Sao Paulo Main Sights 7-Hour Group City Tour

Brooklin, Itaim and the cable-stayed bridge

The tour begins in the modern south and southwest of São Paulo, in the business districts of Brooklin, Vila Olímpia and Itaim Bibi. Here glass towers, corporate headquarters, luxury hotels and new residential blocks show how quickly the city has grown in recent decades. Your guide explains how a small colonial village became the largest city in the Southern Hemisphere and the economic engine of Brazil.

The landmark of this area is the cable-stayed bridge over the Pinheiros River, opened in 2008, whose tall X-shaped mast and fan of steel cables have become a symbol of the modern skyline. Next comes a short guided visit to a Brazilian chocolate factory store in Pinheiros, where you learn about Brazilian cacao, sustainable sourcing and how chocolate is made. This is also the second meeting point, at 10:00 am.

Ibirapuera Park, the Obelisk and the Bandeiras Monument

Ibirapuera Park is to São Paulo what Central Park is to a great American city: a vast green space of lawns, lakes and tree-lined paths, opened in 1954 to celebrate the city's four hundredth anniversary. Its modernist pavilions host museums and the famous art biennial, and on weekends it fills with joggers, cyclists and families. A walk through Ibirapuera Park is one of the best free things to do in São Paulo.

At its edge stand two great monuments. The Obelisk of São Paulo, about seventy-two metres high, honours those who fought in the 1932 Constitutionalist Revolution. Nearby, the Bandeiras Monument is a powerful granite sculpture of explorers and settlers hauling a boat inland. The tour then stops at the terrace of the Museum of Contemporary Art, which offers panoramic views of the city's endless skyline.

Beco do Batman street art in Vila Madalena

Beco do Batman, or Batman Alley, is a narrow sloping lane in the bohemian district of Vila Madalena where every wall, door and step is covered in murals. It took its name from a drawing of the superhero that appeared on one wall in the 1980s, and since then generations of graffiti artists from Brazil and abroad have painted over it again and again, so the alley looks different on every visit.

It is one of the most photographed places in the city and the best spot to understand why São Paulo is considered a world capital of street art. Walk slowly, look for small details hidden in the larger works and take as many photos as you like. After the alley the tour stops for lunch at a traditional Brazilian steakhouse with a self-service buffet of grilled meats, salads, hot dishes and vegetarian options, at your own expense.

Historic centre, Viaduto do Chá and the Sé Cathedral

In the afternoon the tour moves through downtown São Paulo, where the city began in 1554 as a small mission on a hill. You pass City Hall and cross the Viaduto do Chá, the Tea Viaduct, built over a valley that was once covered in tea plantations. Around it stand emblematic buildings from the coffee boom, including the elegant Municipal Theatre, that show how coffee money transformed the city.

The visit continues to the Sé Cathedral, the city's main church, which stands on Praça da Sé, the symbolic centre of São Paulo from which distances are measured. Built in neo-Gothic style through much of the twentieth century, it has two tall spires, a great green dome and a vast interior with stained-glass windows. Your guide shares stories of the people and events that shaped this historic heart.

Liberdade and the Municipal Market

Just south of the cathedral lies Liberdade, the Japanese neighbourhood of São Paulo. Brazil has the largest Japanese community outside Japan, and here you see red lanterns along the streets, Asian grocery stores, bakeries and shops selling everything from ceramics to stationery. It is a fascinating example of the many cultures that have made the city what it is today.

Next comes free time at the Municipal Market, known locally as Mercadão. Opened in 1933, its great hall is lit by colourful stained-glass windows showing scenes of farming and food production. Stalls overflow with tropical fruits, spices, cheeses and cured meats, and the upper floor is famous for its generous sandwiches and pastries filled with salted cod. It is the perfect place to taste São Paulo and buy edible souvenirs.

Paulista Avenue

The tour finishes on Paulista Avenue, the most famous street in São Paulo. Stretching for almost three kilometres along a ridge, it began in the late nineteenth century as a boulevard of coffee barons' mansions and is now lined with banks, cultural centres, shopping arcades and the striking Museum of Art of São Paulo, raised above a wide open plaza on four red pillars.

Paulista Avenue is the stage for the city's parades, concerts and celebrations, and on Sundays it closes to cars and becomes a giant pedestrian street. Here you can choose to end the tour and stay in the area to enjoy the afternoon, or ride back with the group to the original meeting points. Either way you leave with a real feel for the energy and diversity of one of the world's most dynamic cities.