Have a 2 day stop in Sao Paulo in March, is there anything I can do during my free time as a tourist? I like pretty much everything except I am more cautious about nightlife in unknown places so that I'll pass. Do I need a car to get around or is there something else, preferable public transport? Is the downtown easily accessible from the airport (GRU)?

Thanks for any advice you might have.

My suggestion:
Go to Rio de Janeiro http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttravel_forum/biggrin.gif
Take the shuttle from the "downtown" airport CGH (Congonhas)/. Approx 1 hour flight. Leaves at least every 20-30 minutes.
The international airport GRU is about 45 minutes from downtown (depending on trafic)and should only be used for international connections.

huh, downtown Sao Paolo is supposedly one of the most dangerous in the world.

Things can happen just sitting in a car at a traffic light; I certainly would not walk around or take public transportation at night on my own. The recommendation I got from my local contacts was to take a private car or taxi door-to-door.

Heading to Rio does sound more enjoyable...

Are you serious? I am in shock? It's not exactly two full days as tourist but a big part of it will be. Isn't there any museums, places, parks or beaches nearby that worth visiting?

I am in shock, this is Brazil?

I agree with monahos: "downtown" Sao Paulo is no place to do tourism http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttravel_forum/thumbsup.gif- But then again, it is difficult to define "downtown" for a city with almost 20 million inhabitants.

There are nice areas with shopping centers,some museums, but SAo Paulo is much more a "work" town than a tourism area.

Crime is high but to say that it is one of the most dangerous places in the world is to exagerate. New York, Los Angeles and Miami, just to mention a few have areas that are comparable to "downtown" Sao Paulo.
Just don't run around with a lot of money, expensive watches, jewlery and the like and just use common sense as you would anywhere else.

But in any case, my suggestion of going to Rio instead stands. See if you can't work around your schedule to be able to make a trip there. Rio has beaches. The nearest beach in Sao Paulo is at least 1 hour away on a good traffic day (of which there are few).

Thanks for all the replies and advice. Unfortunately I won't be able to go to Rio as it's part business and part leisure so I am restricted to Sao Paulo. However, I'll keep Rio in my mind the next time if I have chance.

Thanks again, I really appreciate it.

Guava

OK--here's a more upbeat response...

I got to visit Sao Paulo, staying in Guarulhos with friends several years back. It was great having friends to escort you around--I felt much safer there than on our visit to Rio, even though we were on an escorted tour there (though this was in the midst of their much publicized crime problem some years back).

Most memorable was a snake research center (wait a minute--I've got to get my pictures for the name...) called Instituto Butantan. They existed both to house live snakes to cull venom from, and to educate people about snakes. They had many unusual tropical varieties on display, and had a very, very long (11+ feet?) python skeleton. I've seen nothing like it elsewhere.

There are nice parks & memorials scattered through the city. Find an expresso bar. They have their own chinatown, where if they're not speaking their native asian tongue, they're speaking portugese. Find an expresso bar. There are indeed good museums there, though we were there at Christmas and they were closed. Find an expresso bar. There is a sizeable italian population with commisurate good restaurants. Visit a "rotissery", skip a meal or two before you go, and plan to eat lots of red meat. Find an expresso bar. Check out the cathedrals. There is a large old palace on one end of town you can tour (sorry, no name). Find some music: samba, or maybe a concert featuring their native composer, Villa-Lobos. Find an expresso bar. Find dancing--maybe a troupe featuring native dances (there's a great half fight-half dance thing they do to music). Go to a shopping mall and see what's different, and look for expresso bars there. Seek out the neighborhoods where the rich folk live and check out the digs. Find a tall building in the middle of the city with a restaurant on top and eat lunch there. Scope out some of the outlandish architecture while you're at it. Coffee is the lifeblood, and all the natives spend lots of time in the expresso bars--check 'em out (and bring home a bag or two of "Cafe Ponto" from the grocery!). While in the grocery, pick up a can of guava jam--eat it on dark sweet bread with cream cheese when you get home.

We obviously had very wonderful hosts. They did all the driving, which wasn't a bad thing. Perhaps there is a program in Sao Paulo of volunteers willing to show out of country guests around, as in parts of Europe. You might be able to buy a tour for a good price before or after arrival. Since you're here, you know what a wonderful resource the internet is for travel, so keep researching, and send off to their tourist agencies for info.

We did an overnight bus tour to Rio, booked in Sao Paulo, with hotel and most meals for under $100. We also flew down to Iguacu Falls, an amazing place. We spent a couple of nights on the beach at Santos, where Immerson Fittipaldi and Paul McCartney have condos.

Sao Paulo is huge, and may be the largest city in the world in another decade or so. Do practice care, as in any large city, but go, explore, and have a great time!

JP

[This message has been edited by j379pa (edited 03-01-2002).]

Oh my good ... Mrs. USAFAN and I are going to Sao Paulo; arriving at GRU before we go to Foz do Iguassu the next day. We will stay at the Hilton Morumbi, and we want to see a little bit of the city. May be do a city tour by bus or see the "Old City", nice buildings, cafés, steak house, "Little Italy", if there is one ...?!?
I need some help, names of places...What is near the hotel?
I have collected already lots of information, articles ... Google is my friend ... http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttravel_forum/biggrin.gif, so I need names of places, nice areas, one good restaurant...

I think your hotel concierge will be your friend here. Do, do, do find a "roticerey" restaurant, and go hungry!

Iguacu is astounding. The town is not right at the waterfalls, and isn't a destination in and of itself. Get in as much time at the falls as you can. Take rain ponchos. Do the "jungle boat" cruise to the base of the falls if you can.

Watch "The Mission" with Robert de Niro before you go. Filmed in Brazil, with many scenes at the Falls.

JP

[This message has been edited by j379pa (edited Mar 15, 2004).]

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">huh, downtown Sao Paolo is supposedly one of the most dangerous in the world</font>

I have been to Brasil several times and always heard the opposite...that Sau Paulo is generally as safe as any large city, but RIO is very dangerous...never stop at a traffic light at night, etc. Of course any city is dangerous if you act like a fool and flash money & jewelry! I never felt unsafe in SP, but I stick to the business/hotel areas. If you venture into the shanty neighborhoods, well thats a different story.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">do find a "roticerey" restaurant, and go hungry</font>

I think you mean a "Churrascaria"! I have eaten at both of these, and both are excellent.

Vento Haragano (http://www.ventoharagano.com.br/)
Fogo de Chao (http://www.fogodechao.com/flash_index.php)


[This message has been edited by Pointfreak! (edited Mar 16, 2004).]

Guava, I'm sorry, I didn't see this thread until today. I spent two days in Sao Paulo at Christmas and I loved it. I would highly recommend a book by Cesar Giobbi called Sao Paulo Do Meu Jeito/Sao Paulo: My Own Way which is in Portuguese and English. It is a smallish and very personal guide that you can slip in your bag or backpack and covers subjects such as living in Sao Paulo (getting around, crime, civility and good manners, tipping, ...), eating and drinking, nightlife, culture, shopping, walking tours, etc. Giobbi is a well-known columnist for the daily O Estado de S. Paulo; I found the book in a book store near my hotel (it includes a map).

His ideas for walking tours in the Center (Oscar Niemeyer's Edificio Copan and a trip to the top of the Banespa building for an incredible view of the city) and in the Higienopolis neighborhood are quite good. We found taxis very easy to come by, as well as inexpensive, and ended up keeping one for the better part of a day.

My hotel was near the enormous Ibirapuera park and it was fun to walk through the gardens and along the lakes and watch the Paulistas of all ages running, walking, bicycling, skating, etc. The MAM (http://www.mam.org.br/)(Museu de Arte Moderna de São Paulo) is in the park and definitely worth a visit; the outdoor sculpture garden nearby is quite interesting.

The Economist (http://www.economist.com/cities/printStory2.cfm?city_id=SAO&cc=YES) has a listing of many different art events taking place in March, the major one being the following:

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Picasso na Oca

Until May 2nd 2004

Brasil Connects, São Paulo's main sponsor of artistic blockbusters, has amassed the largest collection of Picasso's work ever exhibited in Latin America. “Picasso na Oca” features over a hundred paintings, drawings, sculptures and ceramics from the Musée Picasso in Paris, spanning 77 years and many styles, from impressionism to cubism to his trademark distortion. Despite a relative dearth of masterpieces, there has never been a better chance to appreciate his work south of the equator.

Pavilhão na Oca, Parque do Ibirapuera, portão 2, Avenida Pedro Álvarez Cabral. Tues-Fri, 9am-9pm, Sat-Sun, 10am-9pm. Entry: 10 reais. For more information, visit the exhibition's website.</font>

My favorite museum was the MASP (http://www.masp.art.br/default.asp) (Museu de Arte de Sao Paulo) with a beautiful building on the avenida Paulista designed by Lina Bo Bardi; the collection of European art is quite good.

A few of the restaurants we enjoyed: Figueira for fabulous meat (not a rodizio like Fogo, though) in a beautiful setting centered around a giant centennial fig tree; Gero (from the same family owners of the fancier and more formal Fasano) for delicious Italian food in a chic setting and its upstart younger brother Forneria San Paolo for great pizzas and pasta; and Arabia for excellent Middle Eastern cuisine in a comfortable setting. All of these restaurants are in the Jardins neighborhood.

I forgot to note the link to The Economist's city guide for Sao Paulo (these guides are usually quite helpful):

http://www.economist.com/cities/citiesmain.cfm?city_id=SAO

blairvanhorn:
Thanks for posting all that great information .. I feel much better now ..
I am going to study the guide .. which I did a little already.

I found this pretty interesting:

http://query.nytimes.com/search/article-page.html?res=9E03E4D6173DF931A15751C0A9629C8B63&n=Top%2fFeatures%2fTravel%2fDestinations%2fCentral %20and%20South%20America%2fBrazil%2fSao%2 0Paulo

http://www.brazil.org.uk/index.php

Blair--you described many of the things I saw on our trip, but with much better detail & information. Good job! I'll be back in October (see web site, below), and can't wait!

JP

www.geocities.com/j379pa (http://www.geocities.com/j379pa)

USAFAN: that NY Times article is good; we stayed at the Hotel Unique which is why I was so near the Ibirapuera park (about a 5 minute walk). I forgot to mention that we also visited the mercado municipal central (the huge produce market in the Centro district) which, being a food lover, was an amazing treat. Here is a link to a United Airlines Hemispheres article on Sao Paulo from 2002 which is actually pretty good:

http://www.hemispheresmagazine.com/three/2002/sao_paulo.html

JP: looks like a great trip you have planned! I'll be back in Brazil in April ... I can't wait. http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttravel_forum/smile.gif

Blair...:
Thanks for the article. Very interesting. Also the link from the Brazil Embassy has plenty of information and hundreds of links.

I ordered information by e-mail and got this friendly reply:

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">

Dear USAFAN,

Thank you for contacting the Brazilian Tourism Office. Your information will be sent by the end of the week. Have a wonderful vacation.

Best Regards,

Julia Fisher
1-800-7BRAZIL
visitbrazil@braziltourism.org
www.braziltourism.org (http://www.braziltourism.org)
</font>

Blair...:
I am back from Sao Paulo. It's O.K., but I am not impressed. And the traffic is the worst I have ever seen ... much less traffic in Rio.
I also went to this restaurant "under the fig tree". Nice ambiance, but my baby beef wasn't that great.
We stayed at the Hilton Marumbi - absolutely great hotel .. super friendly & professional staff...

Blair...:
I am back from Sao Paulo. It's O.K., but I am not impressed. And the traffic is the worst I have ever seen ... much less traffic in Rio.
I also went to this restaurant "under the fig tree". Nice ambiance, but my baby beef wasn't that great.
We stayed at the Hilton Marumbi - absolutely great hotel .. super friendly & professional staff...

My experience too. Glad to see you did not make my 1st night mistake of Hilton Sao Paulo instead of the Hilton Morumbi. :)

Blair...:
I am back from Sao Paulo. It's O.K., but I am not impressed. And the traffic is the worst I have ever seen ... much less traffic in Rio.
I also went to this restaurant "under the fig tree". Nice ambiance, but my baby beef wasn't that great.
We stayed at the Hilton Marumbi - absolutely great hotel .. super friendly & professional staff...

Sorry to hear about your baby beef - mine was very good! I have heard good things about that Hilton, I'm glad you enjoyed your stay there.

Sorry to hear about your baby beef - mine was very good! I have heard good things about that Hilton, I'm glad you enjoyed your stay there.

Blair...:

You should stay at the Hilton Morumbi, the executive floors are first class and the staff is "out of this world": nice, friendly, professional.

Yes, the baby beef was not tender and tasteless. When I was asked how the food was, I responded not very good ... they later offered (actually delivered it) me a pork loin ... I refused (I had to ... was filled up) .. and the maitre was a little "bitter". I gave him a nice big tip .. and we had a happy end.

I gave him a nice big tip .. and we had a happy end.

:D

Thanks again for the hotel advice.

Sao Paulo is one giant mess of a city. I love it, nonetheless. I would probably hate it if my future in-laws weren’t there.

As been said before, it’s not for the faint-hearted. It’s a giant, congested, sprawling, dangerous, dirty and difficult city to navigate. If you’re going without basic knowledge of Portuguese or without knowing anyone, you will not like it and be overwhelmed. Few Brazilians speak English and the public transportation system is lacking for a city of that size. Renting a car and driving around is not advised since Sao Paulo traffic is awful. Probably the best way to get around is by taxi.

Brazilians, by in large, are warm and friendly people and very hospitable. They will genuinely appreciate it if you show an honest interest in their culture and at least attempt to speak Portuguese. Following these steps will make your stay all the more enjoyable.

As far as crime and safety, Sao Paulo is a dangerous city. That being said, I think crime there is a little overstated. So long as you dress down, you should be fine. Don’t wear a Rolex or have expensive jewelry showing and don’t dress in a 3-piece suit. You won’t attract undesired attention if you don’t “show off”. Always avoid the favelas. It’s probably not advisable to walk around downtown at night. Even in the daytime, downtown can be a little sketchy.

There really aren’t too many tourist attractions in Sao Paulo and it is pretty much a business city. A few people have mentioned Ibirapuera Park, which is very nice. It’s sort of like Sao Paulo’s version on Central Park.

Sao Paulo also has a great night life too, but because of my girlfriend situation, I haven’t been able to experience it! Culinary delights also abound. If you’re into Japanese food, the Liberdade section of the city is amazing for sushi and other Japanese delicacies. Liberdade is a little dangerous though.

Most Brazilians don’t go to Sao Paulo for vacation; they go for work. And many Paulistas try and get out of the city on the weekends to for the beach, which is only an hour away.

Anyways, a lot of people have said that Rio is more dangerous than Sao Paulo. I have never been to Rio, so I cannot comment on this personally. But my girlfriend’s family refuses to go to Rio because they think it’s too dangerous. That says a lot to me.