São Paulo is a massive, sprawling city of skyscrapers with about 21 million people living in it’s metropolitan area. It is polluted, the traffic is maddening and I would not make a trip to Brazil to visit São Paulo. But if you will be in Brazil and want to spend a couple of days in São Paulo (you will most likely fly in and out of there anyway), there are some gems worth seeing. There is a misconception that SP is just a grey concrete jungle, but if you get to walk or drive around the neighborhoods of Jardim Paulista, Jardim Europa, Pinheiros, Vila Madalena, you will experience some really green neighborhoods with massive, mature trees that are quite lovely.
STAY Fasano Hotel [trendy & beautiful boutique hotel in a great location walkable to Oscar Freire Street which full of shops & great restaurants] Emiliano Hotel [another upscale boutique hotel not too far from Fasano] Renaissance Hotel [very large, but comfortable hotel, close to Avenida Paulista which is the heart of São Paulo] - these first three hotels are in the Jardim Paulista neighborhood that is quite walkable & green - Hotel Unique [high-end hotel with a modernist architecture and very unique, as the name says, look & feel. In a residential neighborhood close to Ibirapuera Park but not walkable to much else]
EAT São Paulo has a lot of good restaurants and I will just name a few that I got to eat at on my last 2-night stay there - Maní [this is my favorite restaurant in SP; it takes very typical/traditional Brazilian ingredients to create a more refined meal in a quaint former house with an intimate vibe. The caipirinhas are to die for, so make sure to have one or two - don’t go to the location in the Mall, go to location in Pinheiros] D.O.M [considered one of the 50 best restaurants in the world, eating at D.O.M is a journey into the heart of the Amazon jungle & rivers, into the forgotten indigenous traditions & ingredients; it is Brazilian food to be proud of. Yes, it’s high end & refined. And not cheap. But a real treat! And make sure o have the cocktails!] Dalva e Dito [same chef as D.O.M, Alex Atala, but a bit more casual] Pão de Queijo Haddock Lobo [this tiny hole in the wall serves the most delicious traditional cheese breads] Balaio [inside the the cultural center Instituto Moreira Salles - IMS, this restaurant also serves creative & traditional Brazilian dishes in a very casual environment with shared tables. Delicious food!] Santo Grão [casual café & restaurant on Oscar Freire, good option for breakfast or lunch]
TO DO Instituto Moreira Salles - IMS [at Avenida Paulista this wonderful cultural center offers free art & photography exhibits, an art bookstore & a movie theatre; you will also get a great view of Avenida Paulista from this building] MASP [this is THE art museum in Brazil; also on Avenida Paulista] Private Street Art Tour with Around SP [Dóris was my wonderful guide who took me around SP to see all my favorite street artist’s installations - Kobra, Os Gêmeos, Miss Van, etc - we started with a tour of the Ibirapuera Park, which is the Central Park of São Paulo. Many murals have been painted on the complex of building designed by the famous Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer. We also went to the Bairro of Santana to visit the Open Air Street Art Museum (MAAU). This museum has the largest conglomeration of art from the best known local street artist, with approximately 70 murals beneath the metro train tracks. Finally we made our way to the well-known bohemian neighborhood of Vila Madalena. We got to walk along back streets and alleyways to see the vibrant displays of spray-painted murals. It is a great way to see a little bit of SP and appreciate some art at the same time. You will notice that the only pictures I’m posting are from these tour] Lenny & Cia [this store has the nicest collection of bikinis & bathing suits in Brazil]
