11 Best Sights in Centro, São Paulo

Traveling families will find education and entertainment for their children at this interactive science museum in the former city hall building. For architecture fans, the early-20th-century structure, with its interior courtyard, alone justifies a visit. Stepping into human-size soap bubbles or touching actual meteorites, meanwhile, are the big attractions for kids. The museum's exhibits are organized along four thematic lines: the universe, life, ingenuity, and society.

The imposing, 14-tower neo-Gothic Catedral da Sé occupies the official center of São Paulo—the 0 Km point, as it's called here. Tours of the church wind through the crypt, which contains the remains of Tibiriçá, a native Brazilian who helped the Portuguese back in 1554.

The greenhouse-size skylight of this cultural center's 1901 neoclassical home makes the modern and contemporary art exhibits here seem almost to sprout organically; past ones include "The Magic World of Escher." Plays and small film festivals, the latter celebrating filmmakers from Quentin Tarantino to Louis Malle, further broaden the venue's appeal. The center's facilities include a theater, an auditorium, a movie theater, a video room, and three floors of exhibition rooms.

One of the city's best-preserved Portuguese colonial buildings, this baroque structure—two churches, one run by Catholic clergy and the other by lay brothers—was built between 1647 and 1790. The image inside of Saint Francis was rescued from a fire in 1870.

The architect of this serpentine apartment and office block, Oscar Niemeyer, went on to design much of Brasília, the nation's capital. The building has the clean, white, undulating curves characteristic of Niemeyer's work. The Copan was constructed in 1950, and its 1,160 apartments house about 5,000 people.

One way to catch the astounding view from atop the Itália Building is to drop in for lunch or dinner at the Terraço Itália restaurant, starting on the 41st floor. The main dining room features central columns, candlelit tables, and a terrace. The restaurant is expensive, making a drink at the piano bar, with its upholstered seating and wood lining, a more affordable strategy. Thriftier still is a visit to the outside terrace, which is free weekdays 3–4 pm.

The German architect Richard Berndl designed this Norman–Byzantine church that was completed in 1922. Ecclesiastical imagery abounds, and soaring archways extend skyward. The church's enormous organ has some 6,000 pipes, and its Russian image of the Kasperovo Virgin is covered with 6,000 pearls from the Black Sea. On the last Sunday of each month, paulistanos compete for space at the church's popular brunch, which also includes a tour and varying performances, from dance to choir; call early to reserve your seat. The don't-miss religious event at Mosterio de São Bento is Sunday Mass at 10 am, when the sound of monks' Gregorian chants echoes through the chamber.

If you can't get to Bahia or Minas Gerais during your stay in Brazil, you can get a taste of the fabulous baroque and rococo art found there at the Museum of Sacred Art. On display are 4,000 wooden and terra-cotta masks, jewelry, and liturgical objects from all over the country (but primarily Minas Gerais and Bahia), dating from the 17th century to the present. The on-site convent was founded in 1774.

São Paulo was founded by the Jesuits José de Anchieta and Manoel da Nóbrega in the College Courtyard in 1554. The church was constructed in 1896 in the same style as the chapel built by the Jesuits. In the small museum you can see a fascinating relief map of Centro in colonial times and an exhibition of early sacred art and relics.

The highlights of the State Art Gallery's permanent collection include paintings by the renowned Brazilian artists Tarsila do Amaral and Cândido Portinari. The museum occupies a 1905 structure that was renovated in the late 1990s. The exterior recalls a 1950s brick firehouse, while the view through the central courtyard's interior windows evokes the cliffs of Cuenca, Spain. Admission is valid for same-day admission to the Estação Pinacoteca, the Pinacoteca's second branch, which is a short walk away at Largo General Osório 66.

The area is sketchy so stay alert as you go, and don't walk at night.

This large plaza marks the city's geographical center—the 0 Km point, as it's called here—and holds the city's main cathedral, the beautiful Catedral da Sé. It can't be missed when you're visiting the rest of the historic downtown, but know that the square has become a place to stay for many of the city's homeless people and a meeting point for migrants and immigrants new to the area.

Avoid visiting after dark and be on the lookout for pickpockets.