Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
São Paulo city
Rio is a beauty. But São Paulo - São Paulo is a city.
Marlene Dietrich
Nicknamed “Sampa” - the title of a well-known Caetano Veloso song about the city, in
which he admits that, “When I arrived here I didn't understand the hard concrete poetry
of your streets and the discreet casual beauty of your girls” - the city of
SÃO PAULO
does
not have an immediately appealing aesthetic. It's a place most people come to for
business; residents of the city,
paulistanos
, boast frequently of their work ethic, supposedly
superior to what dominates the rest of Brazil, and speak contemptuously of the idleness
of
cariocas
(in reply,
cariocas
joke sourly that
paulistanos
are simply incapable of enjoying
anything - sex in particular). Increasingly, though, visitors are also coming to São Paulo
to play. Often described, not inaccurately, as “the New York of the tropics”, the city lays
claim to having surpassed Rio as Brazil's
cultural
centre, with a lively and varied
programme of exhibitions and shows. There are several sights associated with the vast
influx of immigrants to the city (see box, p.495), especially in the individual
bairros
where
the immigrants and their descendants have established strong local communities. Largely
thanks to the variety of immigrants, São Paulo is also Brazil's
gastronomic
capital,
and its
vibrant
nightlife
has put it firmly on the international clubbing map.
São Paulo's traditional
Centro
is the area around
Praça da Sé
and
Praça da República
.
he
bairros
to the east contained some of the city's first industrial suburbs and were
home for many immigrants, but, with the exception of the
Museu do Imigrante
, do not
contain much of interest to visitors. North of the centre is the red-light district of
Luz
,
and just south of the commercial district are São Paulo's “Little Italy”,
Bela Vista
(usually referred to as “
Bixiga
”), the traditionally Japanese neighbourhood of
Liberdade
and the smart streets of
Higienópolis
. To the southwest,
Avenida Paulista
, the city's
main boulevard, lined by modern high-rise o
ce buildings, divides the centre from
Jardins
, one of the most prestigious of São Paulo's middle- and upper-class suburbs.
Yet more plush suburbs, such as
Itaim Bibi
, with its smart restaurants and clubs, extend
8
Brasília
SÃO PAULO STATE
0
150
kilometres
São José
do Rio Preto
MATO
GROSSO
DO SUL
MINAS GERAIS
Ribeirão Preto
Araçatuba
Araraquara
São Carlos
RIO DE
JANEIRO
Presidente
Prudente
Bauru
SÃO PAULO
Holambra
Campos do Jordão
Itatiaia
Americana
Santa Barbara
Campinas
Taubaté
1
São Josĕ
dos Campos
Paraty
São Paulo
Ubatuba
Caraguatatuba
São Sebastião
Sorocaba
Paranapiacaba
Embu
Maresias
PARANÁ
Guarujá
Ilhabela
Santos
Itararé
1
Itanhaém
N
HIGHLIGHTS
Paranapiacaba
Casa do Pinhal
Ilhabela
Registro
Iguape
Pariquera
SP-226
Ilha Comprida
Ilha Cardoso
Cananéia
ATLANTIC OCEAN
Ariri
Ponta Grossa
Curitiba
