São Paulo is a city Iʼm extremely found of. Not only I was born and raised there, for years I believed I would live in that city for the rest of my life. Life didnʼt want that way and my will to know the world was bigger than my desire to stay in that city. Nevertheless, the familiar feeling remains the same.

I know that many foreigners associate Brazil to beaches and natural beauties in general. Hence, I believe I should expose some of the things I find to be great about the city I was born. São Paulo is, after all, a metropolis in Brazil, the largest city in South America and one of the largest in the world. With these proportions, it would be illogical, in my opinion, to believe this city has nothing to offer.

The city has no beaches (the closest one is one hour away by car), but you can find parks there. Parque do Ibirapuera (Ibirapuera Park) is an enormous green area amidst the concrete. It stands out and is the weekend destination for many paulistanos, both the ones born in it and the ones who were simply adopted by the city. In this park, projected by the architect Roberto Burle Marx, groups of people get together with their family or friends to walk around or ride bicycles which can be rented.

Praça Benedito Calixto (Benedito Calixto Square) is another special place. In this square thereʼs a flea market with antiques, but donʼt expect it to be cheap: even if the things may be lovely, their costs may be quite high. Nevertheless, it is a nice place to walk around, have a cup of coffee and even dance samba on a warm Saturday afternoon.

Around the same area you can find Beco do Batman (Batman Alley), off Rua Harmonia. This place is known for being an open air museum, with graffiti art covering all of its walls.

Rua Harmonia is located in Vila Madalena, one of the many Bohemian neighbourhoods of the city. It is the destination of many paulistanos during weekends, because of its lively Saturday nightlife and the laidback atmosphere the neighbourhood adopts every Sunday afternoon. If you are around there, I would suggest you to try caipilé, which is the traditional Brazilian caipirinha with a twist: it is served with a fruit popsicle inside, a very yummy and refreshing drink.

As to nightlife, the city offers innumerable options, whatever your tastes are. Amongst the hundreds or even thousands of places to go out, I would suggest Pé na Jaca Bar (Rua Harmonia 117), located at Vila Madalena. This bar with a dancing floor carries a casual artistic atmosphere and the graffiti on its walls resembles the ones in Beco do Batman. If you are looking for a less informal place, where people around their early 30ʼs would meet to dance and flirt, perhaps you should try Casa 92 (Rua Cristóvão Gonçalves, 92), a restaurant-bar-disco located inside a house from the 30ʼs. Its retro decoration resembles a house, with comfortable sofas, pool table, a winter garden and even a kitchen which could belong to any Brazilian grandmotherʼs with an edge of style.

Gastronomy

São Paulo is a city made by immigrants and their descendants, by everyone who wanted to try a better life on this welcoming city. The city has even a Museu da Imigração (The Immigration Museum) (1) which shows the history on how foreigners influenced the city and its people in every aspect.

It isnʼt, therefore, surprising to say that the city offers an enormous quantity of restaurants and bars which serve all different types of food, many of which carry a Brazilian twist. Personally, when I visit my hometown, I put on a lot of weight because I cannot stop eating.

As a matter of fact, “going out and eating” is deeply correlated in the mind of many. Wherever you go, whatever youʼll do, food will be involved. Did you decide to take a walk around Parque do Ibirapuera? Visit Frutaria São Paulo and have açaí in a bowl, which is the açaí pulp blended (it can be taken pure, but my favourite ones are the ones blended with strawberry and/or banana) and served with granola. Are you out having a coffee with friends? Surely youʼll be served pães de queijo (cheese breads, my ultimate favourite finger food in Brazil) or a delicious sandwich. The happy hour beer can be consumed with sizzling picanha, a very popular Brazilian cut of beef. As you can notice, eating is an excuse to socialize. Or the other way around!

It is possible to find any kind of food at anytime of the day. Of course, it depends on how much one is willing to spend, but I was hardly ever disappointed by the places Iʼve been to.

I have my favourite spots in the city and the gastronomic memory of some dishes makes my taste buds work. My mother’s food is my all-times favourite, but, unfortunately, she no longer owns a restaurant. Some of the dishes I would definitely recommend are the Penne with Melon and Parma Ham, at Spot, a restaurant located behind the Caixa Econômica buildings in Avenida Paulista, and the sushi at Sushibol (the newest unit, Sushibol Lounge, is located at Rua Mário Ferraz 402). The Special Salmon Carpaccio is truly special and the Niguiris, the one with torched salmon and the one with scallops with sea salt, are amazing.

Bar Brahma, located on the corner of Avenida Ipiranga and Rua São João (location immortalized by João Gilberto on his song Sampa), is a nice place to have the traditional Saturday feijoada (this typical Brazilian dish is served in every bar and restaurant of the city every Wednesday and Saturday). In this place, you can also listen to Brazilian traditional music, such as bossa nova, samba or MPB, every Saturday afternoon.

Places

I donʼt know whether people share the love I feel for Avenida Paulista. It is neither the most beautiful avenue in the world nor the most luxurious one, but this place has always been a part of my life while I was a resident of the city. For me, it represents, architecturally, the mixture the city is made of.

Along it, you can find old mansions dated from the beginning of the 20th century (from the Coffee Golden Era the city had, like the Casa das Rosas, to modern buildings like the Museum of Art), a structure projected by the Italian-Brazilian architecture Lina Bo Bardi to host an impressive collection of European art, said to be the most important of Latin America. An average of 1,5 million people walk around this avenue which hosts the consulate of twenty-one other countries and, for me, represents the heart of the city.

The historical centre of this city founded by the Jesuit brothers Manoel da Nóbrega and José de Anchieta, the latter a Spanish guy originally from the Canary Island, is also worth the visit. The Pateo do Collegio, the School Yard in archaic Portuguese, marks the spot where the city was born. Around the same area, you can find Catedral da Sé (Cathedral), a Byzantine construction, the Teatro Municipal (Municipal Theatre), with a main façade which was largely inspired by the Opéra de Paris, whereas not far from there (youʼd have to get the metro though), you can visit Estação da Luz (Luz Station) and Estação Júlio Prestes (Júlio Prestes Station), the latter hosting Sala São Paulo which is the home of São Paulo Symphony Orchestra and where international orchestras often play.

Thereʼs more to see in the city centre as well as in other neighbourhoods. The beautiful Copan, designed by the architect Oscar Niemeyer is an example and the first skyscraper of the city, Martinelli, another one. Bottom line the city is enormous thatʼs maybe the reason why its beauty hidden amidst the concrete cannot be noticed straight away by a strangerʼs eyes. The ideal scenario would be if any visitor could be accompanied by a local, but if this is not the case, just grab a guide, circle the things which seems the most interesting ones and enjoy. Do take the proper care though but give a chance to the city. It might even surprise you!

Notes
(1) Museu da Imigração