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Aerial view of Campos do Jordão, a mountain town with alpine-style rooftops among green hills.
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São PauloTravel Guide

Brazil5 stories

South America's giant: world-class museums and dining, Niemeyer architecture, Japanese-Brazilian Liberdade, and street art down every alley.

Is São Paulo right for you?

When to come

April to October (drier, milder)

Around 29°C by day in February, 23°C in June — recorded at the local weather station.

What it costs

Mid-range. Comfortable without planning around money, expensive if you stop counting.

What we've planned, and who for

We have a weekend here planned hour by hour.

São Paulo is inWarm in JanuaryEnough for a long weekend
When to go
January: around 29 degrees by day, 19 at night, 240 millimetres of rain, very wet.
February: around 29 degrees by day, 20 at night, 258 millimetres of rain, very wet.
March: around 28 degrees by day, 19 at night, 229 millimetres of rain, very wet.
April: around 27 degrees by day, 18 at night, 87 millimetres of rain, wet. We recommend this month.
May: around 23 degrees by day, 15 at night, 66 millimetres of rain, some rain. We recommend this month.
June: around 23 degrees by day, 14 at night, 60 millimetres of rain, some rain. We recommend this month.
July: around 23 degrees by day, 13 at night, 48 millimetres of rain, some rain. We recommend this month.
August: around 25 degrees by day, 13 at night, 20 millimetres of rain, dry. We recommend this month.
September: around 25 degrees by day, 15 at night, 83 millimetres of rain, wet. We recommend this month.
October: around 27 degrees by day, 17 at night, 127 millimetres of rain, wet. We recommend this month.
November: around 27 degrees by day, 17 at night, 144 millimetres of rain, wet.
December: around 28 degrees by day, 19 at night, 231 millimetres of rain, very wet.
Cold to hot, by dayDry to wetWhen we would go

April to October (drier, milder)

Average daily highs, recorded at São Paulo (Mirante de Santana), 785 m, 1991-2020 normals.

Where this comes from

Instituto Nacional de Meteorologia (INMET) — Southern hemisphere: warmest and wettest Dec-Mar.

Budget level

Mid-range

Typical cost profile for visitors

Combine it with
  • Rio de Janeiro360 km

    half a day's travel · both good in April, May · a different price level (mixed)

Plan itWhere to stay in São Pauload · Booking.comTours and tickets
On the map

Finding São Paulo

Open in Google Maps Larger map
The stories

Reading São Paulo

The red-pillared, glass-walled MASP art museum suspended above its open plaza on Avenida Paulista in Sao Paulo
01
The List

Day trips from São Paulo: the escapes that earn the drive

Coffee-boom Santos, a fog-wrapped railway village and mountain air in Campos do Jordão — where paulistanos go to breathe.

Brazil · 2 min
The vaulted nave of the Mercado Municipal in São Paulo seen from the upper gallery, stained-glass windows glowing at the far end, bunting of world flags strung above the aisle and pyramids of tropical fruit banked along the stalls as shoppers eat at the counters below
02
Itineraries

São Paulo in 24 hours, for the time-poor

You cannot see Sao Paulo in a day, but you can taste its four essential registers - art, appetite, concrete-canyon energy and late-night ease - if you move in the right order and on the right rails.

Brazil · 13 min
View down Avenida Paulista in São Paulo, its canyon of office towers, rounded glass high-rise and red-and-white antenna towers under a blue sky
03
Itineraries

48 Hours in São Paulo: The Perfect Itinerary

Two days in Brazil's colossal cultural capital, hour by hour — MASP, the Mercadão, Ibirapuera's Niemeyer curves, and Vila Madalena's painted alleys.

Brazil · 2 min
A rooftop terrace on Avenida Paulista in São Paulo, its glass balustrade and scattered café tables opening onto a wide view over the district's rooftops, a tower block painted with a vast mural of a face, and broadcast masts standing against a bright cloud-piled sky
04
Stays

Sleeping well in São Paulo on any budget

In a city this size the district you sleep in decides how much of Sao Paulo you actually see — here is how the map, the metro and the price bands break down.

Brazil · 10 min
A woman walks down the wide lanes of Avenida Paulista past a food cart and a crowd on a sunny afternoon.
05
Food

Eat Sao Paulo the Way the City Was Settled

The kitchens here are arranged by migration rather than by fashion, so the sensible way to eat is one neighbourhood per meal, moving between them on the metro.

Brazil · 11 min
In pictures

São Paulo, framed

The floodlit 19th-century Luz station building in central Sao Paulo, home of the Museum of the Portuguese Language, at dusk
By Ibirapuera, São Paulo
Photo: Felipe Barradas / Unsplash
By Ibirapuera, São Paulo
Photo: Daniel Alfonso leon / Unsplash
By Ibirapuera, São Paulo
Photo: Caio Arbulu / Unsplash
Our picks

What we'd do in São Paulo

See and do

Eat and drink

Where to stay

  • Bela Vista and the Cidade Matarazzo newcomers

    On the slope below Paulista, the Rosewood São Paulo anchors the restored Cidade Matarazzo complex — a former maternity hospital estate reborn with gardens, galleries and a plant-draped Jean Nouvel tower, with interiors by Philippe Starck and a large collection of work by Brazilian artists.

    Read: Sleeping well in São Paulo on any budget
    Check ratesad · Booking.com
Before you go

Practical essentials for Brazil

Money

Brazilian real (BRL)

Language

Portuguese; English is limited outside major hotels and tourist areas, and Spanish is not a substitute

Power

Type C/N, 127V or 220V 60Hz

Getting around

Metro, trains and buses in Sao Paulo and Rio run on local smartcards - the Bilhete Unico in Sao Paulo, the RioCard in Rio - and contactless bank cards work at only a minority of gates, so do not rely on them.

Tipping

A 10% taxa de servico is normally printed on restaurant and bar bills and most people simply pay it; tipping beyond that is uncommon.

Tap water

Treated and legally potable in the big cities, but almost everyone filters it and visitors normally drink filtered or bottled water.

Driving

Right-hand side; a modern photocard licence is accepted for up to 180 days, so no International Driving Permit is normally needed.

Emergency

190 (police), 192 (ambulance), 193 (fire)

Country-level guidance, checked against official sources. Currency, fares and entry rules change — confirm anything time-critical before you travel.

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