São Paulo
The seat of São Paulo's city government sits inside this 1930s neoclassical 'palace' designed by Italian architect Marcello Piacentini (who is well-known for his fascist architecture in Rome). The 14th-floor rooftop gardens – practically a jungle, really – are open to the public for free on a first-come, first-serve basis. Bring ID, show up at least an hour in advance and set aside an hour for the visit.
Tours are limited to 10 people per hour.
0.51 MILES
Copan was designed by late modernist master Oscar Niemeyer. The building, with its serpentine facade and narrow brises soleil (permanent sunshades), is…
0.62 MILES
This covered market is a belle epoque confection of stained glass and a series of vast domes. Inside, a fabulous urban market specializes in all things…
1.55 MILES
Sampa’s pride, this museum possesses Latin America’s most comprehensive collection of Western art. Hovering above a concrete plaza that turns into an…
0.32 MILES
Among the city’s oldest and most important churches, São Bento dates to 1598, though its neo-Gothic facade dates only to the early 20th century. Step…
0.21 MILES
For one of Sampa’s best panoramas, head to the top of this 161m-high skyscraper, Brazil’s version of the Empire State Building – completed in 1939 and…
0.93 MILES
This elegant neoclassical museum, formerly known as Pinacoteca do Estado but modernly rebranded 'Pina_Luz' (with the underline!) in 2017, houses an…
1.94 MILES
Relatively unknown and blissfully uncrowded, the unassuming Casa Amarela is part NGO handicraft shop, part two-table romantic cafe and part tiny Museu…
0.86 MILES
Across the street from the Parque da Luz sits one of São Paulo's most stunning structures, a classic late-Victorian train station constructed with…
0.03 MILES
On the small Praça do Patriarca at the southwestern entrance to Triângulo, the modest, well-preserved Igreja de Santo Antônio retains many of its original…
2. Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil
0.15 MILES
Housed in an extraordinarily and lovingly restored beaux-arts building, this cultural center holds innovative exhibitions of contemporary art over five…
3. Igreja de São Francisco de Assis
0.17 MILES
Built in the 17th and 18th centuries, this classic example of Portuguese baroque just west of the Catedral da Sé is one of the best-preserved colonial…
0.17 MILES
Next to Igreja de São Francisco de Assis is the prestigious College of Law. Founded in 1827, it is considered to be Brazil’s oldest institution of higher…
0.17 MILES
São Paulo’s first skyscraper, in a gorgeous 1929 beaux-arts building, features a mansion built on top of its 26th-floor viewing terrace. However, the…
0.19 MILES
São Paulo’s most splendid construction, this theater was begun in 1903 in the style of Paris’ Palais Garnier. Its heavily ornamented facade seems to…
0.21 MILES
Latin America’s largest stock exchange. There is no longer a live trading floor to visit, but the lobby serves as a de facto museum, with small artifacts,…
0.21 MILES
For one of Sampa’s best panoramas, head to the top of this 161m-high skyscraper, Brazil’s version of the Empire State Building – completed in 1939 and…