Entertainment in São Paulo
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Café Suplicy
Santo Grão's rival is smaller, with a refined industrial-chic feel and also outrageously good coffee and pastries.
reviewed
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Bienal de São Paulo
Modeled on the Venice Biennale, the Bienal de São Paulo , founded in 1951, has grown into one of the world's most important arts events. Many of the participants are working artists who have been nominated by their home country. In addition, a guest curator chooses a theme and invites his or her own favorites. At its best, the Bienal offers the world a chance to view mind-bending contemporary art. Certainly it cannot fail to impressive for its sheer size and diversity.
The event is held during even-numbered years, generally from October to December, in a sprawling pavilion designed by modernist master Oscar Niemeyer in the leafy Parque do Ibirapuera. In recent years, adm…
reviewed
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Ultralounge
In the heart of Jardins, this smallish disco lays the attitude on thick, but by way of compensation the clientele - and especially the staff - tend to be easy on the eyes. Decor is distinctly Asian-inspired; there is a pleasant lounge area, and the music ranges from classic dance music to electronica.
reviewed
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ABC Bailão
The Bailão is definitely ‘brega’ (tacky), but that’s the point. Basically just one big dance floor, it features everything from Whitney Houston to forró – the music of the Northeast, where many of the patrons were born. The crowd is refreshingly multiracial and multigenerational.
reviewed
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Drops
You feel like you’re at a private house party in this elaborate little villa in a residential neighborhood. Bartenders specialize in cocktails concocted with fresh fruit, and the little dance floor features music ranging from indie rock and hip-hop to ’80s hits.
reviewed
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Disco
So fancy it doesn't need a proper a name, Disco is fitted out with glittering, futuristic decor by the same firm that designed Hotel Fasano. Music is more electronica than disco. Dress up and bring plenty of money - drinks are expensive, as is the cover.
reviewed
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Week
Both luxurious and cavernous, this club is the place to go if you like sweaty, shirtless, gym-hardened bodies. With two dance floors, three lounges, six bars, state-of-the-art light and sound, and an outdoor pool, it is like a big gay world unto itself.
reviewed
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Barretto
Hands down one of the best places to see live music in the world, this bar inside the Hotel Fasano recalls prewar Milan and attracts top jazz and popular Brazilian musicians that normally only play large venues. Entrance fees match the glamor levels.
reviewed
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Clube Vegas
Hidden in a basement in a seedy area just north of Av Paulista, neon-lit Vegas delivers a varied program, with music styles spanning jazz to rock to electronica, and attracting an eclectic, mixed crowd of die-hard night owls, both gay and straight.
reviewed
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Sala São Paulo
In the Estação Júlio Prestes complex is the world-renowned Sala São Paulo, a classical music venue that cleverly occupies the station's principle waiting room. Part of the station is still a stop on the suburban train system.
reviewed
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A Lôca
Still the reigning queen of trashy chic, this sprawling club is the point of reference for Sampa’s alternativos – gay, straight, male, female and various combinations thereof. Music varies from punk to electronica to classic disco.
reviewed
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Bar Brahma
A Sampa classic near Praça da República with a well-preserved wood-panelled interior, Brahma remains a popular after-work hangout for professionals, and offers up live music (sometimes with cover) most nights after 21:00.
reviewed
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Bar Brahma
A Sampa classic near Praça da República with a well-preserved wood-paneled interior, Brahma remains a popular after-work hangout for professionals, and offers up live music (sometimes with cover charge) most nights after 9pm.
reviewed
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Mokai
Top-rack electronica and images of Marie Antoinette let you know you’re in the newest upscale-decadent nightspot, where the outrageous cover charge (upwards of R$100) seems only to attract more of the city’s beautiful people.
reviewed
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Clube Vegas
Hidden in a basement in a seedy area just north of Av Paulista, neon-lit Vegas delivers a varied program, from jazz to rock to electronica, attracting an eclectic, mixed crowd of die-hard night owls, both gay and straight.
reviewed
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Cachaçaria Paulista
Serving more than 300 kinds of cachaça (high-proof sugarcane alcohol), Brazil's national drink, plus live Brazilian music on weekend nights, this Vila Madalena institution is remarkably relaxed and convivial.
reviewed
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Canto da Ema
For a break from São Paulo's upmarket danceterias, this relaxed, intimate club specializes in forró universitário, a more approachable version of the high-octane dance music from Brazil's Northeast.
reviewed
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Café Floresta
With its antique murals, excellent brew and location on the ground floor of Niemeyer's Edifício Copan building near Praça da República, this stand-up-only café is a favorite of traditionalists.
reviewed
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Astronete
Near Rua Augusta and occupying an old colonial house dressed up to look vaguely like a pub, this new favorite of Sampa’s alternativos gets past the clichés with a clever mix of soul, funk, and indie rock.
reviewed
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Bar da Lôca
Presided over by Saddam, beloved for his kind attention as well as his myriad gold chains, this simple place attracts a mixed gay-alternative-punk crowd until very late. Located just off the Rua Augusta corridor.
reviewed
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Canto da Ema
For a break from São Paulo’s upmarket danceterias, this relaxed, intimate club specializes in forró universitário, a more approachable version of the high-octane dance music from Brazil’s Northeast.
reviewed
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Genésio
Bow-tied waiters ferry draft beers and espressos as well as homemade pizzas and pastas to an eclectic crowd ranging from poets to the party-hearty at this perennial favorite of Vila Madalena night owls.
reviewed
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Volt
Owner Facundo Guerra has decked out this trendy joint with the neon signs that used to light up the houses of ill repute on Rua Augusta. Today the signs attract the young and well heeled like moths.
reviewed
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Café Floresta
With its antique murals, excellent brew and location on the ground floor of Niemeyer’s Edifício Copan building near Praça da República, this stand-up-only café is a favorite of traditionalists.
reviewed
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Bar Balcão
With good wine, excellent light meals and a simple but elegant design built around a cleverly serpentine bar, this Jardins delight is especially popular with well-heeled designers and artists.
reviewed
