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Sao Paulo: A Quick Look at the Big City

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How do you put the third largest city in the world in a nutshell? In the case of São Paulo, with two words: food and business. São Paulo is, first of all, a major business mecca. Just about everything that comes into or goes out of Brazil, goes through São Paulo–and a huge portion of Brazil’s own product base is manufactured, in whole or in part, in São Paulo. Communications, automobiles, coffee, textiles…São Paulo stands in strong contrast to the third-world images that most foreigners have of Brazil. Most foreigners (even Brazilians from other parts) are stunned by the efficiency and velocity of the São Paulo scene.

If you find yourself in this grand city, there’s an 85% chance that you’re here on some kind of business. Just keep in mind that the pleasure of doing business in São Paulo comes from all those incredible business lunches and dinners you’ll be enjoying. The city’s central area alone has over 1400 restaurants featuring over 40 different types of foods. But if you’re in São Paulo to take in some sites, you won’t be disappointed. The city offers some charming neighborhoods (including several ethnic centers); museums focusing on Latin American art and culture; performance halls with internationally-known music groups, dance and theater groups; street fairs; shopping centers; and many parks and open spaces.

São Paulo, while enormous in geographic scale, is easily accessible by metro. The system, recognized as one of the best in the world, is cheap, fast, clean, and safe and can take you as far as you’ll want to go (or should go) in any direction. The basic divisions of the city are known simply as Centro, Zona Norte, Zona Sul, Zona Oeste and Zona Leste and the metro forms a big cross, taking you in each of these four directions.

Centro: Most probably where you’ll spend the majority of your time, the center of São Paulo is a collection of neighborhoods, each with its own character. The old Centro Historico has most of the city’s old buildings and churches, including the Teatro Municipal and Catedral da Sé. The area is in a constant state of upgrade, having suffered a heavy decline over the past fifty years or so, but you can walk around during the day without worry (nighttime is another story) and visit most of the area’s offerings on foot. The Liberdade neighborhood is known as the Japanese district and is a haven for sushi lovers and anyone interested in Japanese culture. Bela Vista is the Italian district and, of course, a nucleus of great Italian food (although good Italian restaurants are spread throughout the city). At night, the area at Av. 13 de Maio in Bela Vista becomes one of the city’s night spots. Finally, the Jardins area along Avenida Paulista is the city’s upscale, high-rise district with a rich concentration of shops, restaurants and cafés. Here, you’ll find the best selection of hotels. This area is also known simply as Paulista.

Zona Norte
The north part of the city is primarily a business district and often loaded with visitors from afar, due to its various convention centers and conference halls. It has several excellent hotels, designed for business travelers (comfort, technology and access) and which are well worth considering as alternatives to the hotels in the Center or Paulista (Jardins) areas, and you get great discounts on weekends. The strip of restaurants and clubs on Av. Luis Dumont Villares brings a crowd from all over the city.

Zona Sul
Home to the Congonhas airport (principal location for domestic flights), the South Zone offers some of the largest and most impressive hotels in the region, golf courses, and great restaurants and night spots. Other highlights include the zoo and botanical gardens, the Boating Club, Formula One track in the Interlagos area and two concert halls: Credicard Hall and Tom Brazil, which feature a variety of shows all week long. This area begins at the Parque Ibirapuera and is home to three great neighborhoods for food and nightlife: Moema, Itaím Bibi and Brooklin.

Zona Oeste
The farther west you go in São Paulo, the more you run into the city’s bohemian, side. This is probably due to the concentration of universities in the area. You’ll also find a couple of interesting, alternative neighborhoods with great bars and restaurants, specifically Pinheiros and in the Vila Madalena neighborhoods (the latter being one of the best spots in the city for nightlife, with a slightly hippie style to it). Far out on the west side is the Butantã Institute for snake cures (open for viewing).

Zona Leste
The East Side is the city’s international portal, thanks to the Guarulhos International airport. As a result of its presence, many new hotels have sprung up here offering competitive alternatives to the North and South Zone hotels. The Brás neighborhood, which is just one stop east of the Centro, is a major garment district with some of the best shopping in the city (although you have to look for the good shops).

The Beauty Within
The city is temperate most of the year with winter months (June-August) getting fairly cold, averaging around 19*C. The city can get pretty muggy during the summer (November-January) due to the smog and humidity. São Paulo has a reputation for being one of the world’s ugliest cities. What with its polluted rivers, offensively poor air quality and excess of highrise buildings, it can seem like the ugly cousin of Los Angeles or Hong Kong. But the city’s beauty does not reside in it’s natural endowments, nor in any special architectural charm. Rather, the beauty of São Paulo, for those who are open to seeing it, lies in its unique and special rhythms. Rhythms that can be heard in the people’s conversations, in the daily business activities, in the nights out for dinner and drinks, and in the mornings riding the metro. São Paulo is not really a city to see, it’s a city to be in. This is no more apparent than in the city’s inhabitants themselves. Paulistas are extremely satisfied being in São Paulo. They are friendly, polite, generally sophisticated and unparalleled at attending to the needs of others.

Arraial d’Ajuda: Shopping

In my opinion, the best shopping is in the old village, but by all means check out the more upscale offerings all along the Estrada do Mucugé too. An interesting shop in the Praça Brigadeiro E. Gomes is the Casa de Renda, with hand-made and hand-painted fabrics. There is also a well-stocked souvenir store on the far corner of the praça, opposite the church. While you’re hanging around the old town praça, take a look inside the Claudio Macedo, Atelier de Madeira for a look at some interesting wood sculpture.

What to do in Barra

The very tip of the Salvador peninsula (if you can call it that) is the area called Barra. It’s marked by the largest and most significant fort in northern Brazil. The Barra neighborhood is where the beaches begin, and they continue north up the Atlantic coastline to Itapuan and Flamengo. As you turn from the bay side of Salvador to the ocean side you’ll notice a great difference in atmosphere. First, you come down off the hills to sea level. The sun seems to beat hotter and the temperature goes up. The vibe in Barra is definitely more beachy and most of the action takes place on the coast highway.

The Beach

Barra is a busy beach just about every day of the year. It is situated in front of one of the most active areas on the coastline for hotels, bars, and restaurants. During the day, the Barra beach is a place to kick back and get some sun on the sand. You won’t be there but two minutes before you’ll be interrupted by someone selling something: roasted peanuts, sunglasses, sunscreen, and roasted cheese. The water in Barra and all of the beaches of Salvador is mercifully pollution free, due to a major clean-up program initiated by the mayor. The city installed sewage treatment facilities in every beach from Bonfim to Itapuan and you can swim anywhere on the Salvador coast, with the exception of Boca do Rio (the river does not get treated before it empties into the ocean). Of course, there are many beaches that you should not visit due to risk of assault, such as anything within 20 kilometers of Rio Vermelho Beach.

If you go into the water in Barra, just be sure that you have someone to watch your stuff. If you are alone on the beach (perhaps watching somebody’s stuff), be aware of people who may try to distract you from what you are watching over. Some of these misdirection schemes are performed in pairs, so if one person approaches you, open the eyes in back of your head. There is almost no risk of outright assault on the Barra beach during the day.

Sights

Barra is more about beaches and less about sites than Pelourinho. You may also find yourself in Barra because of the abundance of hotel options there. Still, there are a couple of sites worth checking out. First and foremost is the Santo Antônio da Barra Forte, also known as the Farol da Barra (or Barra Lighthouse). It is perhaps the most important fort in Brazil’s history. It was here that the Dutch first invaded Brazil (unsuccessfully) in 1624 and then again (successfully) in 1629. It has played an important role in the protection of the Bay of All Saints since its construction in the mid 1500s. Inside the fort is the Nautical Museum, which has a bunch of artifacts from a 16th century Portuguese ship that sunk offshore, as well as nautical maps and historical documents.

Most impressive is the view from the lighthouse platform, which lets you see both the bay side and ocean side of the coastline. There is a small coffee shop inside the fort. Open 9am–7pm in low season and 9am–9p.m. in the summer months. Closed Wednesday. The second most interesting fort in Salvador is also in the Barra region, called the San Diogo Forte. It overlooks the Barra Port at the end of Av. Princesa Isabel. Open 9:30am–noon and 1:30–5:30pm Next to this fort is the Instituto Mauá (see Shopping below). Finally, on the hill above Barra is the Igreja Abadia da Graça (Largo da Graça in the Graça neighborhood). This church was built in 1557, making it one of the city’s oldest original structures. It’s small and not as flashy as the churches in Pelourinho, but if you want to take a walk in the Barra neighborhood, you can check it out. Open 8–11:30am and 2–5pm

Shopping

There are shops all along Av. Sete de Setembro, the coast highway at Barra. If you want a more formal shopping experience, then Shopping Barra is within walking distance. It’s one of the best shopping malls in Salvador and has a tourist information booth inside, as well as movie theaters and Internet cafés. There are also some excellent lunch buffet restaurants in the food court and a bank of relatively quiet public phones. The best way to enter is from Rua Miguel Bournier. You’ll enter at the arts and crafts fair, which is in the east wing. This fair has some of the same items that you’ll find in the Mercado Modelo and probably at about the same prices. Another arts and crafts fair is at the Instituto Mauá (Praça Azevedo Fernandes 2, across from the gas station). Again, the merchandise here is similar to that of the Mercado Modelo at about the same prices, but it’s worth a look.

Why Visit Brazil, What to Do and See in Brazil

Why Visit Brazil? You’re kidding, right?
Well, for those who are just getting to know this big, beautiful South American country, here is a quick rundown of what Brazil has to offer…

Nature and Wildlife Encounters

Brazil has some of the most exotic and fascinating wildlife on the planet and you can get a close-up look when you visit Brazil’s nature hotspots. Everyone knows about the amazing plant and animal species in the Amazon Rainforest, featuring pink river dolphins, manatees and huge caiman (a type of crocodile). The pantanal area is the world’s largest wetlands and a haven for birds and land mammals. Giant anteaters, wild stork and rare blue macaws are just a few of the highlights there. Underwater animal encounters can be found all along the coast of Brazil, including Fernando de Noronha and Abrolhos and feature whales, dolphins and sea turtles. Unforgettable natural wonders include the desert dunes of the Lençõis Maranhenses and Foz de Iguaçú.
Read the rest…

Food & Shopping in Minas Gerais

The interior state of Minas Gerais is one of Brazil’s greatest travel regions. It is rich in history and culture and offers a glorious look at some of the most Brazilian festivals, foods, and fashions. The area is mountainous with plenty of rivers and waterfalls and many of the old, colonial towns still look like they did in the 1700s during Brazil’s great gold rush, known as the gold cycle. These colonial towns are the heart and soul of the region and any trip here requires a visit to one or two of them, at least.

But first things first. Let’s talk shopping! This is one of the best shopping regions in the country and I’ve provided an overview of some great shopping areas and items in this article: Shopping Highlights in Minas Gerais.

Since most people begin their visits to Minas in the capital city of Belo Horizonte, I’ve also posted some B.H. restaurant listings and reviews, including a great spot for lunch (see Family Focusing on Food) and an elegant dinner option (see Vecchio Sogno).

Check back for more interesting additions to this section. If you have ideas of your own, send them to me in an email.

Boa viagem!

Shopping Highlights in Minas Gerais

What to Buy and Where to Buy It

Minas is a great place for shopping and if you know what to look for and where to look for it, you can find some of Brazil’s best prices. Specialties in the area are, of course, the items that are made or found there – most of which have been part of the regional culture for hundreds of years. Here’s a summary to get you started.

Jewels that Shine Like the Sun

Minas Gerais got its name because of the gold and stone mines that abound in the area. It’s what made the place what it is today and many of those mines are still in operation and pounding out plenty of precious product. The best place in the entire region is the city called Valadares, in the north of Minas Gerais. This city is closest to some of the major stone trading centers in the country. If you’re serious about stones, then Valadares is the place for you. But don’t expect a lot of tourist activities there. For a better blend of shopping and sight seeing, the next choice is certainly Ouro Preto, once the gold and jewel capital of Brazil (and probably the world at the time). A close third place goes to the town of Diamantina, a wonderful historical village and home to many diamonds and emeralds. Diamantina is about four hours north of Belo Horizonte.

Cachaça, Brazil’s Fire Water

The Central Minas Region is famous all over Brazil for producing some of the country’s best cachaça – the clear or yellow sugarcane alcohol that is Brazil’s distinct contribution to the world of drunkenness and debauchery. Actually, cachaça is to Brazil what vodka is to Russia or whiskey is to Scotland. There are good bottles and bad ones. Some of the best places to search include the bars and cachaça distilleries in Ouro Preto and Mariana, where you’ll find the Gota de Minas brand, among many others. You can also find many brands in the Mercado Central of Belo Horizonte.

Clothes and More Clothes

You’ll find great clothing all over Minas Gerais, but the best place, by far, is the garment district in the city of Belo Horizonte. Known as the neighborhood of Barro Preto (Black Bar), this district specializes in factory outlets and direct-to-consumer shopping parks. You’ll find all sort of jeans, elegant clothing, shorts, shirts, and dresses. You can also find all sorts of sewing supplies and yardage shops, in case you’re into making your own. Just take a cab to the Barro Preto district, about five minutes from the main bus station in downtown Belo Horizonte. Be sure to get some cash from the bank before you go, as there are very few banks there and many shops don’t take plastic.

Bikinis and Lingerie, the Intimate Clothing of Brazil

I know, bikinis and lingerie are clothing, but I thought they should have their own, special heading in this article. Besides, Brazil is famous for these items and Minas Gerais is one of the best places to find them. You’ll find great lingerie in the many shops lining the streets near Shopping Cidade shopping mall in Belo Horizonte. You can also find great deals on comfortable under clothing in the discount outlets along Rua Paraná, from the central bus station all the way to the Mercado Central (if you make it that far). This is a crowded, chaotic shopping scene in the middle of bustling downtown B.H., but if you’re up for the challenge, it’s worth the trip.

Outdoor Markets

The biggest outdoor market in the region and one of the biggest in South America is the street fair known locally as the hippie fair or feira hippie. It occurs every Sunday on Rua Afonso Pena, the main street of town about a half mile from the downtown bus station in Belo Horizonte. It starts early (around 8am) and ends early (around 1pm) and its c-c-crowded like you’ve never imagined! Be sure to hold onto your valuables as you wedge your way through the crowds and don’t hesitate to step to the side for a breather. It’s a wonderful slice of Minas culture and a good place to find deals on handicrafts and clothing.

Country Cooking Kitchen

They don’t make pots and pans like this any more. You can find clay and ceramic pots for oven cooking, plus stone wear, copper pans and iron skillets. There are aluminum pots and pans of every shape and size. The best place for these cooking contraptions is in the town of Cachoeira do Campo, just 20-minutes outside of Ouro Preto (heading toward Belo Horizonte). This is where many of the stone and copper pots are made and where you’ll find the best prices. You can also find these items in the markets of Ouro Preto, including the Stone Market or feira de pedras in front of the San Francisco Church, or igreja São Francisco. If all else fails, you can find most of these items in the Mercado Central in Belo Horizonte, but the prices there are a bit higher.