Sao Paulo

---

---

If Buenos Aires is the Paris of South America, then Sao Paulo is the New York. This immense metropolis, with over 20 million inhabitants, is not only the largest in South America, but is also the largest in the Southern Hemisphere and the third largest in the world overall. Sao Paulo is the industrial and financial centre of Brazil, with Sao Paulo State producing half of all of Brazil’s GDP, and the city centre is jammed with skyscrapers housing large financial institutions. Before coming to Sao Paulo, I associated the city with slums and poverty, but in the city centre and the surrounding rich neighbourhoods, only the substantial wealth of the city is visible. The city is also the gastronomic and cultural capital of Brazil, with a large selection of quality restaurants as well as over 90 museums. I spent 6 nights in total in the city as there was enough to see, and the hostel I was in was really good (Hostel Saci if anyone reading this is heading to Sao Paulo). This hostel was located within walking distance of the city centre, but in a safer neighbourhood to the west of the centre and closer to the main financial area. As the hostel had a fully equipped kitchen, I only ate out once in the city. Restaurants are more expensive in Brazil than elsewhere in South America, though that said there are some really cheap buffets around too (but rarely vegetarian friendly). The majority of restaurants seem to offer buffet food which is sold per kilo, so you weigh your plate every time you get more. I found a vegetarian restaurant on line which had a nice enough standard buffet, though not good enough to make me want to go back.

The first area in the city I explored was the Avenida Paulista, one of the main thoroughfares of the city, and lined with skyscrapers on both sides for large parts of it. In the middle is the Sao Paulo Art Museum, which I wasn’t going to bother with, but as it was free on Tuesdays and it happened to be a Tuesday, I popped in and there were a few gems to be found (lesser known works by Turner, Constable, Monet, Rembrandt etc). On Sunday they held a large antiques fair beneath the building (which is raised above the ground). The museum was shutting early as it was the day of Brazil’s first World Cup match - the whole city went crazy in the build up (air horns and vuvuzelas everywhere). Then when the match started, the streets fell silent, virtually all shops were shut; those that weren’t had televisions on with all the staff and the odd customer watching. And of course when they scored the city erupted, followed by countless fireworks being set off from all directions. Making my way back to the hostel, I passed through the borough known as Jardins (Gardens), which is based on a British garden city. Some really expensive looking properties and what is supposed to be the 8th most expensive shopping road in the world (full of upmarket boutiques).

The city centre is relatively compact for a city of Sao Paulo’s size. But that makes it easier to see as everything is relatively close together. There are 2 main squares, with the financial district separating the two. Cutting the city in 2 is the Anhangabau Avenue, which is now a park as the road is mostly underground. A large screen had been set up for the world cup matches, so this was jammed most of the time. Just off of this Avenue is the Sao Bento Monastery; not that interesting a site really, but there was a football contest being filmed in the square in front of it, with people from the crowd trying to score a goal against (presumably) a professional Brazilian goalie. I only saw 1 goal in 20 or so attempts. It’s interesting seeing all of the 18th century colonial churches standing next to ultra-modern skyscrapers, which really dwarf everything else in the city centre.

The best skyscraper is the Banespa Building, build in the late 1940s and based on the Empire State Building. At the time of its construction it was the highest building in South America (40 odd floors). Now it seems to be owned by Santander, but you can go up to the roof for free (for only 5 minutes), from where the views were spectacular. For as far as the eye can see were office blocks and blocks of flats. It was unbelievable seeing how far the city extends. I lost count of how many helipads I could see too.

Beyond the financial area is the Pátio de Colégio - the square where the city was founded. The City Museum, which is just around the corner, and is reputedly one of the best in the city, was unfortunately closed for refurbishment. Also just around the corner is the main square of the city, the Praça da Sé. This houses the neo-gothic cathedral (quite an impressive building) as well an a large amount of homeless people. After dark it really didn’t feel that safe so I didn’t hang around long.

To the north of the centre is the market. A very strange market for South American standards as it was clean, not over-crowded and not full of cheap knock off items. Very strange. The north is also where the train stations are located, one of which is based on a British Victorian station, and the other on New York’s Pennsylvania station. Both very nice buildings, but surrounded by quite a few homeless people. The Victorian-style station, which is called Luz (meaning light) housed the Museum of the Portuguese Language, and as a linguist I really had to visit even if I don’t speak Portuguese. Very interesting, though unsurprisingly, everything was in Portuguese! But I understood enough to make it worthwhile.

To the south of the city, in one of the posher neighbourhoods, is the Ibirapuera Park, which was swarmed with joggers and school children visiting one of the 3 museums in the park. I only visited one - the Afro-Brazilian museum, all about the slave trade in the country. Besides the museums, there were some nice lakes and a few monuments that made the visit to the park an enjoyable experience. Much further to the southeast, and a much longer walk than I had envisaged, was the Morumbi stadium; the largest in Sao Paulo, and with a record attendance of 125,000 people. But unfortunately it was shut due to the World Cup. Near here was the Octavio Frias de Oliveira bridge - a modern bridge with the carriageways forming an X as they cross the river. Incidentally, the 2 rivers that flow through Sao Paulo are both really small, polluted and quite smelly. Definitely not the best.

To the northeast is a strange complex of modern buildings called the Latin America Memorial. The whole site was designed by the Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer, the man behind many of the buildings in Brasília, so this was in some ways a taste of things to come. I thought there was just a monument, but the site housed 5 or 6 large buildings containing galleries and exhibition halls. The whole complex was very crowded as it was the day of Spanish-themed concert. For the hour or so that I was there, the band on stage were playing 2 bagpipes (and singing along in Spanish). Surely not the first instrument that comes into mind when you think of Spanish music?

The final area of the city centre to explore was the largely Japanese area of Liberdade. Incidentally, Sao Paulo has the largest population of Japanese people outside of Japan. Most seem to live in this one area, which was also unsurprisingly full of Oriental restaurants. The market on the main square was mostly selling Japanese artefacts and food - you could easily be fooled into thinking you were actually in Japan.

On my final day in Sao Paulo I headed out of the central area to Interlagos, home of the Brazilian Grand Prix. It was quite easy to find the track, but there was no sign of the museum that someone had told me existed there. In the end, I asked a security guard on one of the gates, and he just let me in and said I could look around. I walked along the stands above the pit straight and the last few corners; there was some sort of motorbike practice session in full swing, so it was quite good to just sit and watch for a bit (it is surprising how fast these motorbikes can go!).

So all in all, I was rather impressed with the city. Much better than I had been expecting. As the centre is compact, getting around isn’t too bad, but visiting things a bit further out was more difficult. Sao Paulo has a metro system of sorts - officially there are 16 or so lines, but in reality there are 3 plus 6 or so overland suburban lines that don’t serve the city centre as well as a few new metro lines under construction or half built. To get to Interlagos I had to go 12km north of the city on a dead-slow suburban train just to connect to the line that goes to the track. But in a few years it seems it will be much easier to get around. And although there was a lot of poverty and homelessness in the city, it wasn’t as prolific as I had thought it would be. The shanty towns must exist somewhere, but are presumably further out of the city. These few minor problems didn’t really bother me that much, as the rest of the city made up for it. I’m hoping that my next stop, the Brazilian capital of Brasília, will be just as, or even better.

---

Photos

MASP Museum
On Avenida Paulista

Anhangabau
One of the main thoroughfares in the city centre

Sao Paulo Cathedral
The lesser-known St Paul´s Cathedral

Comments

[Orlando BB Jr]

Nice article
I really liked what you've said about my city. And as a Tourism Student there are a lot to learn with all the problems you've had. The truth is that Sao Paulo is improving quite well its touristic infraestructure and soon it will be no longer just a pass-by and business only city as its today, and people like you that wanted to know the city and see its sightseeing will have a nicer look of here, I hope you come again. =)