Other sights in The Southeast
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Museu de Arte de São Paulo (MASP)
Sampa’s pride, this museum possesses Latin America’s most comprehensive collection of Western art. Hovering above a concrete plaza that turns into an antiques fair on Sundays, the museum, designed by architect Lina Bo Bardi and completed in 1968, is considered a classic of modernism by many and an abomination by a vocal few. The collection, though, is unimpeachable, and ranges from Goya to El Greco to Manet. The impressionist collection is particularly impressive. There are also a few great Brazilian paintings, including three fine works by Cândido Portinari. The museum hosts temporary exhibits, and there is a bright, pleasant cafeteria on the lower level which hosts a …
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Centro de Arte Contemporânea Inhotim
Centro de Arte Contemporânea Inhotim, greater Belo’s new tourist attraction, is an impressive, sprawling complex of gardens dotted with 16 modern art galleries and numerous outdoor sculptures, 50km west of the city, near the town of Brumadinho. Much of the international artwork on display is monumental in size. The gardens, which were opened to the public in October 2006 and are expanding constantly, boast 1600 different species of plants (including 200 types of palm alone), peacocks and lakes with swans. You can wander at will, or attend daily scheduled programs led by guides trained in visual arts and natural science. The on-site restaurant and café are both excellent.…
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Edifício Copan
Architecturally remarkable Edifício Copan was designed by modernist master Oscar Niemeyer. The building’s serpentine facade and narrow brises soleil (permanent sunshades) have become a symbol of the city. You can visit its snaking, sloping ground-floor shopping arcade, but the upper floors are made up of private apartments and thus off limits. Note that the leftist architect designed the building to bring together all classes by including sprawling apartments for the rich as well as tiny studios for the working poor – a real rarity in class-conscious São Paulo.
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Instituto Butantan
Highly respected for its groundbreaking biomedical research, this institute is best known as a venom farm. Researchers milk a total of tens of thousands of snakes of their poison, which is used to make antidotes to snake and spider bites, as well as in research for other medicines. Located in the leafy Cidade Universitária, the small museum displays snakes in dozens of shapes and sizes. At the time of research a devastating fire had destroyed almost half a million preserved specimens, though no live animals. Check ahead to ensure that the museum is operating normally.
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Parque Nacional de Itatiaia
Parque Nacional de Itatiaia is Brazil’s oldest national park, and one of its most ruggedly beautiful. Its lush, dark foliage contains more than 400 species of native birds and is also home to monkeys and sloths. Divided into upper and lower sections, the park features lakes, rivers, waterfalls, alpine meadows and primary and secondary Atlantic rain forests. Don’t let the tropical plants fool you; temperatures drop below freezing in June and, occasionally, the park even has a few snowy days! Bring warm clothes, even in summer.
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Páteo do Colégio
Just up the street from Solar da Marquesa lies a mission that occupies the exact spot where São Paulo was founded in 1554 by Jesuit brothers José de Anchieta and Manoel da Nóbregra. The current structure is actually a 1950s replica of the monastery that once stood here, although inside it does possess a nice little collection of original relics from the city’s first days, as well as an interesting set of drawings that chart the city’s growth over the last five centuries. The museum’s café also makes for a tranquil pit stop.
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Museu de Arte Sacra
The best of its kind in Brazil, this museum includes works by renowned 18th-century sculptor Antônio Aleijadinho, along with some 200 other ecclesiastical works from the 17th to 20th centuries. The museum is housed in the 18th-century Luz monastery, which is one of São Paulo’s best-preserved buildings of the period and also a fine example of Portuguese colonial architecture. A new annex houses an amazingly large and elaborate Neapolitan manger scene, plus a collection of other manger scenes from around the world.
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Auditório Ibirapuera
The Parque do Ibirapuera’s most recent addition, the Auditório Ibirapuera is a Niemeyer design that dates to the park’s founding, though it was only completed five decades later, in 2005. Nicknamed ‘a língua’ (‘the tongue’) for the bright-red metal awning that sticks out rather lewdly from an otherwise bunkerlike concrete trapezoid, the hall hosts a wide variety of musical styles, from classical to experimental. Concert bookings can be made through Ticketmaster Brasil.
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Museu do Ipiranga
Set amid Versailles-like gardens in the eastern suburb of Ipiranga, this museum began its life as a memorial to Brazil’s independence from Portugal. According to legend, Dom Pedro declared independence on the shores of a nearby stream. The gardens and palace are the real treat here, as are the fine vistas that its hilltop position affords. The collection, documenting the independence movement as well as Brazilian history, is of more modest interest. Signage in Portuguese only.
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Casa da Glória
Consisting of two houses located on opposite sides of the street connected by an enclosed, vivid-blue 2nd-story passageway, Casa da Glória was originally the residence of the diamond supervisors and the palace of Diamantina’s first bishop. Currently housing Diamantina’s Institute of Geology, the building has plenty of historical character, but there’s not much to see here other than a ragtag collection of old photos, mineral specimens and a couple of 19th-century German maps.
reviewed
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Igreja Matriz de Santo Antônio
Named for the town’s patron saint, this church is one of Brazil’s most beautiful, and among the last designed by Aleijadinho. Leandro Gonçalves Chaves made the famous sundial out front in 1785. The all-gold interior is rich in Old Testament symbolism. The polychrome organ was built in Portugal and brought to Tiradentes by donkey in 1798. Also striking are the seven golden phoenixes (symbols of Christ’s resurrection), suspending candleholders from long braided chains.
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Igreja de São Francisco de Assis
This 1774 baroque church is exquisite. It’s on the south side of the river and faces an elegant lyre-shaped plaza filled with towering palms. Inside the church are two Aleijadinho sculptures: the figures of São João Evangelista and São Gonçalo do Amarante in the second altar to the left. The facade, with sculptures of the Immaculate Virgin and angels executed by Francisco de Lima Cerqueira based on Aleijadinho’s design, is one of the finest in Minas.
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Theatro Municipal
São Paulo’s most splendid construction, this theater was begun in 1903 in the style of Paris’ Palais Garnier. Its heavily ornamented facade seems to combine every architectural style imaginable, from baroque to art nouveau, and its interior is clad in gold and marble. The theater hosts the city’s top classical music, opera and ballet performances. At the time of research, it was undergoing a major, multiyear restoration, with no fixed date for reopening.
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Igreja Nossa Senhora Do Rosário
Built by slaves in 1725, the Igreja Nossa Senhora do Rosário served as the city’s black parish. Its two wooden, gilt-trimmed side altars showcase the talents of early 19th-century wood-carvers. Note also the black St Benedict holding the Christ child to the left of the altar, the stone pulpit carved into the wall, and the pineapple-like chandelier base in the roof – a symbol of prosperity. An old burial ground lies beneath the church floorboards.
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Igreja de São Francisco de Assis
Built in the 17th and 18th centuries, this church just west of the Catedral da Sé is one of the best-preserved colonial structures in the city (note that there are actually two churches adjacent to each other, each with the same name; the church to the right also dates to the 17th century but is less architecturally important). The church, a classic example of Portuguese baroque, was closed for a major restoration at the time of research.
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Jardim Zoológico
The Jardim Zoológico is Brazil’s largest zoo. It’s home to some 3000 animal species and is spread out over some 900 hectares, much of which is old-growth Mata Atlântica (Atlantic rain forest). As well as exhibiting caged animals, the zoo offers the Zoo Safari for an additional R$13; this is a 45-minute ride through large, fenced areas where animals are allowed to roam with relative freedom. Note that the zoo does not accept credit cards.
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Banespa
For one of Sampa’s best panoramas, head to the top of this skyscraper, Brazil’s version of the Empire State Building, completed in 1939. Ride free to the observation deck on the top floor for views of the city. Note, you will need some form of ID to sign in. You will also have to wait in two lines, first to sign in and then to wait for an elevator to the top. Note that if lines are long, you will only get about 10 minutes at the top.
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Edifício Itália
With 46 stories, this skyscraper just south of the Praça da República, and near Av São Luís, is the tallest in the city center. Its top-floor restaurant, Terraço Italia, offers some of the best views of São Paulo, though meal prices are high and the food only passable. Strictly speaking, you’re supposed to be a customer to go there; if you’re not, act like one. Alternately, head to the bar just for a (pricey) drink.
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Jardim Botânico
The northern tip of Parque do Estado is given over to the Jardim Botânico, a well-tended botanical garden that includes a promenade of imperial palms, an orchid farm, picturesque ponds, a stand of brazilwood trees and a herb garden where you are encouraged to smell the aromatic flowers and leaves. An open-air café offers snacks, plus a simple but fresh and well-prepared per-kilo buffet lunch (R$25 per kg).
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Museu da Imigração Japonesa
This modest but fascinating museum, on the 7th floor of a Liberdade office building, documents the arrival and integration of the Japanese community. Photos, period objects and a full-scale reconstruction of a typical immigrant’s farm lodging tell a poignant story, from the arrival in Santos of the first 781 settlers aboard the Kasato-Maru in 1908 through to today. Signage is in Japanese and Portuguese only.
reviewed
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Fundação Maria Luisa e Oscar Americano
Home of the couple who developed the leafy, upscale suburb of Morumbi, Fundação Maria Luisa e Oscar Americano makes a fine retreat as much for its gardens as for its collection of painting, sculpture and objets d’art from the 18th to 20th centuries. The 1950s house turned museum is a small masterpiece of Brazilian modernism, and there’s also a lovely café that serves traditional high tea for R$50.
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Pinacoteca do Estado
This elegant neoclassical museum houses an excellent collection of Brazilian – and especially Paulista – art from the 19th century to present, including works by big names such as Portinari and Di Cavalcanti. Extensive renovations have made it a pleasant place to while away a rainy afternoon, and there is an attractive café that spills out into the adjacent Parque da Luz.
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Caixa Cultural
This cultural center, sponsored by Brazil’s state-owned Caixa Economica bank, occupies a grand, neoclassical-style building with an imperious facade of black marble. Temporary exhibits of major Brazilian artists are shown on the first two floors, and the executive office suite on the 6th floor has been turned into an oddly fascinating museum of the bank’s history.
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Estação da Luz
Across the street from the Parque da Luz sits Estação da Luz, a classic late-Victorian train station constructed with materials entirely shipped in from Britain and completed in 1901. It too has been returned to something close to its original splendor. It services São Paulo’s extensive suburban lines, with a long tunnel linking it to the Luz metro station.
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Mosteiro São Bento
At the northern edge of the Triângulo, you’ll find the austere but impressive Mosteiro São Bento, which is among the city’s oldest and most important churches, though its neo-Gothic facade dates only to the early 20th century. Step inside the church to witness its impressive stained glass. Mass at 10am on Sundays generally includes Gregorian chanting.
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