Hidden gems in São Paulo
Skip the tourist circuit. These São Paulo spots are the ones locals actually send their out-of-town friends to.
Top spots in São Paulo
Avenida Paulista (Sundays)
OutdoorsPaulista
Closed to cars Sundays — buskers, skaters, MASP open-floor museum.
MASP
CulturePaulista
Lina Bo Bardi's red concrete masterpiece — paintings float on glass easels.
Mercado Municipal
Food & DrinkCentro
Mortadella sandwich the size of your head + pastel de bacalhau.
Vila Madalena Street Art
CultureVila Madalena
Beco do Batman alley — open-air street-art gallery.
Ibirapuera Park
OutdoorsMoema
São Paulo's Central Park — Oscar Niemeyer pavilions, MAM museum, Sunday jogging.
Where to eat
D.O.M.
$$$$Contemporary Brazilian · Jardins
Alex Atala's Amazonian-ingredient tasting — World's 50 Best.
A Casa do Porco
$$$Brazilian · Centro
Jefferson Rueda's pork-everything — Latin America's #1 in 2023.
Mocotó
$$Northeastern Brazilian · Vila Medeiros
Worth the cab — dadinho de tapioca and 400 cachaças.
Z/Deli
$$Jewish-American · Jardins
Pastrami sandwich the city argues over — late-night classic.
Frequently asked
- Locals' under-the-radar picks include Avenida Paulista (Sundays), MASP, Mercado Municipal. These are the places that don't show up on the first page of mainstream travel guides.