São Paulo Travel Guide

Guidebooks

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São Paulo is a megalopolis of 19 million people, with endless stands of skyscrapers defining the horizon from every angle. The largest city in South America, São Paulo even makes New York City, with its population of about 8 million, seem small in comparison. And this nearly 500-year-old capital of São Paulo State gets bigger every year: it now sprawls across some 8,000 square km (3,089 square mi), of which 1,525 square km (589 square mi) make up the city proper.

Hotels

São Paulo Hotels

São Paulo is all about business, and for the most part so are its hotels. Most of them are near Avenida Paulista, along Marginal Pinheiros, or in...read more

Restaurants

São Paulo Restaurants

São Paulo's dynamic social scene centers on dining out, and among the 12,000-plus restaurants, most of the world's cuisines are covered. The most...read more

Things To Do

Things To Do in São Paulo

Explore the best sights, entertainment, and shopping with our top choices and insider tips.

Hotels

São Paulo Experiences

  • Top Reasons to Go

    Shop among Brazil's rich and famous in the Jardins or Itaim areas, or visiting one of the city's many fashion malls.... Read more

  • The Hardest Word to Translate

    Few words explain the Brazilian character as well as saudade. Deriving from the word solitate ("loneliness," in Latin), its meaning is close... Read more

  • A Bit of History

    São Paulo wasn't big and important right from the start. It was founded in 1554 by Jesuit priests who began converting native Indians... Read more

  • Recipe: Coxinha de Galinha

    Brazilians eat coxinhas (mock chicken legs) as a snack, but you can also try them as an appetizer.... Read more

  • King Ronaldo

    Brazilians are so passionate about futebol (soccer) that popular wisdom says there are three subjects—soccer, women, and religion—not... Read more

  • Shopping for Essentials

    Most Avenida Paulista newsstands sell major U.S. and European papers as well as magazines and paperbacks in English.... Read more

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