Where to stay in sao paulo? Best areas to stay safely

Are you confused or have zero information about where to stay in sao paulo? Choosing the right place to stay in Sao Paulo is key to making your visit a success. In this article, we tell you how are zones like Centro, Jardins, Vila Madalena, Pinheiros, Itaim Bibi and others that we consider right for your accommodation in Sao Paulo.

Sao Paulo is the capital of the state of the same name located southeast of Brazil. It is an open, vibrant city (as you can see in the samba schools of its carnival), cosmopolitan, fresh, full of alternative, nearby culture.

The Paulines are curious by nature, adventurous by definition and enthusiastic with their conviction. With these attributes, who would not want to come face to face with Sao Paulo?

Where to stay in sao paulo?

The city of Sao Paulo is divided into 31 subprefectures, each with unique attractions, each ideal for spending vacation time, to sleep in Sao Paulo at ease and close to all the interesting things to see in this Brazilian megapolis. Don’t forget to travel to the cities.

However, posts to recommend districts more interesting, with better transport connections, with good and varied urban accommodation, the preferences are on the side of the downtown district, the neighborhoods of Consolacao, Pinheiros, Jardim Paulista and Moema and Ibirapuera and the areas of Brooklin, Itaim Bibi, Vila Madalena, Bela Vista and Republic.

We see all these locations one by one. We started, as it could not be otherwise through the center of the city of Sao Paulo.

1. Center

The historical center of the city of Sao Paulo coincides with the foundational nucleus and the oldest area of the Brazilian capital. Until the 1960s, the center was a financial district, which today has been displaced to other areas. However, it continues to be an administrative and government center in which cultural spaces, shops, and restaurants abound.

The downtown distabound is one of the key areas when visiting Sao Paulo. To be close to what counts in the city and to stay in Sao Paulo, as they say, on site, even if you have to pay extra for the location.

In the center of Sao Paulo, it is necessary to look for a dedicated time to see historical sites such as the Museum of Padre Anchieta (Pátio do Colégio), Anchieta was one of the founders of the city; the Solar da Marquesa, mansion of a Pauline nobleman who was a lover of the Emperor Pedro I; the Municipal Theater (1911) and the historic Mercado de Sao Paulo, especially recommended to live the experience of seeing the inhabitants of the city live and direct, acquiring local or little-known local tropical products outside of Brazil.

Among the cultural institutions worthy of a visit in the historical center, it is necessary to include, yes or yes, the Pinacoteca of the State of Sao Paulo, the Museum of the Portuguese Language, the Sacred Art, the Sao Paulo Room, the Cultural Center Bank of Brazil and the Julio Prestes Station, now an exhibition space.

To move around downtown Sao Paulo and to connect with other parts of the city, there are several options. The bus is the cheapest, no doubt with its SPTrans cards, but the traffic is usually dense during peak hours and mobility also falls sharply in that slot. This is extendable to the taxi service.

The most recommended alternative is the metro that has five lines, well connected to the center. The Sao Paulo-Guarulhos Airport , located 22 kilometers from the center, is connected to the metropolitan transport network of the city.

2. Consolacao

Consolacao is located in the center of the city. It is a fundamentally residential district in which apartment buildings and accommodation abound on a timeshare basis.

The area was one of the first to be populated after the Portuguese foundation, and it is here that the most representative modern buildings of the city are located. This part of the city was also the seat of the well-to-do paulista from the early twentieth century, especially for its relative height over the rest of the city and the wide streets and avenues that contrasted with the urban planning of the city’s coastline.

As representative historical buildings, churches stand out above all else. The main one is the Church of Consolation, a temple of neo-Gothic (very particular) that can become a haven of peace in a busy day of visits. The construction is surrounded by tall palm trees and old trees, which gives it a very unique appearance. Very tropical

The other outstanding temple is the Church of San Luis de Gonzaga on Avenida Paulista. Of neoclassical style. Its night lighting is the most successful. Another place that can be visited is the neighborhood cemetery, also on the Rua Consolaçao. There are tombs with very artistic designs.

For lovers of culture, Consolaçao offers several theaters that are the center of cultural life in Sao Paulo . We must not lose sight of Espaço Parlapatoes, Augusta, da Rotina, Lucas Pardo Filho, da Memoria, among others, with their theatrical performances, but which sometimes hosts music recitals. We must be attentive to their calendars of events that can be consulted on the website of the City of Sao Paulo.

In the area, there are three shopping centers that are ideal to stop at any visit and make a quick meal (or not) and to purchase branded items or local products to take back home as a gift or souvenir. These are the shopping centers of Center3 and Shopping Frei Caneca and Pátio Higienópolis. All central and accessible.

To move around in the area, to make purchases and move to other districts, the reference is the Rua da Consolaçao that links the district with the city center and with other key avenues: Paulista, Doutor Arnaldo and Rebouças.

A bus service , which runs through Rua da Consolaçao, also allows you to get off at the center (North and South bus corridor).

It is possible to use the metro in the same way , especially to gain mobility (stations of Consolaçao, Paulista, Higienópolis-Mackenzie and Angélica-Pacaembu). In short a good neighborhood to stay in Sao Paulo .

3. Pinheiros

Pinheiros is another residential district very close to the urban center of Sao Paulo and as old in its settlement as that of Council which is immediately northeast of Pinheiros. It receives its name from the Pinheiros River, which serves as a limit. And pinheiros, it comes from the abundance of pine trees on the land that today occupies the district.

Of Pinheiros, it is said that it is one of the most sophisticated areas of the city, standing out for the variety of its offer and gastronomic culture. The settlement of Korean, Italian, German, Japanese, Chinese or Portuguese nationals has turned the area into a Mecca of international restaurants, some of them with their own identity and tradition.

But if the local gastronomic tradition is what you are looking for, in restaurants in the area you have to ask for a São Paulo tack, a plate of rice, meat and beans very typical. The tack can be accompanied by a roast leg, pork leg long baked and marinated.

Do not forget to see the Plaza de Victor Civita, a kind of experimental ecological oasis that meant the recovery as a park in a marginal area of the city. A project worthy of being copied.

Nearby Largo da Batata. It is also worth visiting the Araca Cemetery, like the one in Consolacao, a visual, very artistic gift, right in the center of the city. The Sao Paulo da Cruz Church is another milestone to discover (near the Plaza Benedito Calixto). It is an immense neo-baroque temple to which one must attend in the celebrations of its festivities (in June).

Two places to shop, Iguatemi Shopping, the oldest (1966), and Eldorado Shopping, one of the largest shopping centers in the city with more than 150,000 square meters.

To buy local curiosities, an antique fair is held every Saturday at Plaza Benedito Calixto. Another option is the Central Fair that offers fashion, home, and decoration items.

Regarding transport in the neighborhood and from the area and to other districts, the use of the Sao Paulo metro is recommended, which has three stations in the place: Fadrique Coutinho, Faria Lima, and Pinheiros. The São Paulo Metropolitan Train Company offers services in the area to travel in the Sao Paulo region (Line 9 Esmeralda).

The wide avenues Faria Lima, Rebolledo and Eusébio Matoso also make it easy to travel if you enjoy a rental car.

In Pinheiros, you can find urban hotels and the occasional luxury hotel, but also apartments, for longer and cheaper stays to stay in Sao Paulo in another way and to take the lifestyle from home to Brazil. Regardless.

4. Jardim Paulista

Jardim Paulista is a neighborhood socially elite residential and commercial center of Sao Paulo that is included in a part of town known as Jardins. It is one of the safest places in Sao Paulo. Instead, it is one of the most expensive districts in the city in terms of real estate.

Oscar Freire Street is a perfect shopping street that reminds you of something of Fifth Avenue in New York. The space was cultivated the land of tea and tobacco, today its street is regular and formed by long avenues.

The public parks are a legacy of the haciendas that existed in the district until the first half of the 20th century. Parks such as Tenente Siqueira Campos, Paulistano or Jardín Europa, with its large tropical trees, ideal for a family picnic or simply to rest in the middle of the city and take the cool among intense greens.

The reference for transport in the area is the Trianon MASP metro station (line 2, green). The subway is also in the area of Jardim Paulista the option to move more recommended.

The Avenida Paulista concentrates the best city hotels recommended to stay in Sao Paulo. A more specific area is the surroundings of the Shopping Center 3, reasonably cheap hotels to stay in Sao Paulo.

5. Moema and Ibirapuera

Moema is another exclusive neighborhood of the city of Sao Paulo that is located in the south center of the capital. Moema, over time, has become a highly vertical district in which tall buildings and apartment blocks abound (more than 30,000 apartments).

The great development of the area occurred in the 1970s. In practice, the district is divided into two zones, Moema Pájaros and Moema Indios, which share their cafes, restaurants, shops and hotels of one, two, three and four stars.

A place where you can spend a quiet afternoon with your family, the nearby Bicycle Park , ideal for cycling (Alameda Irae, 35).

As far as Ibirapuera is concerned, it is another residential neighborhood located immediately to the southeast of Pinheiros and Jardins. An emblematic area of the district is its Ibirapuera park.

The park is its green areas that occupy 158 hectares, its planetarium Aristotle Orsini , its great lakes, its Museum of Modern Art and its pavilions (Japanese, that of the Industries and that of Manuel da Nóbrega), in addition to the monument to the bandeirantes.

In the park, we must not lose sight of ‘La Oca’ , an exhibition and auditorium located inside the park that is the work of the architect Óscar Niemeyer. The dome shape, white, draws attention. Admission is free.

Another curious visit that can be proposed is to go to the Ibirapuera Shopping Center, which was the first of its kind in Brazil. To make purchases, of course, but also to admire a pioneering commercial group that, despite the years that have passed its construction, remains a hallmark of Sao Paulo.

A curious museum in the area is Afro Brazil, on Avenida Pedro Alvares Cabral, dedicated to the culture and traditions of the population of African origin who came to Brazil as slaves.

The metro is the most recommended transport to move in and out of Ibirapuera (line 2, nearest station, Pinheiros). The neighborhood has a good offer of perfect apart hotels to stay in Sao Paulo as a couple, with family or friends.

6. Brooklin

Brooklin (Campo Velo) is another high-level residential and business district in Sao Paulo immediately south of Moema. It is a garden district in which green areas and modern office buildings abound, in some cases, multinationals.

The name of the neighborhood comes from the American Brooklyn for which the Paulistas see similarities with that of Sao Paulo. The district was populated mainly in the 19th century and early 20th century by German emigrants who gave character to the neighborhood.

Proof of this is two annual celebrations, the Maifest (in May) and the Brooklinfest (in October) , inspired by the festivities of the German beers. The neighborhood has a lively nightlife in bars, restaurants and entertainment venues. The most exclusive hotels in the city are in this area.

To move in the area, the metro Sao Paulo, Brooklin stations, line 5. In the area, there are hotels and aparthotels (4 and 5 stars) with a lot of class to stay in Sao Paulo and enjoy high levels of comfort. And remember it forever.

7. Itaim Bibi

Itaim Bibi is the name given to the part of the city of Sao Paulo known also as Old Brooklin, Brooklin Velho, annexed to Brooklin-Campo Velo. It is a residential neighborhood of upper-middle class.

In the area of Vila Olimpia, you can find restaurants and nightclubs with a wide range of nightlife (Brascan Open Mall, Market Place Shopping Center, Vila Olimpia Shopping Center and D & D Shopping Center).

There is a good offer of medium-high-level hotels, ideal to not give up sleeping in Sao Paulo with amenities.

8. Vila Madalena

Vila Madalena is another high-class residential neighborhood in the center of Sao Paulo located next to the Pinheiros district. It is known for its nightlife, for its cultural and bohemian tradition, for its famous galleries and alternative art studios and street graffiti that are an inseparable part of its identity.

The bars, shops, and restaurants (many of them vegetarians) of Vila Madalena have that same unconformist and the alternative touch of the neighborhood. Something that you have to discover if you want to really know how you live in one of the cultural hearts of Sao Paulo.

Transportation in the area: Sao Paulo subway, Vila Madalena station, line 2, green. In the neighborhood, you have to be willing to enjoy its boutique hotels and some boutique hotels, to stay in Sao Paulo in another way.

9. Bela Vista

Bela Vista is a residential district of downtown Sao Paulo, west of Pinheiros and Consolacao . It is so called precisely because of the views offered by its high location. Bela Vista is formed, in turn, by two well-defined areas from the sociological point of view.

The neighborhood of Morro de los Ingleses is a more comfortable area and the highest also in height; while in Bixiga live more popular classes, heirs of the old European immigrant population that settled in the place in the middle and late nineteenth century.

In Bixiga, the coffee shops and theaters that occupy modernist buildings are famous, something that has turned this part of Bela Vista into an increasing tourist destination. Thus, there is no lack of accommodation to sleep in Sao Paulo in some of these unique buildings that have become small hotels.

The most outstanding set of Bela Vista is undoubtedly the Art Museum of Sao Paulo. The Oswaldo Cruz German Hospital, the unique Gioconda Gianinni Glass Museum (with glasses), the Bixiga Memorial Museum (local history), a series of historic hospitals deserve attention.

There are also many theaters with history and class (Bibi Ferreira, Brigadeiro, Denoy de Oliveira, Frei Taza, Abril, Ágora, Taller, Prensa or Raúl Cortez), set in unique buildings whose visit is already a spectacle.

A celebration not to be missed in the neighborhood of Bela Vista is the Festa de Nossa Senhora de Achiropita, which takes place every August and was introduced in the 19th century by the Italian immigrants who settled in the city. of Calabria.

Precisely the parish of Nossa Senhora de Achiropita is another remarkable landmark that is recommended to visit. A temple of neo-baroque style founded by Italian immigrants in 1926 that offers a perspective of emigration and Italian faith outside the European that is, at least, interesting.

To move around Bela Vista and connect with other parts of the city, you have to use the green line of the Sao Paulo Metro (line 2).

10. Republic

The Republic neighborhood is a markedly commercial area that is very close to the historic center of Sao Paulo, northwest of Consolaçao. The small district was part of the first expansion of the city in the nineteenth century, becoming known as the New Center.

As sets to discover, highlights the Cathedral of San Pablo in Praça da Sé. A neo-Gothic building completed in 1913 that can hold 8,000 worshipers and is embellished with 800 tons of marble. Between its walls, several illustrious personalities of the history of Brazil rest.

There are also references to visit, the Republic Square, the Obelisk Piques, the oldest monument in the city (1814), the Post Office Palace and the Municipal Library of Sao Paulo.

The commercial streets to take into account in the area are the avenues of Ipiranga, Sao Joao and Largo do Arouche, where you can find branded shops and fast food restaurants, ideal to regain strength between visits and visits to prominent places.

To move quickly between neighborhoods, the Sao Paulo Metro, line 3 (red) and 4 (yellow). The Republic area is a good alternative to stay in Sao Paulo in the center, close to everything, but at a relative distance that guarantees a variety of accommodation in Sao Paulo and reasonable prices.

In the vicinity of the Republic Square, you can find accommodation in Sao Paulo economic yes, although it must be said, it is not advisable to go out at night in this area.