São Paulo in three days
How to visit the city of São Paulo
When Charlie was researching tourist attractions and options for guided tours of São Paulo, she was surprised. There didn’t seem to be much on offer and a lot of the tours required a group booking or were very expensive for solo travellers. Only when she was searching for a free walking tour, she found something affordable.
Downtown São Paulo
She noticed quickly that the free walking tour of São Paulo was split into three parts. The most obvious was a tour of downtown. It started at the Praça República and finished at the São Bento Convent. They passed by some iconic buildings such as the Italy Building and the Coban (a building with its own ZIP-code), some cathedrals and churches in historic styles, had a break in a traditional bakery, and finished the tour near the original banking district. They learned a lot about the city’s history and architecture during this 3.5-hour long tour. If you only have time for one tour in São Paulo, do this one! You will also get plenty of tips for restaurants and rooftops for views over the city. They also provide a paper map with additional tips for the area and some discount codes.
Paulista Avenue
It is the cultural heart of São Paulo and a vibrant part of the city. The tour started at the end of Paulista Avenue at Rua Augusta and finished at a beautiful rose garden. You will see the last remaining mansions from the 19th-century-coffee-barons, some beautiful urban parks and you better write down a list of recommendations for museums and exhibitions. They call it the cultural heart of the city for a reason.
This tour starts in the afternoon and finishes just before sunset. Next to the end point is the community centre Sesc where you can go up to the rooftop for free. All you have to do is reserve a time slot through their app which Charlie could do comfortably while already there. That’s how she got a view of the Paulista Avenue with its many tall buildings and antennas in the twilight.
Pinheiros and Vila Madalena
One question remained after this tour: Why do they not call this tour “street art tour”? Because that’s what it mostly is. It starts in Pinheiros, leads through Vila Madalena and finishes at the famous Batman Alley.
The area was originally a village that traders passed through on their way along the gold route, until it was incorporated into the city of São Paulo. During the dictatorship, the nearby university city was dissolved to prevent a student movement and most of them moved to Vila Madalena. Combined with political idealism, this led to a flourishing street art scene in the area that is still alive today even though the area has become an upper- and middle-class neighbourhood.
During this free walking tour too, you get a paper map with additional tips for the area and some discount codes.
Urban bike tour
When Charlie planned the tours for São Paulo, she had a hard time finding a street art tour that you could book as a solo traveller. She also hadn’t realized that the free walking tour of Vila Madalena was exactly that. She found a guided bike tour to Ibirapuera Park that also involved street art. That sounded good!
The meeting point was a coffee shop in Vila Mariana called Pontinha 183 which also had power plugs and Wi-Fi. Charlie met the guide Pedro, and it turned out that she was the only person on the tour that day. What a luxury! That also allowed for some flexibility with the route as Charlie had already seen most of the street art in São Paulo during the free walking tour.
They first cycled down towards Ibirapuera Park, along some abandoned buildings with street art and stopped at the Museum of Contemporary Art to enjoy the view over the city from the roof top.
Afterwards, they cycled through the park, passed by the museums and cultural centres inside the park and to an area with green houses.
From there, they continued towards the financial district around the street Faria Lima with its modern buildings. There was a good cycle path in the middle of the road lined with different types of trees. It was a beautiful route and most of all, it was downhill.
At the end, the cycled through Pinheiros and Vila Madalena to enjoy a Caipirinha at Batman’s Alley. Since Charlie had already seen this part of town, they kept the visit short and rather focused on the cultural element of the Cachaça drink. For the return to Vila Mariana, they took the metro because Charlie did not want to cycle back uphill. That was also a good opportunity for her to see the underground transport system of São Paulo with a local.
Charlie absolutely enjoyed this tour, and she felt that she had really gotten a feel for the city. If you are okay with cycling, do this tour!
