20 great things to do in São Paulo

 

Sway to samba, volunteer in a favela and pop a 'cure-all' berry

with travel tips for major world cities, great competitions and exciting features.

 

Learn to cook Brazilian cuisine with Capim Santo's top chef - Capim Santo PR

By Time Out editors

1. Have a Brazilian

The São Paulo culinary scene has never had it so good. Paulistano chefs are creating hitherto unknown flavours and tastes by using ingredients from the Amazon as well as the rest of the country.
For the crème de la crème of Paulistano society, the place to eat is D.O.M.. Chef Alex Atala’s temple to Brazilian gastronomy is one of the top 50 restaurants in the world according the UK's Restaurant magazine. For a taste of the Amazon head to Brasil a Gosto where chef Ana Luiza Trajano floats the finest ingredients of the jungle river to your table. At Tordesilhas chef Mara Salles was inspired by her Pernambucan roots (a state on the north-eastern coast) to create traditional dishes using local ingredients.
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2. Get 'malled'

American-style malls are to São Paulo what Versailles was to France: all about style and power. There are more than 50 major malls (simply known as shoppings) in the city, which together employ about 250,000 people, receive an estimated 3,000,000 shoppers per day, and grow ten per cent each year, notwithstanding the recent economic crisis.
Three mall superstars are in competition for first place for pilfering Paulistanos’ pockets:  Daslu, where movie stars and glitterati arrive in helicopters to stock up on designer labels Gucci, Prada and Pucci; Cidade Jardim, for which Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) serves as the public face; and the city's oldest shopping centre Iguatemi, where sophistication and class still rule.
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3. Find your religious Centro

São Paulo’s churches and cathedrals span the 16th to the 20th centuries. Not surprisingly, the oldest are concentrated in Centro, its oldest neighbourhood. Don’t miss the two iconic churches:
The Mosteiro de São Bento complex (Largo São Bento s/n, 3328 8799, www.mosteiro.org.br) includes a school, a university, monastery and the original Basilica from 1598. It hosts Gregorian chants from the Benedictine monks early every morning. Later the monks sell home-made bread, cakes, chocolates and jams.
Catedral Metropolitana (Praça da Sé s/n, 3106 2709) was constructed in its most recent incarnation between 1913 and 1967, and is one of the largest Gothic churches in the world, seating a staggering 8,000 worshippers. The cathedral’s completion was delayed considerably by the two World Wars, since its organ, all its mosaics, sculptures and furniture were shipped over from Italy. Nevertheless, the cathedral was inaugurated, without its two towers, in 1954.
See all religious sites & bulldings in São Paulo

4. Sip a shot of cachaça

Long considered a poor man's drink, today cachaça – the distilled by-product of fermented sugarcane – is big business. Brazilians raise their glasses with 400 million gallons each year, made by more than 30,000 distillers.
The ubiquitous brands, 51 (Brazil's most sold and a São Paulo-based company) and Ypioca, are fine with a mountain of fruit and sugar, but for cachaça sophistication, look out for São Paulo brands Sapucaia Velha and Mato Dentro.
Be warned, cachaça isn't meant to be downed, but savoured sip by sip.

The best cachaça

While most places around town serve cachaças, only a small number of spots are known for their variety and flair. Try Bar do Arnesto, Cachaçaria Paulista and Filial for a great atmosphere and enough cachaças to satisfy the most adamant aficionado.
See all bars & pubs in São Paulo

5. Carnival your costume off

São Paulo knows how to throw a bit of a party and Carnaval is a uniquely Brazilian extreme of pre-Lent bacchanalia.
Read more about Carnaval
Read more about all festivals & events in São Paulo

6. Sway to a South American beat

It's impossible to understate the variety and quality of live music on offer in São Paulo: hip hop, Rio funk, jazz, bossa nova, rock, MPB (música popular brasileira), samba, pagode (a sub genre of samba), choro (popular traditional music), música sertanja (music from the backcountry), and forró (although forró can refer to almost any traditional music from north-east of Brazil, the most frequent form is a trio comprised of accordion, large bass drum and triangle, along with vocals) all regularly take centre stage somewhere in the city.
Head to Canto da Ema to see some of the best forró musicians in action; Bourbon Street Music Club to catch Brazil's big jazz names; Bar Brahma for a resident star line-up of samba, MPB, choro, jazz and pop; and Ó do Borogodó for the best samba in town.
See all music venues in São Paulo

7. Catch a pre-2014 World Cup futebol match

Football is generally considered the be-all and end-all of sporting passion in Brazil, and the country's residents couldn't be more excited about hosting the FIFA World Cup in 2014 for the first time since 1950. But there is plenty of sporting action to be enjoyed in São Paulo before this. A trip to watch a match of the ‘beautiful game’ at one of the city's two footballing institutions is a requisite of any sport fan's trip.
Estádio do Morumbi is home to São Paulo Football Club and also hosts the state championship games, know as clássicos; Estádio do Pacaembu is home to the football club Corinthians and the Museu do Futebol, where the shirt worn by Pelé during the 1970 World Cup Final in Mexico is a prized exhibit.
See all sport, health & fitness venues in São Paulo

8. Party in a nightlife powerhouse

São Paulo’s nightlife easily competes with that of New York or London. The city has been a hotbed for spinning and knob-twisting artists for the last ten years. Names such as Renato Cohen, Wrecked Machines, Murphy, Click Box, Pet Duo, Drumagick and Wehbba, all born and bred in São Paulo, are now touring the world’s dancefloors.
A range of high-profile venues, including the local outpost of Ibiza’s Pacha and D-Edge, cater to the affluent set, while the more underground places, such as Bar Secreto and the Party Intima evenings at Audio Delicatessen, are good for those not so into the super club vibe.
See all clubs in São Paulo

9. Join the market forces

São Paulo's three star markets are The Mercadão, a laboratory of the edible, spanning all of the city’s most important ethnic cuisines and displaying an incredibly colourful array of fruits and vegetables; Feira da República, an open-air centre with 600 stands and a wide selection of food and local art; and Feira de Arte, Artesanato e Cultura da Liberdade (Feira da Liberdade), São Paulo’s best-loved market with 240 stalls selling Japanese or Chinese fast-food treats, jewellery, bonsai trees, aquarium fish and bamboo kitchen utensils.
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10. Hike and bike in São Paulo’s parks

Parque do Ibirapuera is São Paulo’s Central Park. It’s home to a number of museums and institutions, and its popularity has turned it into a lively slice of the city. You’ll find in-line skaters and skateboarders cruising around and doing tricks under the cement overpass near the Museu Afro Brasil, urban dance enthusiasts practising routines, students holding theatre rehearsals, possibly a yoga or t’ai chi class or two, dog walkers, comedians, and even an occasional accordion player.
Parque da Cantareira has a nine-kilometre trail around the biggest urban forest in the country. It takes a whole day to complete and you can hike it on your own, but if you want to take a guide then contact Ecoturismo Brasil (3903 0277, www.ecoturismobrasil.com.br).
Opened in 1939, Parque da Aclimação (Rua Muniz de Souza 1119, 5573 4180) has a huge lake and a pleasant tree-lined track around the water. It’s a great walk even on busy weekends, when live music often accompanies your steps.
Águas Claras park has easy trails through the forest, and a lake full of carp; the trails connect it to another park, Pedra Branca. There are three main trails here, and a half-hour walk takes you to the viewing point, where on a cloudless day you can see the Serra do Mar Mountains across town.
The most popular park in the north, the Horto Florestal, is smaller than Parque do Ibirapuera but just as beautiful. The Palácio do Horto (known also as the government’s summer palace) is a building built in the 1930s, and contains pieces of art from Oscar Pereira da Silva, Margaret Mee, Collete Pujol and other important contemporary artists.
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11. Visualise Brazilian art

Must-visits for any art lover include Museu de Arte Brasileira (FAAP), which has a superlative collection of works by notable modern and contemporary Brazilian artists; Instituto de Arte Contemporânea, which displays works by Sergio Camargo, Mira Schendel, Willys de Castro and Amilcar de Castro – four artists deemed fundamentally influential to modern-day Brazilian art; and Museu de Arte de São Paulo (MASP), where you'll find the best collection of 20th-century European and Brazilian art in South America including old Spanish masters such as Velázquez, Goya, Titian, Tintoretto and Raphael, and the Brazilian modernists Portinari, Di Cavalcanti and Anita Malfatti.
See all arts venues in São Paulo

12. Volunteer in a Favela

Volunteering can be a very rewarding way to immerse yourself in the local culture and increase your understanding of the trials and tribulations that many Brazilians experience on a daily basis. From the country’s population of 186 million, 40 million live below the poverty line, and Brazil has some of the widest divisions between rich and poor in the world.
There are many opportunities for teaching English, taking part in youth outreach programmes or helping out in orphanages and cultural centres. Visit www.volunteerabroad.com for details.
If you’re staying in São Paulo for an extended period of time, check out Children at Risk Foundation (CARF; www.carfweb.net), which runs several programmes in Diadema, on the periphery of São Paulo. Some foreign organisations, such as the American Society of São Paulo (www.americansociety.com.br), also support various outreach programmes. Portuguese speakers should also try www.voluntariado.org.br.

13. Tuck into street eats

São Paulo’s street fare should not be overlooked. Buttered sweetcorn fresh from the cob, creamy, sweetcorn juice, slices of tropical fruit, agua de coco (coconut water) served in the coconut, and for those with a very sweet tooth, caldo de cana – pressed sugar cane juice – can all be bought from street stalls for around R$1 or R$2.
Pão de queijo (cheese bread) is a breakfast staple for the hungry morning commuters, while a favoured evening salgadinho (appetiser) is the pastel – a crispy, thin, deep-fried pastry with a variety of fillings, such as cheese, chicken, palm hearts, minced meat or the Brazilian catupiry (soft cheese).

14. Escape to an island hideaway

Ilhabela is a favourite island hideaway for Paulistanos. Currently, Ilhabela hosts some 20,000 year-round residents, but upwards of 100,000 tourists pass through during the summer months. Its key attractions – the beaches – are some of the safest and the cleanest along the coast of either Rio or São Paulo states, and the 346-kilometre Parque Estadual de Ilhabela (Ilhabela State Park), still covers 83 per cent of the island, thanks to laws limiting further development. Wildlife enthusiasts come here to spot otters, monkeys, lizards, wild cats and the island’s 800 species of birds, while divers head to Ilhabela for the marine life and the array of undersea shipwrecks. Also on offer are watersports, jungle hikes, 400 waterfalls, boat and jeep excursions and, of course, simply lying back on beaches.
During the peak summer months and on Brazilian holidays, the island’s strips of sand can be packed, but go any other time of year, and you’ll have all the space you could want, even on the most popular beaches.

Getting there

The only bus company with service from São Paulo to São Sebastião (dropping you right next to the ferry to Ilhabela) is Litorânea (              11 3775 3861         11 3775 3861, www.litoranea.com.br), with eight departures daily from the Tietê Terminal. The trip takes three and an half hours in good traffic conditions, and a one-way ticket costs R$41. The ferry between São Sebastião and Ilhabela runs 24 hours and leaves every 20 minutes or so. Pedestrians and cyclists cross for free. A round trip for a car on weekdays is R$12; on weekends, it’s R$17. Motorists may want to jump the queues (particularly on summer weekend rush times) by making a reservation at 3358 2743 or 3358 3088, though they’ll pay more than five times the normal fee for the privilege.

15. Bag a Brazilian designer outfit

Brazilian designers have been making headway overseas. Arguably the labels best known internationally are Alexandre Herchcovitch (the national John Galliano), and Osklen (at Daslu). Close behind them are Isabela Capeto, Carlota Joakina, Triton, Huis Clos, Lino Villaventura, Tufi Duek and the man who made all the waves at the SPFW (São Paulo Fashion Week) in winter 2009, Ronaldo Fraga, from the state of Minas Gerais.
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16. Spot street art

Pixação, a form of graffiti specific to São Paulo, grew out of extreme urban poverty and gives a voice to a marginalised population, many of whom live on the street. This simple, single-tone graffiti consists of black or blue single line letters, depicted in sharp lines and straight angles. There is no stylistic innovation in pixação; the artist’s merit is judged on the note-worthiness of the ‘canvas’ – such as the 14th storey of a building, that has to be scaled without ropes in the middle of the night. Due to the precarious nature of this form of graffiti, Pixadores fall to awful and often anonymous deaths in great numbers.

17. Be berry controversial

Wherever you wander in São Paulo, you’re likely to spot a poster marketing açai, a purple berry from the Amazon, which, it has been claimed, but never scientifically proved, can cure all your ills. Loaded with biological buzz – anti-oxidants and essential amino acids – açai is nature-made for an age in which medical and food marketing are increasingly interlaced.
However, Brazilians have been eating this berry for many years (most often as a breakfast, blended with banana or strawberry, or with granola) for the right reason, and the only verifiable one too: açai simply tastes so good.
Açaí bars are a dime a dozen in Brazilian cities but here are a few of our São Paulo favourites: Açaí B&B (Avenida Doutor Arnaldo 1179, Sumaré, 3062 6850, closed Sun); Açaí Bar (Rua Chilon 141, Itaim Bibi, 3045 0505); Açaí Beach Bar (Rua Augusta 1902, loja 3, Jardins, 3159 3240, www.açaibeachbar.com.br).
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18. Take pole position

Brazilian sport lovers still get revved up about racing legend Ayrton Senna, who died 15 years ago, on 1 May 1994, when his car veered off the Imola track during the San Marino Grand Prix, hitting the concrete wall at the Tamburello corner to the horror of millions watching on television.
Senna won three world championships and 41 grand prix races, took 65 pole positions and made 162 grand prix starts in his ten year career; a track success that earned him a firm spot in the Formula 1 Hall of Fame.
Visitor to São Paulo travel down the road now named after Senna, heading from Guarulhos airport to the city centre. Fans can also pay their respects at the Cemiterio do Morumbi, not far from the city’s famous Autódromo de Interlagos (Avenida Sen. Teotônio Vilela 261, 5041 3233, www.gpbrasil.com.br), where today’s Formula 1 stars like Hamilton, and Brazilians Rubens Barrichello and Felipe Massa, battle for the pole and podium.
There is a modest bronze plaque marking Senna’s grave: ‘Nada pode me separar do amor de Deus.’ (Nothing can separate me from the love of God). Or from the love of his fellow Brasileiros.
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19. Stay somewhere 'unique'

Ruy Ohtake is São Paulo’s well-known contemporary architect. His best-known works include the Tomie Ohtake and Crianças e O Mar institutes (Child and Sea orphanage in the coastal town of Ubatuba). Those with a big enough wallet can stay overnight in either the Hotel Unique or Renaissance.
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20. Learn to be a local

Cook up a tune

Several times a week, Morena Leite, the young and impressive owner of Capim Santo teaches cooking classes on the second floor of her restaurant. Lessons are arranged according to her theory of cooking with music, and a guitarist accompanies the class with favourite Brazilian food songs. If you can’t afford to splurge on the class, Morena’s book on Bahian food can be found in English in many of São Paulo’s book stores, and it includes a CD.

Get a body beautiful

Feeling a little wobbly with all those buff Brazilian bodies jogging past? Get yourself a personal trainer in the park. Try www.pntreinamento.com.br.

Write your own Samba

Even a gringo lacking any semblance of skill with Portuguese syllabics can begin his or her career as a musical poet – or at least sing along in a São Paulo bar – without major embarrassment.
The most important words for any samba are saudade – the untranslatable word for longing; alegria – pure happiness; tristeza – plain and simple sadness; maravilhoso/a – marvelous; and no morro/morro – literally, ‘on the hill’, or hill, the most common term for a Brazilian favela.
You can sing any combination of these words in any order and approximate a samba. It’s that simple (sort of).
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