The bairros to the east of the centre contained some of the city’s first industrial suburbs and were home for many immigrants, but with the exception of the Museu da Hospedaria do Imigrante there’s hardly anything of interest here. North of the centre is the red-light district of Luz, until recently known only as the rather seedy location of the city’s railway stations, but now being developed into a major cultural hub. Due north of here, across the Rio Tietê, is the Rodoviária Tietê, the city’s main bus station serving points throughout Brazil and neighbouring countries.

Just south of the commercial district are Bela Vista – usually referred to as “Bixiga”, São Paulo’s “Little Italy”, focused on Rua 13 de Maio – and Liberdade, with its centre around Praça da Liberdade and Rua Galvão Bueno. Traditionally a Japanese neighbourhood, Liberdade is gradually being transformed by the arrival of new immigrants from other east Asian countries.

To the southwest of the centre is Avenida Paulista, an avenue of high-rise office buildings which divides the city’s traditional centre from the Jardins, one of the most prestigious of São Paulo’s middle- and upper-class suburbs. Extending south and west are yet more plush suburbs, such as Itaim Bibi and Vila Olímpia, with upmarket restaurants and nightspots. Cutting across Avenida Paulista into the Jardins is Rua Augusta, which begins in the centre at Praça Franklin Roosevelt; many of São Paulo’s best restaurants and shopping streets are located around here. West of the Jardins is Vila Madalena, and beyond here Pinheiros, mainly residential neighbourhoods that are fast developing as two of the city’s most fashionable nightspots. Just across the Rio Pinheiros is the vast campus of the Universidade de São Paulo and the Instituto Butantã, while to the southeast lies the Parque Ibirapuera, one of the city’s great parks.

Greater São Paulo

The most important industrial areas are the so-called “A B C D” municípios of Santo André, São Bernardo, São Caetano and Diadema, the traditional centre of Brazil’s motor vehicle industry and of the city’s militantly left-wing political tradition. In the 1940s, Santo André elected Brazil’s first Communist Party mayor, while out of the Metal Workers’ Union and the auto workers’ strikes of the late 1970s – which heralded the end of the country’s supposed economic “miracle” – emerged Lula, the leader of the PT, the Workers’ Party.

What only a few years ago were clearly identifiable small towns or villages have become swallowed up by Greater São Paulo. But, despite the traffic, escaping from the city is surprisingly easy, and there are even some points on the coast that can make good day-trips.

For most of its history, communications from São Paulo to the outside world were slow and difficult. In 1856 the British-owned São Paulo Railway Company was awarded the concession to operate a rail line between Santos and Jundaí, 70km north of São Paulo city in what was then a developing coffee-growing region. The 139-kilometre line was completed in 1867, remaining under British control until 1947. Overcoming the near-vertical incline of the Serra do Mar that separates the interior of the state from the coast, the line was an engineering miracle and is slowly being restored today.

Paranapiacaba

You don’t have to be a railway buff to appreciate Paranapiacaba, however. The village is set amidst one of the best preserved areas of Mata Atlântica in the country and most visitors use it as a starting place for fairly serious hikes into the thickly forested Parque Estadual Túristico do Alto Ribeira. Employing a guide is advisable, as trails are unmarked, often very narrow and generally quite hard going; there’s an office of the association of licensed guides as you enter the settlement from the station; expect to pay around $25 for a day and bring food, drink and sturdy footwear. The weather in this region is particularly unreliable but, as a general rule, if it’s cloudy in São Paulo you can count on there being rain in Paranapiacaba.

Getting to Paranapiacaba is easy. Take a train from São Paulo’s Luz station to Rio Grande da Serra (every 15min; 45min; 60¢), where, if you’re lucky, there’ll be a connecting service continuing the two stops to Paranapiacaba. If there’s no train, take a bus from outside the station, or a taxi (about $5). Since there’s nowhere to stay in Paranapiacaba, and only snacks in the way of food, you’ll need to return to São Paulo the same day.

Embu

In the 1970s, Embu was a favourite retreat for writers and artists from São Paulo, and many set up home in what was then still little more than a village. Today, the Sunday handicraft market (9am–6pm) in the main square, Largo 21 de Abril, makes the town a favourite with Paulistano day-trippers, although during the week Embu is far quieter. The shops around the main square stock a more or less similar selection of pseudo-antiques, rustic furniture, ceramics, leather items, jewellery and homemade jams to what’s on offer in the market but they are open daily. Nearby, on Largo dos Jesuitas, the basic structure of the eighteenth-century Igreja Matriz Nossa Senhora do Rosário is typical colonial Baroque, but its interior retains almost no original features. Attached to the church is the interesting Museu de Arte Sacra dos Jesuítas (Tues–Fri 9am–noon & 1–5pm, Sat 1–5pm, Sun 10am–5pm). Otherwise, you might as well sit down and eat: there are several restaurants on Largo 21 de Abril and along the adjoining streets, and the town is a very good place to sample traditional Paulista cooking, rare in the city of São Paulo itself. There’s a well-organized tourist information office on Largo 21 de Abril (Mon–Fri 8.30am–5.30pm, Sat & Sun 9am–6pm).

It takes less than an hour to get to Embu from São Paulo; catch the “Embu Cultural” bus (every 30min) from outside the Tietê Rodoviária.

For more general information on Sao Paulo, go to:

• Citycentre of São Paulo
• City Transport
• Eating Out
• Practicalities