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Fashionistas from all over the continent flock to São Paulo for the clothes, shoes, and accessories. In fact, shopping is a tourist attraction in its own right. You can get a sampling of what's on offer six days a week: stores are usually open on weekdays from 9 to 6:30 and Saturdays from 9 to 1; many are closed on Sunday. Mall hours are generally weekdays and Saturday from 10 am to 10 pm; some malls only open on Sunday around 2 pm.
Well-heeled paulistanos famously love shopping malls, and there are plenty of those in the city. Perhaps of more interest for visitors, almost every neighborhood has a weekly outdoor food market, complete with loudmouthed hawkers, exotic scents, and mountains of colorful produce. Nine hundred of them happen every week in São Paulo, so you'll be able to hit at least one; ask around to find out when and where the closest one happens.
Antiques and secondhand furniture are the big draws at the Sunday flea market at the Praça Dom Orione in Bela Vista. You'll also find clothing, CDs, and other (mostly) reasonably priced items here. In Centro, Rua do Arouche is noted for leather goods. Rua Barão de Paranapiacaba is lined with jewelry shops and is nicknamed the "street of gold." The area around Rua João Cachoeira in Itaim has evolved from a neighborhood of small clothing factories into a wholesale- and retail-clothing sales district. Several shops on Rua Tabapuã sell small antiques. Also, Rua Dr. Mário Ferraz is stuffed with elegant clothing, gift, and home-decoration stores.
In Jardins, centering on Rua Oscar Freire, double-parked Mercedes-Benzes and BMWs point the way to the city's fanciest stores, which sell leather items, jewelry, gifts, antiques, and art. Shops that specialize in high-price European antiques are on or around Rua da Consolação. Lower-price antiques stores and thrift shops line Rua Cardeal Arcoverde in Pinheiros. Flea markets with secondhand furniture, clothes, and CDs take place on Saturday at the popular Praça Benedito Calixto in Pinheiros, where you can also eat at food stands and listen to music all day long. Arcades along Praça Benedito Calixto and many streets in neighboring Vila Madalena, like Ruas Aspicuelta and Harmonia, house boutique clothing stores.
Heaven for music collectors, Baratos Afins opened inside the popular Galeria do Rock in 1978 and is also a record label. The company was the brainchild of Arnaldo Baptista, guitar player in the influential 1960s Brazilian rock band Os Mutantes. The store sells all kinds of music, but if you're looking for rare records, ask for the owner, Luiz Calanca.
The city's first grocery market, this huge 1928 neo-baroque-style building is the quintessential hot spot for gourmets and food lovers. The building, nicknamed Mercadão (Big Market) by locals, houses about 300 stands that sell just about everything edible, including meat, vegetables, cheese, spices, and fish from all over Brazil. It also has restaurants and traditional snack places. The Hocca Bar is justly famous for its pastel de bacalhau (salt-cod pastry) and heaping mortadella sandwich.
The Brazilian designer Alexandre Herchcovitch sells prêt-à-porter and tailor-made clothes at his store.
Inspired by contact with indigenous peoples, Walter Gomes opened this store to promote awareness about and economic opportunities for Brazil's native communities. Artisans of 230 indigenous tribes create the crafts and artworks, from musical instruments to earthenware, sold here.
Carioca Antonio Bernardo is one of the most famous jewelry designers in Brazil. He creates custom pieces with gold, silver, and other precious metals and stones.
A leader in the leather game, with stores in most São Paulo shopping malls, Arezzo is best known for its footwear. The brand also has an extensive line of bags, wallets, and accessories.
A respected Jardins gallery, Arte Aplicada is known for its high-quality Brazilian paintings, sculptures, and prints.
Paintings and sculptures from Brazilian and international artists go up for auction at Bel Galeria.
Brazilian models and soap-opera stars wear this brand, which blends bohemian and bourgeois (coincidentally, the type of bank account needed to shop here).
As its name suggests, Casa do Amazonas has a wide selection of products from the Amazon.
The Brazilian beachwear brand known for its bikinis and swimsuits has a presence in this and many other high-class malls.
The women's clothing brand Fil du Fil maintains three locations across Moema and Vila Olímpia. Looks are casual with colorful blouses and dresses featuring prominently.
This fine gallery is one of the city's big hitters and always worth a look.
Since 1920 Galeria de Arte Brasileira has specialized in art and handicrafts from all over Brazil. Look for objects made of pau-brasil (brazilwood), hammocks, jewelry, T-shirts, marajoara pottery (from the Amazon), and lace.
If you like art naïf—as the name suggests, the art is simple, with a primitive and handcrafted look—Galeria Jacques Ardies is a must.
At this gallery you'll find oil paintings by such Brazilian artists as Vicente Rego Monteiro, Di Cavalcanti, Cícero Dias, and Anita Malfatti.
As with the other locations of this Brazilian beauty-supplies chain that dates back to 1870, the Jardins shop maintains the old-time appearance of an apothecary.
An internationally known Brazilian brand for jewelry, especially featuring precious Brazilian gems, H.Stern has shops in more than 30 countries. This one has designs made especially for the Brazilian stores.
This may be the city's oldest mall, but it has the latest in fashion and fast food. The Cinemark movie theaters often show films in English with Portuguese subtitles. The Gero Caffé, built in the middle of the main hall, has a fine menu. If you're in São Paulo at Christmastime, the North Pole–theme displays here are well worth a detour.
A shop you'll find in many malls all over town, Inovathi has leather accessories at good prices.
Natural light illuminates the atrium and walkways of this luxury mall for the elite, where international brands from AW Store to Zara mix it up with national brands like Animale and Carlos Miele. There are plenty of fancy dining spots. If scheduled beforehand, the mall will supply you with a personal shopper.
The antiques shop run by Juliana Benfatti and her two sons has inventory that dates back to the 18th century. The buyers have a discerning eye for what was unique and special in many lands over many generations.
This chain is Brazil's exclusive purveyor of the French brand Vertigo. Look for party dresses in velvet and sheer fabrics.
One of the biggest brands for luggage and leather goods in Brazil, Le Postiche has 96 shops around the country. You can find one in almost any mall in São Paulo.
At this antiques showroom that holds monthly auctions you'll find plenty of heirlooms looking for new homes—Baccarat bowls and vases, art nouveau and art deco sideboards, and a slew of silver trays and tea sets among them. Past oddities include the helmet of the late race-car legend Ayrton Senna.
The designer Lita Mortari sells her feminine festive wear in four stores in São Paulo, including two in Jardins.
São Paulo's best selection of travel literature can be found here, along with many maps.
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