Sao Paulo

From MaxTravelz

For other places with the same name, see Sao Paulo (disambiguation).

São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil and one of the largest in the world, with a population of about 17 million. It is the capital of the Southeastern state of São Paulo, and also a beehive of activity that offers a jovial nightlife and an intense cultural experience. Even though the city has been famed for having a high crime rate, statistics show that it's as safe as any other city of the same size, with the number of criminal incidents declining steeply over the past few years.

São Paulo is also the richest city in the southern hemisphere, though the typical inequality between the classes typically observed in Brazil is blatant. Being home to millions of immigrants, it's one of the most diverse cities in the world and the most cosmopolitan city existant in any developing country.

Contents 1 Districts 2 Understand 3 Get in 3.1 By plane 3.2 By bus 4 Get around 4.1 By bus 4.2 By subway 4.3 By taxi 4.4 By car 5 See 5.1 Museums 5.2 Churches and public buildings 5.3 Public Art 6 Do 6.1 Carnival 6.2 Theaters 7 Learn 8 Buy 8.1 Markets 9 Eat 9.1 Budget 9.2 Mid-range 9.3 Splurge 10 Drink 10.1 Vila Madalena 11 Sleep 11.1 Budget 11.2 Mid-range 11.3 Splurge 12 Contact 13 Stay safe 14 Cope 15 Get out

Districts

Following Sao Paulo's extraordinary growth during the 20th century, most of the old city buildings have given way to contemporary architecture. This means that most tourists sights are concentrated around the center, where 17th-century cathedrals stand in the shadows of skyscrapers. The traditional ethnic neighborhoods are also fairly close to the center. Shopping and dining, though, are spread throughout the city.

• Downtown
• Paulista - the main business, cultural and shopping district
• Cerqueira César - an upscale residential area
• Bixiga and Mooca - the Italian districts
• Liberdade - the Japanese district
• Jardins and Higienopolis - high-class residential and commercial areas
• Berrini - the newest business center of the city
• Morumbi - high-class residential area
• Itaim Bibi
• Campo Belo - District of the Regional Congonhas Airport, a lot of restaurants.
• Moema - Traditional place, full of pubs. If you go there, don't leave without get a taste
• Santana
• Tatuape - a "new rich" district, formerly industrial and near the International Airport
• Vila Mariana
• Lapa

Understand

A large sprawling city can present numerous challenges to sensibilities. São Paulo is no exception. It is not an immediately beautiful city, although it will become apparent that the city has a great many pockets of beauty. The population and environment of São Paulo is diverse, and districts within it range from luxurious shopping areas to hovels housing the poor and destitute, located usually far from the so-called "expanded center". There is minimal pollution control regulations for buses and cars, smog can get pretty thick.

Traffic is congested, even at night in some districts. Bus displacements within the main urban area can take easily up to one hour, so a British punctuality is not a very realistic expectation.

Don't be surprised at the diversity of paulistanos and paulistas. For example, São Paulo is home to the largest Japanese population outside of Japan. The city's Italian influence is also very strong, and there's a large Arab population as well. During the 20th century, coming from every country where there has been a war, immigrants found a new home in Brazil, mainly in SP.

Therefore, enjoy in SP one of the richest gastronomy diversities of the planet - around the clock, for all kinds of prices: German, Spanish, French, Greek, Korean... you name it. There are so many restaurants here, though - all varying in quality, that it does pay, however, to do your homework when it comes to finding the good spots. Try the annual restaurant guide in "Veja", if you can get a hold of it. Or study the newspapers on Fridays, particularly Folha de Sao Paulo and Estado de Sao Paulo.

The citizens of São Paulo have a reputation as hard-working and industrious, or alternately, shallow money-grubbers (certainly to cariocas). They say that the people in Sao Paulo work while the rest of Brazil can relax.

Get in

By plane

São Paulo's main international airport is Guarulhos International (GRU), located 25 miles (40 km) from downtown. Two terminals are served by the Brazilian airlines Varig, TAM, Gol and BRA, and by the international United, Delta, American, Continental, Air Canada, Air France, British Airways, TAP Air Portugal, Iberia, Alitalia, KLM, JAL, South African and many other airlines. Shuttle buses will let you off at the west side of Praça Republica in the center of the city. In addition there is excellent Airport Bus service to Paulista and Congonhas.

Congonhas (CGH) is located 15km (9 miles) from downtown and handles only domestic flights and the popular São Paulo - Rio shuttle. Its architecture is worth seeing. Note that domestic flights also fly out of GRU.

Campo de Marte is a small airport close to downtown and is used by small aircraft and helicopters.

Viracopos International (VCP) Located 14 kilometers from the city of Campinas and 99 kilometers from downtown São Paulo, it is mainly used for air cargo transport.

Assistance to airport users and tourists:

• Deatur - Centro 3104-0209
• Deatur - Cumbica International Airport 6445-2221
• Deatur - Congonhas 5090-9032
• Deatur - Viracopos - Campinas (19) 3725-5001

By bus

The long-distance bus station is in Tietê, a short distance from the center. It's connected directly to the Metro system.

Get around

Getting around Sao Paulo can be time consuming and frustrating. It´s a huge city, with a challenged infra-structure. The metro is very small, covering only a small number of stations. The buses have great coverage, but they do take their time. All major roads gets heavily congested in the rush-hours and during public holidays. Travelling from one end of the city to the other can take up to 5 hours if the locations are far away from the metro.

If you can afford it, take taxis whenever you can. To save some money, take taxis simply to the nearest metro station, take the metro to the metro station closest to your destination and walk or take another taxi from this station. This is a rather good approach to getting around Sao Paulo as a visiting tourist, and remember that taxis here are very cheap compared to Europe and the USA. If you´d like to see more of Sao Paulo, talk to a taxi driver and ask him how much he wants to drive you around for a few hours, half a day or even a day. Keep in mind that in these scenarios you should not keep the meter running, but simply offer the driver a fixed sum. Which he or she will be very happy to have. For a three hour tour, try offering around R$ 100.

If you encounter a taxi driver that you really like, remember to get his card or phone number, so you can call him or her up later. Good taxi drivers are worth their reais!

By bus

Buses are the most popular way to get around the city. Even though the drivers really step on it through the bumpy streets of Sao Paulo, buses are not the fastest way to get around. And they can get really crowdy. But they do reach every neighborhood, and unless you´re going to a place that is covered by the metro, or unless you´re driving or taking a taxi...what can you do besides getting on a bus? Tickets are R$2.00 a piece. You can buy tickets inside the bus, or use a bus card with credits bought before boarding. If buying on the bus you simply hand over money to the conductor sitting one thirds into the bus, and he or she will let you through the gate. Note that children can pass for free if they can slip under the gate! If you are getting on several buses in a 2 hour period, you should get a bus card to use with the first ticket you buy. This will give you free rides on all buses in this time-period. Simply pass the card in front of the card reader, and the gate will be open. It may not be a wise idea for a foreigner to take buses late evenings, although buses are generally not as unsafe as in Rio.

If you are carrying suitcases try to avoid rush-hour traffic as the busses become standing room only.

By subway

The city's Metro system is small. Three lines only, with some links to the above-ground train network. (Downloadable map (PDF)). The Metro uses a simple fixed-price ticketing scheme; you can get one-trip or book-of-ten tickets from machines or counters. One-trip and return tickets are valid for inter-line changes on the 3-line Metro system. There are schemes to share tickets with the above-ground network. Try to avoid the metro in the rush hours.

From most districts, it makes sense to consider using a taxi to get to the nearest metro station. This sounds counter-intuitive but it winds up saving overall on the cost of a taxi ride right into town, and is usually faster.

Dialing 156 and then 3, you get information about all bus itineraries in the city (in Portuguese only). Note: A real person answers which bus you have to take to go from where you are to where you want to go.

By taxi

Two kinds of cabs: cheaper street-hail and radio taxi. White taxis often found at stands near city squares, big venues. Use your hotel or ask reception at the museum etc. for help to call a radiocab. Cash fare.

Regular taxis will cost about US$10 (BRL 24) for a 20 min (10 km) ride, which will get you pretty much anywhere you´ll want to go. Meter is always on and drivers are fairly reliable and know their way around well. Note that you can negotiate rides where the drivers will shut off the meter, or accept a fixed price. For example to the airport or a couple of hours tour of the city.

Fares go up after 9PM and on Sundays and holidays (all metered).

You will always be able to get a nice and safe cab outside of clubs, bars and restaurants, no matter how late; and they won´t charge you extra for that.

By car

As is the case with most cities of this size, getting around by car is borderline crazy. Traffic is hell, parking is a nightmare, and they all drive like mad dogs. If you don´t mind these minor objections, feel free to explore the city from behind a steering-wheel... unless it is the wrong day of the week: cars whose license plate end in 1 and 2 cannot circulate on Mondays; if it ends on 3 or 4, Tuesday is off; 5 or 6, stay home or take a cab on Wednesdays; 7 or 8, Thursday is the unlucky day; 9 or 0, on Fridays you can walk as a penance.

Nevertheless, being able to drive around the city still is a great advantage for the visitor staying for a longer time. Buses stop at 1 a.m and the metro around midnight, so it can be tricky to get to many of the famous bars and night clubs unless you take a taxi, or...drive.

See

Museums

The city has a number of great museums, the MASP being one of the most famous.

• The São Paulo Art Museum (MASP) , Av. Paulista 1578, +55 (11) 251-5644. Displays a collection of works ranging from the Renaissance to Contemporary Modern. Visitors walk through rows of paintings that are hung from the ceiling. Open Tuesday to Sunday 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., admission is R$10. The Museum offer discounts for students.
• OCA Museum in Ibirapuera Park is by Oscar Neimeyer, and has good exhibitions and several international seasonal exhibitions.
• Crime Museum (Museu do Crime), Pça Reinaldo Porchat, 219, Cidade Universitária (São Paulo University). Contains a collection of artifacts used to perform crimes and a number of conserved cadavers and body parts.
• Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil, R. Álvares Penteado, 112, Centro 3113 3651. Movies, theater, exhibitions.
• Modern Art Museum (MAM) at Ibirapuera park, located near the OCA Museum.
• Contemporary Art Museum (MAC) at USP (São Paulo University)
• Lasar Segall Art Museum
• Sacred Art Museum (Museu de Arte Sacra) , Av.Tiradentes, 676.
• Pinacoteca, Av. Tiradentes. Located very near of the Mercado Central, big traditional city market which had been recently restored.
• Centro Cultural do Liceu de Artes e Ofícios, R. da Cantareira, 1351.
• Immigration Museum (Museu da Imigração) , Rua Visconde de Parnaíba, 1316 – Moóca

Churches and public buildings

• Mario de Andrade Library , Pça. Dom José Gaspar
• São Bento Monastery (Mosteiro de São Bento), Largo de São Bento. Gregorian chants on Sundays at 11AM.
• Municipal Cathedral, Praça da Sé - Centro
• Orthodox Church, at Paraíso Subway station
• Zen Temple, R. São Joaquim, 273 - Liberdade. (11)278 4515
• Edifício Copan - building by Oscar Niemeyer
• Pátio do Colégio, São Paulo´s first school
• Latter Day Saint (Mormon) church and temple - Av. Professor Francisco Morato, 2390 Caxingui - Sundays 9:00 AM, 1:00 PM.

Public Art

• Subway stations
  • República – paintings by Antônio Peticov
  • Sumaré - paintings by Alex Fleming

Do

• Go to the parks. Ibirapuera Park, Sao Paulo`s Central Park, usually has a lot going on. Watch joggers, dog-walkers and all kinds of street vendors, and sit down on a patch of grass and listen to the birds singing. One of the few places in Sao Paulo where you can do just that. If you feel like it you can even enjoy a Caipirinha from one of the cardbord-box bars you will find close to the entrances. Also buy the sweet and tasty coconut/nougat-sweets that are sold by many vendors in the park. Nearest Metro is "Vila Mariana" and then a short taxi ride, a bus or a 20 minutes walk down the 'Sena Madureira' Avenue. Horto Florestal is a nice park in zona norte. Parque da Luz, Av. Tiradentes is small, but a nice little green spot if you happen to be in the neighborhood. Be aware that many prostitutes hang out here, though.

• Watch the city. For example by taking a tour in a taxi, walking in specific neighborhoods or by catching a great view of the city by taking the elevator to the top of Edifício Itália, once the tallest building in São Paulo, for a nice view of the city. It's located at Avenida Ipiranga, 344 (on the corner with Avenida São Luiz), close to Metrô República. There's a restaurant on the top floor. For sightseeing tips: stroll along Vila Nova Conceiçao (home of the rich), or the Vila Madalena neighborhood which concentrates several Bars and Night Clubs, famous for its wide selection of bars and forms of entertainment. The region practically never sleeps with most clubs being open till 5 a.m. You can get there by car, or by taking the metro to the station Vila Madalena. A taxi ride from Av. Paulista is only around R$ 15. If you go by car, expect to pay for parking along the streets. Also check out Vila Mariana neighborhood considered mostly residential but in the last year has attracted most of the new bars being opened in the city. It is mostly cheaper than Vila Madelena and abridges two big Art and Marketing universities (Belas Artes and ESPM). The crowd varies from university students to 30-35 years old visitants. Travelling by Subway to Paraiso Station and then a short walk down the bars is advisable.
• São Paulo Jockey Club, Av. Linneu de Paula Machado, 1263, www.hcj.com.br
• Drive along Pinheiros neighborhood which contains most of the famous and popular night clubs in the city. The crossing from Av. Faria Lima and Av. Juscelino Kubschek is a good place to start. Driving along the Faria Lima and surrounds, visitors will be rejoiced by a wide selection of bars and night club. Travelling by car only.

Carnival

If you´re in Sao Paulo during the annual carneval, you should definately get tickets to parade in the Sambodromo, near Armenia and Tiete Metro stations. If you can afford it get tickets closest to the pista. This will give you a premium view to the parade, and give you the possibility of sitting down relatively comfortably. Waiters pass to and fro selling chocolate, crisps, beer, soft-drinks and spirits. The next best place is the Arquibancada B, where you are in the middle of the pista run, and have the possibilty of standing in the front gallery. This is the best spot for taking photos, as there are high fences in the more expensive spots below.

After the parade there will be huge lines of taxis looking for customers outside the stadium.

Note that there is a very comfortable and relatively reasonable Holiday Inn very close to the Sambodromo.

Theaters

• Ágora Centro de Desenvolvimento Teatral, Rua Rui Barbosa, 672, +55 11 284-0290, (90 people)
• Centro Cultural São Paulo , Salas Adoniran Barbosa, Jardel Filho e Paulo Emílio Salles Gomes, Espaço Cênico Ademar Guerra. Programação. Av. Vergueiro,1000, close to subway station Vergueiro, +55 11 3277-3611
• Cine Teatro de Arte Recriarte Bijou, Praça Roosevelt, 172, +55 11 257-2264
• Galpão do Folias, Rua Ana Cintra, 213, close to subway station Santa Cecília, Santa Cecília, +55 11 3361-2223
• N.Ex.T. - Núcleo Experimental de Teatro, Rua Rego Freitas, 454, +55 11 259-2485
• Sala Cinemateca , R. Sen.Raul Cardoso, 207, 5084-2177. Movie theater
• Sesc Pompéia , R. Clélia, 93
• Sala São Paulo , 3337-5414. Concerts - acoustically, one of the best in Latin America.
• Teatro Alfa, Rua Bento Branco de Andrade Filho, 722, +55 11 5693-4000
• Teatro Alfredo Mesquita, Av. Santos Dummont, 1770, +55 11 6221-3657
• Teatro Aliança Francesa, Rua General Jardim, 182, +55 11 259-0086
• Teatro Alfredo Mesquita, Av. Santos Dummont, 1770, +55 11 6221-3657
• Teatro de Arena Eugênio Kusnet, Rua Teodoro Baima, 94, +55 11 256-9463
• Teatro Arthur Azevedo, Av. Pais de Barros, 955 - Móoca, +55 11292-8007
• Teatro Augusta, Rua Augusta, 943, +55 11 3151-2464
• Teatro Brasileiro de Comédia - TBC, Rua Major Diogo,315, +55 11 3104-5523
• Teatro Bibi Ferreira, Av. Brigadeiro Luís Antônio, 931, +55 11 3105-3129
• Teatro Cacilda Becker, Rua Tito, 295 - Lapa, +55 11 864-4513. São Paulo, SP.
• Teatro Célia Helena, Rua Barão de Iguape, 113 - Liberdade, +55 11 279-0470
• Teatro Clowne Plaza, Rua Frei Caneca, 1360, +55 11 289-0985
• Teatro Cultura Artística, Rua Nestor Pestana, 196, +55 11 258-3615
• Teatro Cultura Inglesa, Rua Deputado Lacerda Franco, +55 11 814-0100
• Teatro FAAP - Rua Alagoas, 903, +55 11 3662-1992. São Paulo, SP.
• Teatro Fernando Azevedo, Praça da República, 53 - Centro, +55 11 255-1384
• Teatro Flávio Império, Rua Professor Alves Pedroso, 600, +55 11 6621-2719
• Teatro Hilton, Av. Ipiranga, 165, +55 11 259-6508
• Teatro Imprensa, Rua Jaceguai, 400, +55 11 239-4203
• Teatro Itália, Av Ipiranga, 344, +55 11 257-9092
• Teatro Jardel Filho, Av. Brigadeiro Luís Antônio, 884, +55 11 3107-3364
• Teatro Jofre Soares, Rua Major Diogo, 547, +55 11 3105-9463
• Teatro Lucas Pardo Filho, Rua Gravataí, 47, +55 11 3862-9403
• Teatro Maria Della Costa, Rua Paim, 72, +55 11 256-9115
• Teatro Martins Penna, Largo do Rosário, 20, +55 11 293-6630
• Teatro Municipal , +55 11 3334-0001
• Teatro das Nações, Av. São João, 1737, +55 11 220-8012
• Teatro Nelson Rodrigues, Rua 13 de Maio, 830, +55 11 288-3887
• Teatro Oficina, Rua Jaceguai, 520, +55 11 3106-2818, Political resistance epicenter in the 60's
• Teatro Ópera, Rua Rui Barbosa, 266, +55 11 3171-1277
• Teatro Paiol, Rua Amaral Gurgel, 164, +55 11 221-2462
• Teatro Paulo Eiró, Av. Adolfo Pinheiro, 765, +55 11 546-0449
• Teatro Pirandello, Rua Major Diogo, 578, +55 11 232-3393
• Teatro Plínio Marcos, no Shopping Pompéia Nobre - ao lado do SESC Pompéia - Rua Clélia, 33, +55 11 864-3129 - capacidade: 90 lugares
• Teatro Popular do SESI, Av. Paulista, 1313, +55 11 284-3639.
• Teatro Procópio Ferreira, Programação, ingressos e informações. Rua Augusta, 2823 - bairro de Cerqueira César, +55 11 883-4475/282-2409/3061-9260
• Teatro Renaissance, Alameda Santos, 2233, +55 11 3069-2233
• Teatro Ruth Escobar, Rua dos Ingleses, 209, +55 11 289-2358
• Theatro São Pedro, Rua Barra Funda, 171 - Barra Funda, +55 11 3823 9660
• Teatro Sérgio Cardoso, Rua Rui Barbosa, 153 - Bexiga, +55 11 288-0136
• Teatro Sesc-Anchieta, Rua Dr. Vila Nova, 245, +55 11 256-2281
• Teatro Sesc-Vila Mariana, Rua Pelotas, 141, +55 11 5080-3147
• Teatro Studio 184, Praça Roosevelt, 184, +55 11 255-6153
• Teatro Taib, Rua Três Rios, 246, +55 11 227-9719
• Teatro da Universidade de São Paulo, Rua Maria Antônia, 294, +55 11 255-5538/255-7182 ramais 41 e 42
• Tom Brasil, Casa de espetáculos -
• TUCA - Rua Monte Alegre, 1024, +55 11 3670-8453

Learn

• The University of São Paulo (Universidade de São Paulo) is the largest in the country, and third largest in Latin America.

Buy

• Shop.You´ll find practically anything there. Imported goods are very expensive, but look out for Brazilian made bargains in all categories. Spend some time in one of the many "shoppings" (as Brazilians call the shopping malls) and also look out for areas with shops catering for specific interests. Electronic equipment is expensive. European wines, likewise. But look for Brazilian clothing chains and gift stores.

There´s not a single main Shopping Area in São Paulo, as the city is very large. Every region of the city (Central, Southern, Northern, Eastern and Western) has one or more shopping areas. A great thing about Sao Paulo is that there are many streets devoted to one area of interest.

The majority of shopping malls can be found on the Southern Region (Zona Sul), like the Shopping Ibirapuera (famous for its high-class stores and variety of places to eat), Shopping SP Market Place, Shopping Interlagos, Shopping Jardim Sul, Shopping Plaza Sul and Shopping Metro Santa Cruz (above the station with the same name and offers a good variety of Cinemas, but goes not much further than that.).

The Western Region (Zona Oeste) has most of high-class shopping malls, like Iguatemi and the beautiful Pátio Higienópolis - both are the most expensive in the city. Other shopping in the Western Region are the West Plaza, Eldorado and Morumbi Shopping.

The Central Region (Centro) and the Eastern Region (Zona Leste) has nice shopping options too. Oscar Freire street, neighbour to Avenida Paulista, has luxury clothing stores like Armani, Versace, Louis Vouitton and Gucci. In the Eastern Region is placed the Shopping Aricanduva, the largest in Latin America. Other large shopping malls are the Metrô Tatuapé, at the side of the subway station with the same name (like Metrô Santa Cruz), and the high-class Shopping Anália Franco, also in the district of Tatuapé.

The Northern Region (Zona Norte) has only one shopping mall: the Center Norte, one of the oldest and largest in the city.

Markets

• Central Market, (nearest metro stop São Bento) is a bustling food market, that offers everything from expensive spanish Pata Negra cured ham to cheaper brazilian varieties. Fruits, vegetables, fish and meat; if you don't find it here, you won't find it. Look out for great selections of the brazilian national booze cachaca, and a decent selection of wines from all parts of the world. Upstairs are several simple but alright restaurants, which makes the market, all in all, a great destination while in town. Off Av. Cantarira is a covered cast-iron market square which is nice to see but hard to find.
• Praça Republica has a crafts and arts market on Sunday, until 2pm with good cheap food from stalls, stamps, geological stalls, T-shirts and the like.
• The Feira Oriental (Oriental Market) is held on Sunday afternoons in front of the Liberdade metro station.

Eat

Sao Paulo has a superb diversity of restaurants, and the prices are low for European and American standards.

Budget

There are so many budget eating oportunities in Sao Paulo, and you will have no problem eating a perfectly good dinner for less than R$ 10. The best places to look for when on a budget is the very popular all-you-can-eat establishments called self-service. You will find one literally on every street corner. You pay by weight or a fixed sum to eat as much as you want. Another option is to buy nice street-food such as pastel, corn on the cob, hot dogs. You will find equally many pizza-restaurants throughout the city, where a pizza will cost between R$ 10 - 15. There are also plenty of cheap chain restaurants. One restaurant found throughout the city is Habib's. It is easily recognizable with a genie as its mascot on the sign. It is a fast-food restaurant with Arab food. The esfiha is very cheap and is somewhat like a very small pizza. It comes with a variety of toppings. A handful of these can be a quick and cheap way to fill up.

Mid-range

Perhaps the most famous type of Brazilian restaurant is the Churrascaria. These types of restaurants are found all over the city and inside of some shopping malls. They include all-you-can-eat meat of many different varieties and usually include a salad bar as well. A marker on the table has a green end and a red end. When you want the meat servers to come, turn the green end up. When you would like some peace and a chance to eat without interruption, turn the red end up. Come hungry. Apart from this, there are restaurants for all tastes - all over the city.

• Braz Pizza restaurant with great ambience, located in the lovely neighborhood of Higienopolis and with yet another locale in the equally pleasing neighborhood of Moema. Many believe that Braz serves Sao Paulos best pizza, partly because of a great wood-fired oven and the use of high quality cheeses. Braz also serves a very nice draft beer, both in dark and light varieties. Address: Rua Grauna, 125, Moema. Tel: 5561-1736 and Rua Sergipe, 406, Higienopolis. Tel 3231-1554. Open 1830/0h30. Fridays and Saturdays open till 0130.

• Pasquale A small and quiet little restaurant serving simple italian pasta dishes, cooked with great flavour. You are also offered a selection of brazilian made (but italian-style) prosciutto and salume. Wines by the the glass, and Pasquale also offers a selection of italian wines in bottles. The restaurant is open from noon till midnight every day except Sunday, making it a great place for late lunches! Address: Rua Amalia de Noronha, 167, Pinheiros. Tel: 3081-0333. Near Metro Sumare. Open 12/0h every day but Sunday.

Splurge

• D.O.M. One of the most highly regarded restaurants in Sao Paulo. Voted Best Restaurant 2005 by the Sao Paulo weekly magazine "Veja". It is run by young ex-rocker (now celebrity chef with own TV-show) Alex Atala, who was voted chef of the year 2005 in the same magazine. The restaurant offers two degustation menus, one at R$ 160.00 and the other at R$ 230.00. Address: Rua Barao de Capanema, 549, Jardim Paulista. Tel: 3088-0761. Open 12/15h and 19/0h. Fridays open till 0100. Saturday: Lunch only. Closed Sundays.

Drink

You will have no trouble finding bars in Sao Paulo, where you can enjoy an ice cold beer, a shot of cachaca or a caipirinha - or anything else for that matter. A chope (a glass of draft beer) will set you back between R$ 2 and R$ 10 (in extreme cases), depending on the bar. Some parts of town are better for drinking than others. Vila Madalena and Vila Mariana have a very high concentration of bars, and are great spots for an all-nighter. Vila Madalena is a great place to go for a few drinks, and you will find bars open practically all day and all night, likewise in Vila Olympia and Vila Mariana. Some suggestions:

Vila Madalena

• Piratininga, Rua Wisard, 149. Live music and a cool barman, interior somewhat like a parisian cafe. Open from 1600 until last customer.

• Listen to music. There are a great number of music bars with live shows. Check the Friday newspapers.

Sleep

Budget

• Albergue de Juventude Praça da Árvore, Rua Pague 266, 0xx11-50715148. This HI-Hostel is set way out of the center, but in a safe neighbourhood and close to metrostation Praça da Avore. Has a pleasant and quiet atmosphere.
• The Pousada Dona Ziláh is located on Alameda Franca.

Mid-range

• Estanplaza Nações Unidas, Rua Guararapes, 1889 Brooklin Novo, 55 11 3055-0000 ,fax 55 11 3055-0009. Has a WISP hotspot and cheapish rooms. It's close to a train line, and the IT office district. Nearest Metro is Sao Judas, 10 minutes by taxi.

Splurge

• Maksoud Plaza, Alameda Campinas 150, +55 (11) 3145 8000. Five star hotel conveniently located in the heart of the business and commercial sector.
• Crowne Plaza - São Paulo, Rua Frei Caneca 1360, Cerqueira César. (Near Paulista Ave.) Tel: +55 9110 3253 2244
• Fasano Live in style. Fasano is one of the more elegant hotels in town, and also offers a superb restaurant. 3894-4077

Contact

The biggest daily newspapers are O Estado De São Paulo, Folha de São Paulo and Diario de São Paulo. The newspapers websites are usually good source of information about the city events.

Stay safe

São Paulo, like any big city in South America, has its crime problems, kidnappings being the most common form of crime to residents but tourists are usually affected by pick-pockets and muggings. Though São Paulo is by all accounts more dangerous than large European and American cities, the likelyhood of encoutering violence is still very small for the average tourist. Being sensible and following basic precautions will make your stay safer and event free.

Visitors need to apply caution when wandering about areas outside of the main shopping and hotel districts. Leave your jewelry and excess cash in the hotel's safe. Brazilians tend to dress more conservatively than North Americans and Europeans, so try to blend in. Wearing extravagant or expensive-looking clothing will make you stand out.

A moderate amount of cash should always be carried and be handed over immediately in case of a mugging. If you value your own life, don't even think about resisting muggers, running away, or even worse, carrying weapons as a "deterrent", as muggers will almost certainly outnumber you. Always comply with their demands, then get out quickly. If you obey that rule, you're likely to escape unscathed.

Police are approachable.

English is not always widely spoken.

Cope

Get out

• Just to the south is the city Embu das Artes a city full of talented artists. If you are looking for authentic Brazilian art, crafts, furniture, or other handiwork, or just want to see some really cool shops, this is the place.
• Paraty - A historic town in the neighboring state of Rio de Janeiro

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