Sao Paulo Guide

This Page
TRANSIT
TALES & TIPS
HOTELS
EVENTS
ATTRACTIONS
FOTOS
Link List
Next Page
Carnaval
[F] Sao Paulo International -- Guarulhos - GRU
 CODES
wiki-travel guides
Tiete Bus terminal
Travel Guides
SEASIDE |
ROUGH GUIDE |
FROMMERS
GRINGOES
São Paulo
The river Tietê and its tributary, the Pinheiros are important rivers of the city
Map of Brazil highlighting the state
São Paulo (state) the richest state in Brazil. responsible for approximately one-third of Brazilian GDP.
municipalities are centered around Greater São Paulo (such as Campinas, Jundiai, Paulínia, Americana, Indaiatuba, São José dos Campos, Santos, give the metro center a population greater than 20 million
Ribeirão Preto
Other cities include: Adamantina, Araraquara, Araçatuba, Barretos, Bauru, Embu, Franca, Guararapes, Jacareí, Jundiaí, Marília, Monte Alto, Piracicaba, Presidente Prudente, São Carlos, São José do Rio Preto, Taubaté, Registro and Batatais.
Governor of São Paulo
Highway system of São Paulo
 
 

 
São Paulo
São Paulo, Brazil is the largest city in South America with 11 million people, this city of dynamic immigrants and of colourful ethnic neighborhoods. and also a commercial Sao Paulo metropolis. Its nightlife may be the most exhilarating part of the dynamic city. If the city's hectic lifestyle becomes too much, then there are excellent beaches only 40 miles away.
About 20 million people live in the Greater São Paulo metropolitan area, which is currently ranked as the second-largest in the world

While it's true that urban development has been carried out with an almost complete lack of planning, São Paulo is far more manageable than you might imagine. Greater São Paulo is enormous, but the main shopping, entertainment and hotel districts are easy to move between

Centro in the downtown district is a financial and cultural center that's still home to the stock exchange and many banks. This historic district is drawing new momentum as revitalization efforts take hold, the area is around Praça da Sé and Praça da República , the two sections of the city bisected by a broad avenue, the Vale do Anhangabaú

The Bela Vista neighborhood also called Bixiga for its most colorful subdivision near Centro, are home to many theaters and bars and best reflects the major Italian heritage of the City. In the 19th century, many families who made fortunes from coffee built whimsical mansions on the ridge-top Avenida Paulista.   Many of the city's best hotels are also on or near this avenue as are many skyscrapers.

São Paulo's international airport, Cumbica (tel. 011/945-2111), also known as Guarulhos, is the industrial suburb of Guarulhos, 30 km (19 mi) and a 45-minute drive from downtown Congonhas Airport (tel. 011/536-3555, ext. 195) serves the smaller regional airlines and the Ponte Aerea, the Rio-São Paulo shuttle. Congonhas is 14 km (9 mi) from the city center, about a 15-minute drive, but the city's unpredictable traffic can double this time.

OFFICIAL
São Paulo Official Tourism Site (http://anhembi.terra.com.br/turismo/eng/default.asp)
Anhembi Turismo e Eventos da Cidade de São Paulo (Anhembi Convention Center, Av. Olavo Fontoura, 1209, tel. 011/267-0702) has four branch locations
São Paulo Convention and Visitors Bureau (Rua Dom Jose de Barros 17, tel. 011/255-4600, fax 011/255-5032).
São Paulo City Hall Website (http://www.prefeitura.sp.gov.br) (in Portuguese)
Sao Paulo Official Home Page (http://www.saopaulo.sp.gov.br/ingles/saopaulo/index.htm)

Secretaria de Esportes e Turismo do Estado de São Paulo, or SEST (Praça Antônio Prado 9, tel. 011/239-5822), open weekdays 9-5:30, provides maps and information about attractions in the city and excursions in the rest of the state
Back to Home Welcome to the Northern Shores of São Paulo
The Region:
Welcome ||Culinary ||History ||Legends ||Yachting ||Fishes ||Pirates ||Yachting Map ||Satellite Map ||Rio-Santos ||Access Roads
The Cities: ||Caraguá ||Ilhabela ||S.Sebastião ||Ubatuba ||
São Paulo  BY ROUGH GUIDE for TravelNow
The City There is no shortage of museums , but with a few significant exceptions they are disappointing for a city of São Paulo's stature. there are few places in the world that have as comprehensively turned their backs on the past as São Paulo has done.
City Transport || Buses || Taxis ||The Metrô ||
Hotels in São Paulo
Information
Listings
Shopping|| Shopping Centres || Downtown Shopping ||Cerqueira César And The Jardins ||Markets
Avoiding Trouble In São Paulo Always carry at least some money in an immediately accessible place so that, if you are accosted by a mugger , you can quickly hand something over before he starts getting angry or panicky. If in any doubt at all about visiting an area you don't know, don't hesitate to take a taxi.
Eating >> Fast Food, Coffee, Tea And Ice Cream || Restaurants
Bars, Nightlife And Entertainment
Places come and go in São Paulo at a bewildering speed and so on-the-spot advice is vital.  consult the weekly Veja, the daily Folha de São Paulo (especially its Friday Noite Ilustrada supplement), or the
Guia Internet São Paulo Web site ( .
There are four main centres for nightlife in São Paulo: Bixiga , with good bars and live music; Jardins , with some good neighbourhood bars; Itaim Bibi and Vila Olímpia , best known for its flashy nightclubs; and Vila Madalena and adjoining Pinheiros , fast becoming known for its trendier, slightly "alternative" scene.
Orientation
Arrival By Air |By Bus || By Train
Immigration And São Paulo
Explore São Paulo
 Along Avenida Paulista ||Around São Paulo ||Bixiga ||Butantã and Morumbi ||Jardins ||Liberdade ||North of Praça da Sé ||Parque do Estado ||Parque do Ibirapuera ||Praça da República and around ||Praça da Sé
The city has a multicultural metropolitan area, which some have compared to New York City, with heavy Portuguese, Italian, Arabian and Japanese influences. São Paulo is known for its varied and sophisticated gastronomy, ranging from Chinese to French, from fast food chains to five star restaurants. Its night life is animated by thousands of bars, pubs, lounges and discos, that cater for a variety of music tastes and are often open all night.

 
Weather
São Paulo has a humid subtropical climate. Though generally considered by Brazilians to be drizzly and rather cool, São Paulo's climate is by world standards actually warm and mild. Temperatures seldom reach 30°C (86°F) during summer, while frost is rare during winter.
A simulated-color satellite image of the Greater São Paulo metropolitan area (center), and the coastal towns of Santos and São Vicente (below).
A simulated-color satellite image of the Greater São Paulo metropolitan area (center), and the coastal towns of Santos and São Vicente (below).
Trip  TALES  Reports
"I would err on the side of caution and just wear black. You can't go wrong with that idea." [Nightlife by Virtual Tourist]
"Most bargaining occurs on the streets after all. So you need to understand the way the vendors function.
 "The Art Of Bargaining In Sao Paulo..The Jeito! by charles Mar 17 '01
The nightlife here is incredible! So many places to go, you can dance, listen to jazz, blues, classic, samba. The disco clubs ends at 3-4:00, then you can go somewhere to eat.
During the summer take the road to the beaches (Guaruja, Caraguatatuba, Ubatuba, Santos, Maresias, etc), just 1-1:30 hour by car, and I can assure that you will love it! If you have 2 or 3 days off go to Paraty city (3 hours by car), you will want to live there forever. During the winter go to the mountains, 2 hours by car, to Campos do Jordao city, you will find fancy places, good wine and food. And we have Carnival   I love this city! Nov 22 '99

[F] More real Travelers Tips & Tales
here's excerpts from some favorites. Click above link for index

 
 
Link List
Travel guidebooks tend to give short shrift to São Paulo state and its municipal namesake. They are shortsighted. Skipping São Paulo is like covering your eyes during the gory scenes in a horror movie: you miss the best parts.
by Bill Hinchberger
Insiders guide São Paulo by brazilmax.com
There is perhaps no better illustration of the dangers of sprawl than São Paulo. The richest city in the Third World (but too poor for the First) it contains some 17 million people, 4 million automobiles, and 10,000 miles of streets. The public-transportation system is woefully inadequate; its three small subway lines are saturated by 2.5 million passengers each day (New York's twenty-five lines carry 4.3 million) São Paulo by metropolismag 2001
São Paulo does not go out of its way to cater to foreign tourists, and this can be a blessing. At restaurants, you will not find yourself surrounded by Germans, Australians and other Americans. At the flea markets, you will not see couples wearing fanny packs and taking photographs. At museums and churches, you will not find crowds. You get to experience life undiluted and witness a South American city in transition.

One gets a sense of the city's determination to become a player on the international hipster circuit at three boutique hotels: the Emiliano, the Unique and the Fasano.
Going Hip in SP by nytimes.com/
 2006/03/12
 

 
TRANSIT:

The city is crossed by many of the most important expressways of the country, like the BR-116, SP-270, SP-280, Anhanguera, Anchieta, Castelo Branco and Imigrantes. Some railways also cross the city. They are, however, very old and were constructed intending not for people, but to transport coffee to Santos's seaport. Santos continue to have Brazil's busiest seaport thanks to São Paulo's needs (exportation and importation of industrialized goods).

São Paulo has two airports. Congonhas Domestic Airport operates domestic and regional flights mainly to Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte and Brasília. Campo de Marte handles some private and small airplanes. Guarulhos International Airport, located 25 km northeast from downtown in the neighboring city of Guarulhos, operates domestic and international flights to the city.

METRO The city has approximately 60 km of subway system (known as Metro), complemented by another 270 km of CPTM (Companhia de Trens Metropolitanos - Company of Metropolitan Trains) railways. Both CPTM and the subway lines carry some 3.5 million people on an average weekday, and a few new underground lines to be constructed are expected to add another million people to the system within the next 5 years.

The bulk of the public transportation (public and private companies) is composed by more than 10,000 buses. Also, there is a strong presence of informal transportation (dab vans).

São Paulo grew quickly from the 1940s to the 1980s and many roads and buildings were constructed without major planning. As a result, heavy traffic is common in the main avenues of the city, and traffic jams are relatively common in its larger highways (mainly during floods). The main mean of commuting into the city is by car and by bus. Getting Around
  • By Bus Passengers enter at the front and exit the backThe main bus station, serving all Brazilian important cities, and nearby adjoining countries of Paraguay, Argentina, Uruguay, and Chile, is the Tietê Terminal (Av. Cruzeiro do Sul), in the north zone, on the Marginal Tietê Beltway 
  • By Car Car Driving is not recommended in São Paulo
  • By Taxi Taxi drivers rarely speak any English, and shop vendors outside of fashionable malls in large cities usually know very little. In São Paulo, tourists have little difficulty in finding someone who speaks English to help them
  • By SubwayMetrô leaves out a large portion of the city's southern districts. There are three lines: the blue North-South, the orange East-West, and the new green Vila Prudente-Vila Madalena line, which runs under Avenida Paulista to the Clínicas Hospital
  • On Foot

Gringoes LISTING DIRECTORY Useful Info || Services ||Travel || Sport || Cinema || Business || || Jobs
Entertain.»  Bars »  Carnaval »  Dance Lessons»  Events & Parties »  Fun Parks»  Free Jazz »  GLS »   Night Clubs »  Parks»   Shopping Centers»  Shows»  SP Top Spots»  Theaters
FROMMERS
Overview  Planning a Trip ||Fast Facts ||
Visitor Information || Getting There
 Nightlife The Neighborhoods ||Churches ||Especially for Kids ||Historic Buildings & Monuments ||Parks & Gardens

 
HOTELS
 

Sao Paulo > Sao Paulo's coastline > Guaruj? <> Guaruj? Hotels by TravelNow
Sao Paulo's most popular beach resort, very commercialized and usually crowded. Getting there is easy: there are half-hourly buses from the city's Jabaquara Rodoviaria that take little more than an hour to travel the 85km to the resort.
Guarulhos by CdayTravel.com (3) for Sao Paulo's Airport

Sao Paulo's Guarulhos International Airport is by far the countries largest hub and someday you'll need to catch a next day connection.

Sao Paulo > Interior Sao Paulo > Campinas <> Campinas Hotels by TravelNow  
One hundred kilometres northwest of Sao Paulo is CAMPINAS with a student population of 100,000 mostly related to the Universidade Estadual de Sao Paulo, 13km from the city centre it supports a vibrant cultural life.  Centro de Convivincia Cultural , at Pra?a Imprensa Fluminense in the centre with theatres, art galleries  & cafes is a good place to start

Lins by World Choice 
Another Sao Paulo City with its own airport Vidigal Airport (MII)

Peruibe by BookHostels
Peruibe is on the way from Sao Paulo to Curitiba

Sao Jose Dos Campos Hotels by Precision Reservations 

About 120 km East from Sao Paulo; it?s cut across by Via Dutra, the highway which connects Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo. about 120 km East from Sao Paulo;  The respected Brazilian schools of Engineering, Instituto Tecnologico de Aeronautica is here
EVENTS
[F] EVENTS ticket agencies

Official Holidays

January 1 – New Year
January 25 – São Paulo's Anniversary
Carnaval pre-Lenten Between January and March – more
Easter  (1st Sunday after the Vernal Equinox more)
April 21 – Tiradentes
May 1 – Labor Day
2nd Sunday of May – Mother's Day
July 9 – Constitutional Revolution of 1932
2nd Sunday of August – Father's Day
September 7 – Independence Day
October 12 – Our Lady's Day/Children's Day
November 2 – All Souls' Day
November 15 – Republic Day
December 25 – Christmas

ATTRACTIONS

Best of São Paulo

[F] ATTRACTIONS in SP

Sao Paulo in our sex tourist guide
FOTOS
[F] Fotos São Paulo
 

 

    

 

  
ADDS FRAME MENU RIO CITY Guide || Rio CARNAVAL ||aForum-Rio || Rio Hotels ||Salvador || Bahia Carnaval || aForum-NorthEast || Salvador Hotels
SEASIDE || BY ROUGH GUIDE || FROMMERS ||GRINGOES || FODORS || TALES & TIPS || HOTELS || EVENTS ||ATTRACTIONS || FOTOS || CARNAVAL || AFORUM
[F] Sao Paulo International -- Guarulhos - GRU||  CODES||

Last Update Feb-2007
Last link check Feb-2007