There are a lot of cities inside the city of São Paulo. Its diversity can be compared to only a few metropolises in the world. Fun, attractive, unique, São Paulo offers much more than a business destination. As well as being the largest financial center in Latin America, the city offers numerous cultural, gastronomic, social and shopping programs.
Founded by Jesuit priests on 25 January 1554, it almost disappeared at the start of the 17th century due to a shortage of residents. However, with the coffee farming in the Southeastern Region, the city started to grow. The railroads and the Estação da Luz Railroad Station were built to enable sacks of coffee beans to be transported to the port of the city of Santos, on the coast of São Paulo state. Immigrants started arriving to work as laborers, and the city grew and prospered.
Nowadays, 452 years old, São Paulo is known as the city that never sleeps. It has more than 10.2 million inhabitants and is responsible for 18% of Brazil's GNP. It hosts an event every 12 minutes, in other words: 70,000 per year. The 140 trade fairs held annually attract 4 million visitors.
It has one of the richest art collections in Brazil. Amongst its 71 museums and 11 cultural centers, the São Paulo Art Museum (Masp), Modern Art Museum (MAM) and the State Art Gallery (Pinacoteca do Estado) are worthy of special mention. Amongst the newer museums, there is the Portuguese Language Museum, at the Estação da Luz Railroad Station. Furthermore, the Immigrant Memorial is proof of the cosmopolitan nature of the city where more than 70 nationalities are represented. The Memorial tells the story of the people who made São Paulo what it is today.
This is not all! The city has 280 movie theaters and 120 theaters and concert halls where plays, including Broadway shows, are put on.
As the gastronomic capital of Latin America, the city has about 15,000 bars and 12,500 restaurants, offering more than 52 types of cuisine, from an extremely varied range of countries and regions in Brazil. To give you an idea, 7,200 bread rolls, 720 pizzas and 278 sushis are produced every minute.
Shopping cannot also be overlooked. There are over 240,000 shops ranging from cheaper outlets, where good products can be found at reasonable prices, up to the luxurious shopping malls that offer the most sophisticated world-famous brands.
There is also the chance to get back to nature. There are 40 parks, including the Ibirapuera (our Central Park), Morumbi, Aclimação, Carmo and Trianon Parks. São Paulo also has one of the largest urban forests in the country, the Cantareira State Park.
Theme parks such as Hopi Hari and Wet'n'Wild, near to the city, and Monica's Park (Parque da Mônica), are an alternative for the children.
There is no shortage of choice of accommodation in the city. São Paulo has a hotel network that can be compared to the best in the world. In the last ten years alone, more than US$ 500 million has been invested in this sector. Another of the city's strong points is its very luxurious hotels and sophisticated urban spas, but there are also cheaper options. There are excellent cafés in the more pleasant districts, and São Paulo also has one of the wildest nightlifes in the world.
São Paulo is a welcoming city with something for all tastes and all occasions.
It is worth having a look at the tourist information, tips on how to get around the city, and everything that the city has to offer on the website:
www.saopaulo.gov.br.
Useful information:
Special Tourist Police (DEAT): 3214-0209
Area Code: 11
Fire Service: 193
Police: 190
Telephone Information: 102
São Paulo Tourism: 6226-0400
International Phone Calls:
Embratel: 00 + 21 + local area code + telephone number
Intelig: 00 + 23 + local area code + telephone number
Telefônica: 00 + 15 + local area code + telephone number
