and Japanese food in Liberdade.
What are the top sights in São Paulo?
MASP, the Pinacoteca and Ibirapuera Park, plus the Municipal Market. Walk Avenida Paulista on a Sunday.
Where can I see murals in São Paulo?
At Beco do Batman, an alley of murals in Vila Madalena.
About São Paulo
- Inland
Where it is
São Paulo, the capital of the state of São Paulo in south-eastern Brazil, sits on a plateau around 800 m above sea level, only about 70 km from the Atlantic beyond the Serra do Mar escarpment. It is the most populous city in South America.
History
Jesuit priests founded São Paulo in 1554, and from here the bandeirantes set out to explore the interior in search of gold and Indigenous captives. Coffee wealth in the 19th century and waves of immigrants from Italy, Portugal, Spain, Japan, Lebanon and elsewhere made it Brazil's industrial and financial powerhouse in the 20th century.
People
Paulistanos speak Portuguese, and their city is home to the largest Japanese community outside Japan as well as huge communities of Italian, Portuguese and Arab descent and many migrants from Brazil's north-east. Pizza, pastel and Japanese food are local staples, and the city's samba schools parade at Carnival in the Anhembi Sambadrome.
Known for
- Avenida Paulista and MASP
- The Municipal Market
- Ibirapuera Park
- Liberdade, the Japanese-Brazilian district
- Restaurants, bars and nightlife
Did you know?
Japanese immigration to Brazil began in 1908, when the ship Kasato Maru docked at Santos with 781 immigrants, and São Paulo's Liberdade district grew into the heart of the Japanese-Brazilian community.
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