Art Museum of Sao Paulo – Masp (Av. Paulista, 1578, tel. 3251-5644): the building-on-stilts designed by Lina Bo Bardi holds works by Vincent van Gogh, Cândido Portinari and Pierre-Auguste Renoir, among others
Avenida Paulista (Paulista Avenue) is the financial and cultural center of São Paulo. Moreover, is one of the most popular São Paulo’s postcards. Is always nice walking around and see the crowd of executives, students and fashion people. Is 1.74 miles of a friendly sidewalk with countless options to do and see like museums, shoppinggs, restaurants and parks.
Morning
The combination of “pão de queijo” (cheese bread) and espresso coffee is a traditional breakfast in Brazil. A different place to experience the combination is the charming coffee shop at the end of mega bookstore Livraria Cultura. The bookstore is located at Conjunto Nacional (Av. Paulista, 2 073), a commercial, residential, and cultural center at Avenida Paulista. The center is close from the Consolação subway exit.
The Livraria Cultura is also a good place to walk among books and magazines, writting in Portuguese and other languages. Certainly, you’ll find a good guide about Brazil, São Paulo maps and newspapers or magazines from other countries.
Lunch and Afternoon
An excellent vegetarian restaurant is just 10 minutes walking from the Conjunto Nacional. At Antônio Carlos Street (corner wiht Rua Augusta) there are two options to have a colourful and tasteful lunch that proves the greatness of São Paulo’s cousine. For less than US$20 you can eat Indian food in an inspired dishes made with vegan recipes. The restaurants Gopala Madava and Gopala Prasada serve a full meal, salad, appetizer, dessert and a natural juice. They are supercool, you can even eat on the ground without shoes.
In the afternoon, have a short walk along the Avenida Paulista, watching the frantic movement of students and workers in the financial heart of Brazil untill reach the MASP (picture). The São Paulo Museum of Art (in Portuguese, Museu de Arte de São Paulo - MASP) is an art museum well known for its headquarters, a 1968 concrete and glass structure designed by Lina Bo Bardi. The building is considered a landmark of the city and a main symbol of modern Brazilian architecture. Inside the MASP, visitors can to admire paintings of famous painters such as Renoir, Monet, Cézanne, Van Gogh, Gauguin, Modigliani, El Greco, Goya, Velázquez, Gainsborough, Reynolds, Rembrandt, Candido Portinari, Anita Malfatti, Victor Brecheret, Flávio de Carvalho and others.
Night
Also in the area of Paulista Avenue there is a point known as Prainha Paulista (Paulista Little Beach, in a literal translation), where plenty of bars are concentrated. Located at street Alameda Joaquim Eugênio de Lima, is a meeting point for Brazilians get together and have fun in the happy hour, watching soccer games (on wednesdays) on big LCD screens.
The Asterix bar is a good option. It has a style known as “boteco” (a kind of little and simple pub) in Brazil. The place has a vast menu of beers, as well as good cachaças and caipirinhas (sugarcane drinks).
Paulista Avenue – Map and directions
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