TAKE A WALK ! and other São Paulo, Brazil Things to Do Tips

Yes , that's how simple a "what to do " tip for São Paulo can be ...

Take a walk and look at the architectural styles of the cities buildings... Could be the neoclassic or mediterranean style residence highrises or steel and glass office or hotel highrises in the Jardins , the slightly run down inner city buildings from the 1950's or earlier ( you should walk into one of these buildings and take the elevator , just to see those marvels of past times.... ) or the small houses , mostly also run down , in "poorer" neighborhoods like the ones in these pictures ( btw , near or in the Bras district ). These houses used to belong to middle class families in the 1930's and 1940's , but with the rapid expansion of the city and growth of its population and also the unfortunate arrival of pandemic , violent crime , many middle class families opted to sell their houses and move into the "modern new and safe" residential highrises , leaving these houses to economically poorer classes which meant a decline in safety , upkeeping , and living quality in the whole district.
Here are just a few examples of places you might see..... These houses are not atypical at all....

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Directions: EVERYWHERE

This one belongs to "what to do " just as to "off the beaten path".
The various artesanal fairs that spring up on weekends all over town.
Here are three examples of inner city weekend fairs of high interest for those who don't want to go as far as to EMBU DAS ARTES ( see next tips)

1) Flea Market type fair on Saturdays only at Praça Benedito Calixto near Ave. Henrique Schaumann in Pinheiros where you can look at or buy "antique" furniture and household items , paintings , all kinds of handmade gadgetry artesanal items made of the most varied materials , eat homemade sweets or spicy northeastern delicacies.... This place is well worth a 2 - 3 hour visit on an early , sunny Saturday afternoon.

2) Artesanal Fair on Sundays at a parking lot adjacent to Praça Republica , downtown São Paulo.. one of the oldest and most traditional weekend fairs.. The place where you should buy your souvenirs or little gifts for the folks back home... outragously beautifull amethysts to put anywhere in the house for just esthetical reasons , bookends , wind chimes , keyholders and much more , made out of "sliced" stones that look like nothing from the outside but are fantastically beautifull from the inside.... and so much more that it's hard to mention all of it here.... well, paintings , leather goods , there's good food too and massage chairs where you can get a quickie back massage ( right there in the public) for peanuts..... This fair is an all time favorite.... It works only on early Sundays ( like 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM )

3) Oriental Fair at Praça da Liberdade on Sundays , almost exclusively dedicated to oriental ( in this case japanese , but also korean and chinese) food and a huge variety of arty and gadgetery items ranging from clever wooden kitchen and massage utensils , incense , dolls , clothes and much , much more...

If you're a toughie , visit #1 on Saturday , #2 on Sunday morning and #3 on Sunday early afternoon , I'm sure you will want to return one week later..BUT... don't miss EMBU DAS ARTES...( next tips !)

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Address: See maps

15 km or so outside of São Paulo , in the beginning of Regis Bittencourt Highway linking São Paulo with Curitiba you will find on Sundays the nicest and probably most entertaining artesenal fair with a lot of interesting attractions , folkloric attractions , stands with the most diverse items for sale , whether usefull or just for the esthetics , food stands , restaurants , musicians , artists and many more things to see , admire , buy......

Here are 5 pictures of shops/stands and what they sell..... there will be five more in the next tip ... just to give you an idea of the diversity.......

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Address: DOWNTOWN EMBU DAS ARTES
Directions: Sorry , the only way I know how to get there is with my own car. There are probably buses and a taxi might cost around 40 U$.
From Eusebio Matoso Bridge across Rio Pinheiros , then Ave. Francisco Mourato till Regis Bittencourt Highway plus 10 more km...

Another five examples of what you will find , definitely interesting items to take back home for yourself or as gifts.....
Dried and prepared Piranhas straight from the Amazonas , decorative seamens knots , bow and arrows from the indigenous Amazonas Indios , masks made out of leather and a stand that sells almost exclusively wind chimes made out of semi precious stones.....

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Last examples of Embu das Artes fair attractions......
The live artists and the folklore......

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These pictures were taken in the back of one of the inumerous Bras clothing stores , in this case probably a woman's clothes or a shirt store.....If you happen to go shopping for clothes in Bras District , ask to be shown the "fabrica".....
Nice and interesting side show and attractions while "shopping to dropping".....

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Address: Just about any store in Bras District
Directions: Bras District east of Downtown São Paulo

One of the nice things you can do is just drive around for the sake of it in the Ave. Paulista, Jardins and Pinheiros area, looking at all the people, traffic and the lit up commerce. Here I have chosen 4 different types of commerce, all part of their own chains, a bakery, a bank, a fast food joint and a pharmacy…

“Leticia” is a high end luxury bakery chain with delicious breads of all kinds, sweet stuff, nice sandwich “bar”, just sit at the counter, wave at Sé (Joe in Portuguese), scream your order and he’ll start working on it… Get a nice Cappuccino ( no Starbuck stuff ) and maybe a fresh fruit juice, how about an orange-acerola-red beet juice ? prepared on the spot …

Itaú is supposedly the third biggest bank in Brazil, the bank where I have been a client for the past 17 years, Itaú ( no idea what the name means, it’s definitely an indigenous Tupi word). modern and progressive bank, good to work with.

Then the ever present golden arches that you have to look at all the time wherever you go…(almost). What’s interesting here in Brazil is that Mac is considered upper middle class eateries….. The poorer classes can’t afford a Happy Meal for their kids all the times.

Last but not least, the pharmacy chain…. I had to drive my bro-in-law from the USA to the place so he could take a lot of pictures to show his buddies back home…
Farto must be the translation when an American wants to explain to the Mexican pharmacist that he has the flatulence… LOLOL !!.

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Address: Avenida Paulista