Editor's picks
A local's shortlist — the places worth your time first, each with a tip.
Avenida Paulista
Landmark · Central
The city's spine — MASP art museum, cultural centres, and a kilometre-long avenue closed to cars on Sundays.
Local tip: Go on a Sunday when it's pedestrianised. Street musicians, food carts and the whole city out walking — it's São Paulo at its most likeable.
MASP
Culture · Avenida Paulista
Lina Bo Bardi's suspended concrete-and-glass museum, with paintings displayed on glass easels rather than walls.
Local tip: The easel display is the point — you walk among the paintings and see the backs of them. Nowhere else does this.
Vila Madalena
Neighborhood · West
Bars, galleries and the Beco do Batman alley of constantly repainted street art.
Local tip: Come for the street art in daylight and stay for the bars. It's the most reliably fun night out in the city.
Mercado Municipal
Food · Centro
A cathedral-like market hall of tropical fruit, cured meats and the enormous mortadella sandwich the city is known for.
Local tip: Split the mortadella sandwich — one is genuinely enough for two. Then eat properly at a pastel stall upstairs.
Ibirapuera Park
Nature · South-central
The city's Central Park, with Niemeyer-designed pavilions and a large slice of São Paulo's cultural infrastructure inside it.
Local tip: Weekday mornings are calm and lovely; Sunday is packed. The Afro Brasil museum inside the park is excellent and consistently overlooked.
Liberdade
Hidden gemFood · Central
The largest Japanese diaspora neighbourhood outside Japan, now equally Korean and Chinese.
Local tip: Go on a Sunday for the street market. São Paulo has more people of Japanese descent than any city outside Japan and the food reflects it.
Explore 123 places across São Paulo
Museums, landmarks, monuments, heritage sites and parks — mapped, with photos. The most notable spots first.
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Museums & galleries
(42)
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MuseumBotanical Garden of São Paulo
Park of the Botanical Garden, environmental preservation area of the São Paulo state in Brazil
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MuseumGlass House
Italo-Brazilian architect Lina Bo Bardi's house
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MuseumMuseu Brasileiro da Escultura
Museum in São Paulo, Brazil
MuseumEcological Park of Tietê
Nature reserve in Brazil
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MuseumEstação Pinacoteca
Museum in São Paulo, Brazil
MuseumMuseu do Relógio Professor Dimas de Melo Pimenta
Museum in São Paulo, São Paulo
MuseumMemorial da Resistência de São Paulo
Museum in São Paulo
MuseumAnchieta Museum
Museum in Brazil
MuseumGaetano Ferolla Museum of Public Transport
Museum in São Paulo, Brazil
MuseumSão Paulo City Art Collection
Museum in Brazil
MuseumMemorial de 32
Museum in Brazil
MuseumMuseum of Jewish Immigration
Museum in Brazil
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MuseumCentro Cultural e de Estudos Superiores Aúthos Pagano
Brazilian cultural institution in São Paulo
MuseumMuseu de Geociências
Museum.
Museu de Oceanografia
Museum.
Museu do Crime
Museum run by Polícia Civil do Estado de São Paulo.
Museu de Anatomia
Museum.
Landmarks & architecture
(16)
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Landmark9 de Julho Palace
Headquarters of the Legislative Assembly of São Paulo, Brazil
LandmarkDoctor João Mendes Square
Landmark in São Paulo.
LandmarkPraça da Bandeira
Public square in São Paulo
LandmarkPraça da Liberdade
Landmark in São Paulo.
Monuments & memorials
(14)
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MonumentAyrton Senna Monument
Monument in São Paulo city, Brazil
Monument
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MonumentPiques Obelisk
Obelisk at Largo da Memória
Centro de Eventos Vila Mariana
Public artwork.
Santos-Dumont 14-bis
Public artwork.
Teatro Brasileiro de Comédia
Bixiga
Historic site in Bixiga.
Monumento a Armando de Sales Oliveira
Public artwork by Bruno Giorgi.
Places of worship
(33)
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ReligiousTemplo de Salomão
Church of the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God in Brazil, replica of the Temple of Solomon
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ReligiousParóquia de Santa Terezinha
Church building in São Paulo, Brazil
ReligiousIgreja Nossa Senhora da Boa Morte
Church building in São Paulo, Brazil
ReligiousIgreja Apostólica Armênia São Jorge
Church in São Paulo, Brazil
ReligiousChurch and Convent of Our Lady of Light
São Paulo, Brasil
ReligiousIgreja Matriz de Nossa Senhora da Penha de França
Church in São Paulo, Brazil
ReligiousBasílica de Nossa Senhora da Penha
Religious in São Paulo.
ReligiousIgreja Nossa Senhora do Monte Serrat
Place of worship.
Paróquia Santa Cecilia
Santa Cecilia
Place of worship in Santa Cecilia, 1895.
Capela dos Ariquemes
Place of worship.
Paróquia Nossa Senhora de Lourdes
Place of worship.
Heritage & archaeology
(4)
ArchaeologicalPortal da Fazenda Morumbi
Historic ruins.
Casa Bandeirista
Archaeological site.
Antiga Casa da Baronesa
Historic ruins.
Parks & nature
(11)
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ParkCarmo Park
Park in São Paulo, Brazil
ParkMore to explore
(3)Aquario
Theme park.
Praça Vital Brasil
Visitor attraction run by Instituto Butantan.
Ghost Bike Márcia Prado
Visitor attraction.
Data from Wikidata (CC0) & OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Images via Wikimedia Commons — see each credit. Listings are community-maintained and may be incomplete or out of date — verify hours and access before visiting.
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