City Guide: Sao Paulo

Sao Paulo is located in Brazil and is the biggest city on the Southern hemisphere with more than 12 million people living there. Even though Sao Paulo is nowadays mainly a huge business and finance city, it appears to be very enjoyable to just stroll around and see it through the eyes of a traveler.

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While reading our city review of Sao Paulo, you will notice that most pics are not taken with the good camera this time, but are rather “just” phone photos. Due to a high criminal rate in Sao Paulo (at least that’s what we were told), we were recommended by several concierges to leave everything of value in the safe in our room. Thus, all we had with us was one mobile phone and a few bugs. Admittedly, some situations with locals were a bit weird, but that’s it. Being prepared for a somewhat Johannesburg in South America, I was surprised very positively by Sao Paulo.

Paulista Avenue Sao Paulo

Paulista Avenue is one of the most important streets in the city.

Many cultural and financial institutions can be found there. One example is the Museum of Art Sao Paulo.

Especially remarkable is the architecture, as about 74 meters are free standing, only supported by two lateral beams.

Inner City of Sao Paulo

Sao Paulo is huge, it is even hard to speak of a real inner city. Yet, Sao Paulo has a part where most of the buildings are rather historical and quite a contrast to the modern skyscrapers which are also part of the cityscape.

However, this is a rather ‘dangerous’ area of the town.

Sao Paulo Cathedral

Catedral da Sé, Sao Paulo Cathedral, is definitely a landmark of the Brazilian city.

Interestingly, the dome is rather renaissance-styled whereas the rest can be considered as neo-gothic. All in all, some consider Catedral da Sé the fourth biggest neo-gothic cathedral.

Parque do Ibirapuera Sao Paulo

Parque do Ibirapuera is similarly important for Sao Paulo like the Central Park for New York. It is also one of the largest city parks of South America in general.

Strolling around the area is just as enjoyable as jogging (if you like to do that). It feels like nature in a huge metropolis. But amazing views of the skyscrapers remind you of where you are at that very moment.

General impressions of Sao Paulo

When we were brave enough to take some photos with the DSLR, almost a dozen of people came to us. Why? Because they wanted to warn us about theft. Sao Paulo is huge, yet very green. Admittedly, some people and areas are very strange, trust your feelings and avoid them. However, we felt like the people were very friendly in general. It may be true that Sao Paulo does not have as many sights as Rio de Janeiro. Still, it is a city I wouldn’t have missed during our time in Brazil!

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