Imagine the possibilities when visiting Sao Paulo- 110 museums, 240,000 stores, 200 helipads, 12,500 restaurants, 1,500 pizzerias, 70 nationalities and a population of almost 12 million. And over three football stadiums that sit 40,000 and more.
Sao Paulo, the megalopolis city has always been the economic, sports and cultural center of Brazil. Nothing is stopping this city from flourishing or attracting 12 million tourists every year.
Head spinning?
Let me help you find 4 things to do in Sao Paulo if you have two days or two weeks in the city-
Football Museum
To Brazilian football enthusiasts, the Football Museum is like a house of worship. Located in the Pacaembu Stadium, this is the first national football museum of its kind in Brazil.
The museum takes visitors through two floors, 15 rooms with collectors’ items, memorabilia, visual displays and a series of stories and glorious football memories told through LCD screens. A life-sized Pele on TV will greet you in three languages when you arrive.
Even if you can’t make it to a live football match in Sao Paulo, watch and listen to the thunderous cheers on a metal platform in a special room beneath the Pacaembu Stadium. You will feel as if you are with the crowd in the stadium.
Mercado Municipal de Sao Paulo -Municipal Market
A burst of colours, sounds and smells will greet you as you enter this fresh market. Fruit vendors and cheese mongers will ask if you would like to take a sample. If you are not shy and your stomach is strong, you could easily fill your stomach if you take a slow stroll around the Municipal Market.
Clean and tidy with decorative stained glass windows like a cathedral, Mercado Municipal does not sell cheap souvenirs and clothing like many local markets in South America. In fact if you take the stairs to the second floor you will find the best place for Sao Paulo’s pastel de bacalhau and mortadela sandwich.
Museu de Arte de Sao Paulo (MASP)
If you love art, you will be in for a treat at the MASP. Van Gogh, Monet, Cezanne, Renoir, Raphael, Botticelli and Mantegna’s masterworks are displayed here. This small museum holds a great collection of impressionist art and art that dates back to the 1400’s.
The rectangular shaped MASP building is a unique work of art. If you are there on Sundays you can visit the antique fair under the museum or walk across the street for an outdoor market and savor some local food with the locals.
Ipirapuera Park
Ipirapuera Park has over two million square meters of space for locals and visitors to walk, bike, skate, roller-blade, sunbathe, read, eat and play. It is green and calming with trees, flowers, birds and fountains and even houses the Sao Paulo Museum of Art, Planetarium and OCA Museum.
