Sao Paolo Holiday Reviews

São Paulo, not known for it's beauty has few sights which are truly "pretty". Mercado Municipal is one of them.

Located in the center of town, the Mercado is less a real market, and more of an upmarket tourist attraction. You can buy fruits, vegetables and specialties there, just like at any other market, but the target group is more the sightseer, than the regular shopper.

The market, which has gone through several renovations over the past years, is a true architectural gem of the city, in a neoclassical building. Stalls in the market sell everything from fruits, vegetables and even souvenirs, but the true Paulista will not come here for any of these. Especially on weekends, you will hoards of people at the Mortadella Stall, where you can observe them eating mortadella with bread [sic!]. The sandwiches have absurd amounts of mortadella sausage on them, so that only a true meat eater will be willing and able to eat it whole.

Parque Trianon is a pretty little park in Jardins district. It is shady and quiet. You can get away from the street noise. It is full of mature trees and vegatation, so it is cool even on a hot December day....

You can stroll though, sit on a bench and watch the world go by, then go out onto the street where there are street markets on Sun on the Avenida Paulista.

The skyscraper-heavy metropolis of Sao Paulo, Brazil, is the third-largest city in the world. A popular activity in Sao Paulo is shopping, whether at a local handicraft market or in a pricy boutique. For culturally inclined visitors, the city offers plenty of museums - including several excellent collections of art - as well as theater, dance and music performances. Sao Paulo's cuisine is multinational, reflecting the city's diverse population, and the nightlife choices are nearly endless.

The area of Vila Olympia is a good location if you want to explore Ibirapuera park which is a short taxi ride and has a planetarium, and several art galleries as well as a relaxing green park with lakes. The city is huge and needs doing part by part but there are some brilliant places to see. The nightlife is excellent too with some brilliant samba clubs. Will especially reccomend one called Samba.