6 Best Sights in São Paulo, Brazil

The final building in Oscar Niemeyer's design for the park, the Auditório opened in 2005. It has since become one of São Paulo's trademark sights, with what looks like a giant red lightning bolt striking a massive white daredevil ramp. Seating up to 800, the concert hall regularly welcomes leading Brazilian and international musical acts. Its back wall can be retracted to reveal the stage to thousands more on the lawn outside.

The Museum of Contemporary Art expanded its Ibirapuera presence in 2012 by renovating and moving into the eight-floor former Department of Transportation building. Now shorn of its bureaucratic coldness, the space ranks among Parque Ibirapuera's architectural highlights (even though it is just over the road, rather than inside the park). The museum houses the MAC's entire 10,000-piece collection, including works by Picasso, Modigliani, and Chagall.

More than 4,500 paintings, installations, sculptures, and other works from modern and contemporary artists such as Alfredo Volpi and Lygia Clark are part of the Museum of Modern Art's permanent collection. Temporary exhibits often feature works by new local artists. The giant wall of glass, designed by Brazilian architect Lina Bo Bardi, serves as a window beckoning you to glimpse inside; an exterior mural painted in 2010 by Os Gêmeos, São Paulo twin brothers famous for their graffiti art, shows a little of MAM's inner appeal to the outside world.

In even-numbered years this pavilion hosts the Bienal (Biennial), an exhibition that presents the works of artists from more than 60 countries. The first such event was held in 1951 in Parque Trianon and drew artists from 21 countries. After Ibirapuera Park's inauguration in 1954, the Bienal was moved to this Oscar Niemeyer–designed building that's noteworthy for its large open spaces and floors connected by circular slopes.

An exact replica of the Katsura Imperial Palace in Kyoto, Japan, the Japanese Pavilion is one of the structures built for the Parque Ibirapuera's inauguration. Designed by professor Sutemi Horiguti of the University of Tokyo, it was built in Japan and reassembled here beside the man-made lake in the Japanese-style garden. The main building displays samurai clothing, pottery, and sculpture from several dynasties; rooms upstairs are used for traditional tea ceremonies.