São Paulo, Brazil

São Paulo trades Rio's beaches and mountains for sheer scale — endless neighborhoods, the continent's densest concentration of restaurants and museums, and a skyline that keeps going in every direction. Guarulhos Airport is Latin America's busiest, giving São Paulo the widest range of direct long-haul connections on the continent.

Top attractions

• •Avenida Paulista, the city's financial spine and Sunday pedestrian gathering point
• •The Museu de Arte de São Paulo (MASP), known for its glass-and-concrete elevated structure
• •Beco do Batman, an open-air street art alley in Vila Madalena
• •Mercado Municipal, a century-old market famous for its mortadella sandwiches
• •Ibirapuera Park, the city's largest green space and cultural park

Practical tips

• •Guarulhos Airport (GRU) connects to the city via the Airport Bus Service to major hotel districts, or a taxi/rideshare on frequently congested highways.
• •Traffic is a serious planning factor — São Paulo's rush hour can more than double travel times across the city.
• •Portuguese, not Spanish, is the local language, and English is less widely spoken outside business districts than in some other major world cities.

Frequently asked questions