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Image via WikipediaSao Paulo, Brazil is one of the countries most splendid jewels. This gem is a radiant city, alive with culture and industry. 45 miles from the Atlantic coast, Sao Paulo (which stands from St. Paul in Portuguese) is an amalgam of the various cultures that shape the face of this modern, bustling Brazilian metropolis.
The city of Sao Paulo, despite being so populous today, remained for hundred of years a smaller colonial town, evident in the relics of the old city that can still be found all over Sao Paulo.
Today, 32 malls, hundreds of boutiques and scores of fine stores line the busy streets of this prosperous city. It is also proud to be the home of 2 of 15 of he world's finest zoos, as well as a great number of parks and a magnificent botanical garden. The nonstop pace of Sao Paulo makes this a premier destination for nightlife in Brazil outside of Rio de Janeiro.
Sao Paulo has the best of both worlds, with virtually everything you could want to find in a large city, as well as some things you wouldn't expect. One notable fact is the large immigrant population, giving this centuries old metropolis a cosmopolitan and diverse face. The over 1 million Japanese who live here give this city the notable distinction of being the largest Japanese city outside Japan. Liberdade is the name of the neighborhood where you can find this hub of Japanese culture - it is a center of the Asian community, enhanced by the quaint gardens and exotic shops.
To add to the cultural wealth of Sao Paulo, Brazil, the museums here have some of the best permanent exhibits of Latin American art and architecture anywhere in the South American continent. The contemporary profile of a half dozen buildings of The Latin American Memorial Complex is replete with Latin American art. This complex is easily accessed via the clean and modern subway system, one of the world's finest.
Marvel at the exquisite furnishings of Brazils imperial era at the Ipiranga Imperial Museum (Museu Paulista), another one of Sao Paulo's cultural highlights. With so many resources and modern conveniences, this city is a delight to live as well as to explore. The wide boulevards of Paulista Avenue, Sao Paulo's main street, is a great place to start exploring the city of foot, and is a busy center of commerce and tourism.
Sao Paulo is a fascinating juxtaposition of old and new - here you can find colonial era splendor set against modern comforts. Sao Paulo is a city that begs to be explored. Clean, bright, and exciting, this city will completely revolutionize your ideas of the country of Brazil.
São Paulo overwhelms the senses with its sheer size. With over 10 million inhabitants, it is the world's third largest city and the largest in South America. São Paulo and its rival Brazilian city, Rio de Janeiro, have often been compared to New York and Los Angeles respectively. If Rio has gained fame for its striking natural setting, São Paulo's attraction lies in its people and its vibrant cultures. The Avenida Paulista's canyon of upthrusting skyscrapers only hints at the city's sources of energy. A more cosmopolitan city than its counterpart, São Paulo possesses significant ethnic minority communities, including substantial Japanese, Italian, and Arab and Lebanese Christian neighbourhoods.
The array of nationalities living in São Paulo have made it a legendary city among gourmands: Japanese, Italian nuova cucina, Brazilian, Chinese, Jewish, and Arab restaurants are all familiar parts of the city's landscape. Brazil's famously good beef is put to good use at the numerous rodizios and churrascarias. Succulent, roasted cuts of meat are circulated around the tables and cut to patrons' order. In fact, people often visit São Paulo just to dine out. The Jardins district is the center of the dining scene, and thus the center of the São Paulo social scene. Paulistanos eat late--restaurants often don't begin serving until 9pm or 10pm, and it is common for them to stay open until 3am.
Brazil's most modern, cosmopolitan city has much to offer in addition to its outstanding cuisines. Its museums are among the finest in South America, its surrounding coastline is graced with many lovely beaches, and its entertainment and nightlife have for years attracted some of the best performers in the world. In recent years, the city has evolved into a center for Brazil's own martial art, capoeira, whose dance-like motions are performed to music. The art has its own traditional instruments: drums and the berimbau, a stringed rod used to keep time. Originally developed as the martial art of the slaves of the Bahia, capoeira was banned by the ruling classes. To keep their art alive, the slaves turned capoeira into a dance, and the berimbau, which had warned of an approaching master, began to accompany the dance itself. As late as the 1920s capoeira was still outlawed and practiced only underground; today, it is a well-known and much-loved spectacle.
Source: www.justbrazil.org
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