São Paulo in 3 days
Three days in a city with no postcard — so the plan is built around districts, meals and which museum is shut on which day.
- How long
- 3 days
- Getting around
- The metro, six lines
- Rhythm
- Museums in the morning
São Paulo has nothing to show from above, and that is an honest starting point. Three days are built around three districts and around where you eat, and Sunday is the best day of the week: Paulista closes to traffic and the city comes out onto the street.
Paulista and Ibirapuera
MASP — free on Tuesdays, 10 to 8, and on Fridays from 6 to 9; on other days a ticket is €14. If day 1 falls on a Tuesday, that is a whole ticket saved.
Walk Paulista to the Conjunto Nacional and the bookshop inside it; lunch on a side street rather than on the avenue itself.
Ibirapuera. Pick one of the park's museums rather than all four: Afro Brasil for the country's history, MAM for contemporary art.
Dinner in Jardins, the district immediately behind Paulista.
The centre and the Municipal Market
The Municipal Market, a 1933 hall with stained glass. The salt-cod sandwich upstairs is an institution; go before ten, while the queue is still shorter than the sandwich is worth.
The Copan building, Niemeyer's block on Avenida Ipiranga. The rooftop opens on Saturdays only, 1.30 to 4.30, in groups of up to eight, booked online, €8 a head; if day 2 is a Saturday, the roof comes after the Pinacoteca.
The Pinacoteca by Luz station — closed on Tuesdays, free on Saturdays. Next to it is the Museum of the Portuguese Language, in the old railway station, closed on Mondays.
The Sé cathedral and the Pátio do Colégio, where the city was founded in 1554 as a Jesuit mission.
Back by metro before five. On weekdays from 5 to 8 the city restricts cars by number plate, and that is the evening rush.
Liberdade and Vila Madalena
Liberdade, Japão-Liberdade metro station. On Saturdays and Sundays there is a market on the square, 10 to 6; on other days the shops and restaurants.
Lunch: ramen or tempura in Liberdade, or feijoada if it is Saturday.
Vila Madalena and the murals of the Beco do Batman lane.
Bars in Vila Madalena, until it is time for dinner.
The last dinner — if you booked a table before the trip, this is the night for the restaurant from the list.
What is shut on which day
- Monday. MASP and the Museum of the Portuguese Language are closed — Day 1 and Day 2 do not go on a Monday.
- Tuesday. The Pinacoteca is closed and MASP is free — Tuesday suits Day 1 when there is no Sunday in the plan.
- Saturday. The Pinacoteca is free and the Copan roof is open — put Day 2 on a Saturday whenever you can.
Before you go
Short answers to what people ask most before setting out.
Is São Paulo worth it after Rio?
It is if you travel for food, art and nightlife. It is not if you want landscape — the city has none. Three days is the right measure; a week is too much unless you live at the city's pace.
How long is rush hour?
Weekdays from 7 to 10 and from 5 to 8 — in those six hours the city restricts cars by the last digit of the plate (the rodízio). A taxi sits in the same traffic; the metro runs underneath it.
What is open on Sunday?
Paulista is car-free from 9 to 4, and there is a market on the square in Liberdade. MASP and the Pinacoteca open on Sundays too; MASP closes on Mondays, the Pinacoteca on Tuesdays.
Ready for São Paulo?
Where to next
What to eat in São Paulo
→A city settled by Japanese, Italians and Lebanese — so you eat everything at once, and lunch is paid for by…
Rio de Janeiro · 360 km
→A city whose two great viewpoints look at each other — and you go up whichever one is clear that day
How well does São Paulo suit you?
→Six questions: a score for this place and others like it.
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