Top choice in São Paulo
A 'can't miss' stalwart in São Paulo's live samba scene, Vila do Samba – named as such due to its location inside a charming set of town-house villas – is worth a trip to the northern district of Casa Verde, which is said to be where samba's origins lie. It swarms with connoisseurs at least four nights a week.
To get here, take the metro's red line east to the end of the line (Palmeiras – Barra Funda) and catch buses 148P-10/175P-10/177H-10, all of which stop within half a block from the venue.
2.39 MILES
Copan was designed by late modernist master Oscar Niemeyer. The building, with its serpentine facade and narrow brises soleil (permanent sunshades), is…
2.59 MILES
This covered market is a belle epoque confection of stained glass and a series of vast domes. Inside, a fabulous urban market specializes in all things…
3.3 MILES
Sampa’s pride, this museum possesses Latin America’s most comprehensive collection of Western art. Hovering above a concrete plaza that turns into an…
2.52 MILES
Among the city’s oldest and most important churches, São Bento dates to 1598, though its neo-Gothic facade dates only to the early 20th century. Step…
2.63 MILES
For one of Sampa’s best panoramas, head to the top of this 161m-high skyscraper, Brazil’s version of the Empire State Building – completed in 1939 and…
2.01 MILES
This elegant neoclassical museum, formerly known as Pinacoteca do Estado but modernly rebranded 'Pina_Luz' (with the underline!) in 2017, houses an…
3.69 MILES
Relatively unknown and blissfully uncrowded, the unassuming Casa Amarela is part NGO handicraft shop, part two-table romantic cafe and part tiny Museu…
1.99 MILES
Across the street from the Parque da Luz sits one of São Paulo's most stunning structures, a classic late-Victorian train station constructed with…
1.78 MILES
Located inside Estação Júlio Prestes, this annex of nearby Pina_Luz hosts Sampa's three best contemporary art halls for temporary exhibitions.
1.78 MILES
Inside Estação Júlio Prestes, the powerful Memorial da Resistência includes occupying cells where dissidents were tortured Brazil’s military dictatorship…
1.79 MILES
This grand turn-of-the-century beaux arts–style working railway station (actually completed in the 1930s) houses the Pina_Estacão, an annex of the Pina…
1.96 MILES
The best of its kind in Brazil, this museum includes works by renowned 18th-century sculptor Antônio Aleijadinho, along with some 1000 other…
1.97 MILES
Half of Estação da Luz has been given over to this museum, with fascinating permanent exhibits documenting the rise of the Brazilian language as distinct…
1.99 MILES
Across the street from the Parque da Luz sits one of São Paulo's most stunning structures, a classic late-Victorian train station constructed with…
2.01 MILES
This elegant neoclassical museum, formerly known as Pinacoteca do Estado but modernly rebranded 'Pina_Luz' (with the underline!) in 2017, houses an…
2.34 MILES
With 46 stories, this skyscraper just south of the Praça da República is the tallest in the city center. You have three options to see the view: weekdays…