Parque Estadual do Alto do Ribeira
São Paulo State
This 357-sq-km state park, with its 450 cataloged caves, is known as Brazil’s Capital das Grutas (Cave Capital). The park's Núcleos de Visitação (Visitor…
Must-see attractions in São Paulo State
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São Paulo
Sampa’s pride, this museum possesses Latin America’s most comprehensive collection of Western art. Hovering above a concrete plaza that turns into an…
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São Paulo
Copan was designed by late modernist master Oscar Niemeyer. The building, with its serpentine facade and narrow brises soleil (permanent sunshades), is…
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São Paulo
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…
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São Paulo
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…
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São Paulo
This elegant neoclassical museum, formerly known as Pinacoteca do Estado but modernly rebranded 'Pina_Luz' (with the underline!) in 2017, houses an…
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São Paulo
Relatively unknown and blissfully uncrowded, the unassuming Casa Amarela is part NGO handicraft shop, part two-table romantic cafe and part tiny Museu…
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São Paulo
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…
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São Paulo
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…
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São Paulo
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…
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São Paulo
One of São Paulo's premiere street-art locations, 'Batman's Alley' has slowly risen from secret location for band promotional shots and Brazilian films to…
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São Paulo
São Paulo’s most splendid construction, this theater was begun in 1903 in the style of Paris’ Palais Garnier. Its heavily ornamented facade seems to…
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São Paulo
Take a stroll down Brazil's 'Rodeo Drive', a leafy, tree-lined thoroughfare brimming with cafes, concept stores and flagship boutiques, top-end…
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São Paulo
This hugely important, absolutely fascinating Parque Ibirapuera museum features a permanent 3rd-floor collection chronicling five centuries of African…
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São Paulo
Tucked under the bleachers of colorfully art deco Pacaembu Stadium, this fantastic museum is devoted to Brazil’s greatest passion – football (soccer). Its…
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São Paulo
You can't miss the stunning facade of this Av Paulista newcomer. Its sliding vertical plank entrance sits in stark contrast to the surrounding concrete…
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São Paulo
São Paulo's most expansive green space and a much-loved urban oasis for Paulistanos, Parque Ibirapuera is a leafy 2 sq-km park in Vila Mariana. In…
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São Paulo
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…
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São Paulo
The best of its kind in Brazil, this museum includes works by renowned 18th-century sculptor Antônio Aleijadinho, along with some 1000 other…
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Mercado Municipal de Pinheiros
São Paulo
A smaller, cleaner and more manageable version of São Paulo's far larger and more chaotic Mercado Municipal, Mercado Municipal de Pinheiros has served…
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São Paulo
A 2017 artistic addition to Av Paulista, this striking, R$150 million, vertical museum and cultural center is a real treat for photography fans – three…
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São Paulo
One of Parque Ibirapuera's most noticeably unique structures is Oscar Niemeyer's Marquise do Ibirapuera. It's a wavy, 620m-long and 15m- to 80m-wide…
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São Paulo
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…
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Museu de Arte Contemporânea da Universidade de São Paulo
São Paulo
This fine museum, the best of three belonging to Universidade de São Paulo's Museu de Arte Contemporânea, is housed in the Oscar Niemeyer–designed former…
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São Paulo State
Embu's weekend arts-and-craft fair is the biggest draw in the São Paulo region for artisanal wares.
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São Paulo
The seat of São Paulo's city government sits inside this 1930s neoclassical 'palace' designed by Italian architect Marcello Piacentini (who is well-known…
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São Paulo
Crowning the Praça da Sé is the domed Catedral da Sé, a huge neo-Byzantine concoction that, for better or worse, replaced the original 18th-century…
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São Paulo
Occupying the exact spot where São Paulo was founded in 1554 by Jesuit brothers José de Anchieta and Manoel da Nóbregra, this mission is actually a 1950s…
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Museu Histórico da Imigração Japonesa
São Paulo
This modest but fascinating museum, on the 7th floor of a Liberdade office building, documents the arrival and integration of the Japanese community…
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São Paulo
This 2018 cultural addition to Av Paulista offers the best free view you're going to get of the country's most important avenue: the 17th floor terrace…
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São Paulo
Beautifully curated from some 84,000 historical photographs, this museum inside a restored colonial downtown mansion is a must for those interested in the…
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São Paulo State
These private gardens on a mountainside 10km south of Capivari are one of Campos do Jordão's unexpected treats. Some 28 manicured gardens (themed by…
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Fundação Maria Luisa e Oscar Americano
São Paulo
Home of the couple who developed the leafy, upscale suburb of Morumbi, this fine retreat hosts impressive gardens and a lovely collection of painting,…
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Parque Estadual de Campos do Jordão
São Paulo State
Parque Estadual de Campos do Jordão – known locally as Horto Florestal state park – is 14km northeast from Capivari and home to the largest araucária…
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São Paulo
For a deeper understanding of São Paulo's immigration history, head to the Memorial do Imigrante in the eastern suburb of Moóca. Built in 1887, it was…
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São Paulo
This cultural center occupies a grand neoclassical-style building with an imperious facade of black marble that served as Caixa Econômica Federal's…
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São Paulo
Occupying an extravagant Palladian-style villa built by a local tycoon and his wife in the 1940s, this small but charming museum is dedicated to…
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São Paulo
Brazil’s oldest modern-art museum possesses a fine permanent collection of Brazilian modernists such as Anita Malfatti and Di Cavalcanti, as well as works…
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Igreja de São Francisco de Assis
São Paulo
Built in the 17th and 18th centuries, this classic example of Portuguese baroque just west of the Catedral da Sé is one of the best-preserved colonial…
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São Paulo
Inside Estação Júlio Prestes, the powerful Memorial da Resistência includes occupying cells where dissidents were tortured Brazil’s military dictatorship…
