The Traveller's Magazine
Brazil may be over the ocean but the price of a flight there isn’t over the moon. Fly with Iberia from London Heathrow to Sao Paulo for £496 this June, return flight with all taxes included. An alternative escape to Brazil’s culture capital may be just the trip you need.
Sao Paulo isn’t the capital but this sprawling metropolis is the envy of many for its alternative art and cultural scene. There is no other city in South America that compares in nightlife, bars, chic restaurants, first-class museums, underground experimental theatre, concerts and spontaneous dance parties. Thanks to a flood of immigrants to the city in the 1950s, Sao Paulo is without a doubt one of the most culturally diverse cities south of the equator.
Sao Paulo Essentials:
- Catch a show in Bixiga (otherwise known as Little Italy) or Bela Vista, that’s where you’ll find small theatres and bars with nightly entertainment.
- Take a self-walking tour of the whimsy mansions along Avenida Paulista, built by in the 19th century out of fortunes made from coffee beans.
- Shop for new threads at the Shopping Center Iguatemi (the first mall ever in Brazil) located just off of Rio Pinheiros.
- Take a tour of the city’s main market, Mercado Municipal, get lost among the stalls and don’t leave without a few tasty treats or souvenirs.
- MASP is a must: Museu de Arte de Sao Paulo, with 7000+ pieces of art from the masters (Picasso, Degas, Delacroix, Monet…) but Brazilian artists are well represented, don’t worry!
- Browse the antique fair on Sunday morning outside of MASP, it’s a charming affair even if you leave empty-handed.
- Catch the best view of the city from atop the Banespa skyscraper, built in 1939. It’s free to ride the elevator up to the observation deck.
- See 1000+ snakes at the Instituto Butantan, the largest venom farm in the world, used for biomedical research. Not recommended for ophidophobes.
What are you waiting for? Head to Brazil this summer!
