São Paulo is Brazil’s largest city, so it can seem a bit overwhelming but our São Paulo Guide is here to help. The city is a metropolis of art, food, culture and green spaces, so there is a lot to do!
Where Is São Paulo?
São Paulo is in South-East Brazil in the state of São Paulo and is about a 1 hour flight or a 6 hour bus from Rio de Janeiro.
The bus system in Brazil is really good so wherever you are coming from or going to, it’s really simple to travel by bus. The long distance buses in Brazil are like coaches, most of them being double-deckers with partial or full reclining seats.
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How to get to and from São Paulo
You can get flights around the major cities in Brazil, but often when the bus is less than 6 hours, a 1 – 2 hour flight, plus time spent getting to the airport, being there 2 hours before the flight and the time to get to the city from the airport on the other side is pretty similar in the end. We find buses much easier and less stressful.
We used Busbud to get around Brazil and found it so easy to book tickets and select seats in advance to secure the bus we wanted.
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The main bus station in São Paulo is Tietê Bus Terminal which can be easily accessed with Uber.
Just check the conditions before purchasing to make sure they allow for e-tickets, or whether they need you to print the tickets.
Popular spots to travel by bus to get to São Paulo include:
Click the links to get the bus schedules from São Paulo. Just switch around the locations for the opposite direction
Rio de Janeiro: One of the busiest, but most fun cities in Brazil (6 hours)
Partay: Brazil’s most colourful UNESCO town (6 hours)
Curitiba: Home of capybaras! (6 hours)
Florianopolis: This beach metropolis is a perfect getaway for great beaches (12 hours*)
Foz do Iguacu: Home to the famous Iguacu Falls! (16 hours*)
*Overnight buses are a great way to save on accommodation costs and combine it with the travel
We have helpful articles about these above locations in Brazil as well as a custom South Brazil Itinerary – fully customisable for your preferences! So feel free to check them out to help you plan the perfect trip:
👉🏼 I want to see all your Brazil Articles
👉🏼 Want a personalised route? Check out our custom South Brazil itinerary (1–4 weeks, based on your travel style)
How to Get Around São Paulo
Getting around São Paulo is easy once you know the basics:
🚇 Metro
Clean, safe, efficient, and perfect for major sights like Paulista Avenue, Pinheiros, Historic Centre & Vila Madalena.
As of 1 December 2025 you can use contactless payments on the São Paulo Metro making it super easy to travel.
🚗 Taxis
Uber & 99 are affordable and widely used in São Paulo to get around. This is what we did most of the time, purely because it was so reasonably priced and safe.
🚌 Buses
We used the bus system a few times. It was reasonably easy to use, checking the route on google maps. There is a card machine to tap, however our UK debit cards didn’t work, so we had to pay cash. Make sure you have enough cash. The bus only cost R$5 per person per journey (£0.70 / US $1).
🚶🏽♀️Walking
The city is huge! It is unlikely that you will be staying somewhere where everything is within walking distance. For example we stayed in Vila Madalena and if we wanted to walk to Parque Ibirapuera it would take 1.5 hours!
However if you are staying in areas like Jardins, Paulista and Vila Madalena it is very easy to walk between sites within these areas.
Stick to well lit streets after dark and avoid showing off valuables – like in any big-city.
Where to Stay in São Paulo
São Paulo is a city of neighbourhoods, each offering a different vibe. Here are the best areas for travellers:
Best for: first-time visitors. It’s central, walkable, safe, and close to MASP and has great restaurant options
🎨 Vila Madalena (where we stayed)
Best for: street art, tourists, cafes, bars, thrift shops, boutique shops
Best for: foodies! Great restaurants, breweries, and the Mercado Municipal de Pinheiros.
Best Things to Do in São Paulo
Explore Avenida Paulista
São Paulo’s most iconic avenue comes alive on Sundays when it closes to traffic. You can expect live music, street performers, food stalls & cyclists and walkers everywhere.
You can also join a walking tour here to learn about the history. We loved São Paulo Free Walking Tours
📍Location: Avenue Paulista
💰Cost: Free
✅Best visited: on Sundays
MASP – Museu de Arte de São Paulo
This iconically shaped building holds some of Latin America’s most important collections of renowned art.
We have started to enjoy art museums a lot more these days, really taking the time to look at each piece of art and work out the story or what it’s trying to tell us.
The museum is free on Tuesdays! Just check on the website beforehand to check it is free and get your free tickets online beforehand.
📍Location: MASP
💰Cost: R$ 75 (£10 / US $14)
🕰️Hours: Mondays: closed, Thursdays: 10am – 8pm, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday: 10am – 6pm
✅Best visited: on Tuesdays for free entry
Ibirapuera Park
If you have a lovely sunny day, a great way to spend it is wandering through Ibirapuera Park. This park is huge with lots of green spaces, lakes, animals, birds and museums! Keep an eye out for parakeets!
Bring a picnic to enjoy on the grass
📍Location: Parque Ibirapuera
💰Cost: Free
🕰️Hours: 5am – 11pm
✅Best visited: on a sunny day
Afro-Brazilian Museum
We visited the Afro-Brazilian Museum whilst visiting Ibirapuera Park. The museum was really fascinating, but nothing is in English, so bring a phone with translation software.
📍Location: Museu Afro Brasil
💰Cost: R$ 15 (£2 / US $2.75)
🕰️Hours: 10am – 5pm, closed on Mondays
✅Best visited: any day (not Monday)
Beco do Batman
The iconic Batman Alley is full of street art, stalls, cafes, bars and more. It’s a must see when in São Paulo. It’s not huge, just 1-2 streets but every wall is alive with street art. Some art is political, some is just a beautiful explosion of colour but every piece is fascinating.
The street art around this area is amazing, so we’d recommend spending at least a few hours wandering around checking out art and the handicrafts people are selling.
📍Location: Beco do Batman
💰Cost: free
✅Best visited: any day (weekends will be busier)
Vila Madalena Walking Tour
The best way to see the street art around Vila Madalena. We booked online with the São Paulo Free Walking Tour. These tours work on a tip basis and this one was so deserving of the tips! There is so much history to the street art in this area and you would have no idea without a knowledgeable guide.
They also provide you with a booklet of local places to visit with discounts. For e.g. we went to Pinguina Sorveteria and got a free additional scoop of ice cream with our voucher! The ice cream was delicious too!!
The tour finishes at Beco do Batman, making it the perfect tour to explore this whole area.
You need to book the tour in advance on their website
📍Location: Tour start point – Fradique Coutinho Station
🕰️Hours: Wednesday, Fridays, Sundays at 11am in English (Sunday at 10:30 in Portuguese)
💰Cost: tip based
Thrift Shops
There are loads of second hand thrift shops in and around Vila Madalena. We visited them all, and some were better than others but you never know when you are going to find a hidden gem.
Thrift shops are called ‘Brechos’ in Portuguese, so keep an eye out for any signs with this on it.
If thrift shops are your thing, check out our map showing the shops we tagged to visit in the area.
Mercado Municipal de São Paulo
This historical building houses a large market which sells fruit, vegetables, meat, dairy products but best of all has a great food court and wine bars.
Must tries here are:
- Mortadella Sandwich (São Paulo classic)
- Pastel de bacalhau (codfish pastry)
TIP: avoid the free samples, vendors then push you to purchase expensive products after.
📍Location: Mercado Municipal de São Paulo
💰Cost: free
🕰️Hours: Monday – Saturday 6am – 6pm, Sunday – 6am – 4pm
✅Best visited: any day (weekends will be busier)
Other Museums
São Paulo has some of the best museums in Latin America.
- MASP – Art Museum, as mentioned above. Free on Tuesdays
- R$ 75 (£10 / US $14)
- Afro-Brazilian Museum – as mentioned above, located in Parque Ibirapuera
- R$ 15 (£2 / US $2.75)
- Pinacoteca – Brazilian contemporary art in a historic building
- R$ 30 (£4 / US $5.50)
- Museum of the Portuguese Language – interactive and fun museum, mostly in portuguese, so take a phone with translation software
- R$ 24 (£3.50 / US $4.50)
- Catavento Museum – science museum
- R$ 18 (£2.50 / US $3.30)
- Museu do Futebol – Football Museum. Free on Tuesdays.
- R$ 24 (£3.50 / US $4.50)
Liberdade, the Japanese District
This area of São Paulo is home to the largest Japanese community outside of Japan. The area can be explored on foot, with stops to enjoy traditional food along the way! In classic São Paulo fashion there is of course lots of street art to admire too.
On Sundays, you can visit the Japanese Crafts and Culture Market with a range of food options from Japan, other Asian countries and Brazil too. You will also find lots of stalls selling crafts too.
📍Location: Praça da Liberdade
💰Cost: free
✅Best visited: On sundays
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