A quick weekend in São Paulo
Sometimes all you need is a little direction - you’re en route to cruise the Amazon, taking a lover somewhere the dart hit on the map by absolute chance, or just simply hitting the beaches of Rio. Or bonus of bonuses, your friend’s cute modernist beach house in Trancoso (next to Anderson Cooper’s) is available and you’re stopping over in Brazil’s capital for a night or two.
Here’s a little orientation in case you need it.
The biggest and most cosmopolitan city in South America has for decades been plagued by not having asserting enough of an identity and being known simply as “Cidade da Garoa" or “The City of Drizzle.” Now it's billboard-less aesthetic, a conglomerate of bohemian youngsters working on art and design and reverence for having a good time has given São Paulo a new lust for life. And a new government has made it safer, more interesting and certainly on the radar once more.
Venture out
In a mega city with over 20+ million people getting around is one of the hardest things, but a glut of taxis makes this almost manageable. The other option includes car-free biking paths, called Ciclofaixa, that are on some of the city’s best streets and connect to the profusion of city parks. Pick up a bike with a credit card with total ease. Although founded in 1554 the city truly found its samba in the last century. By adding parks like Parque Ibirapuera in the Jardins district with futuristic works from Oscar Niemeyer strewn around and the world-class Museu de Arte de São Paulo, or as some call it MASP, on Avenida Paulista in the city center the city has kicked off to a worthy seduction.
Eat This
Brazil is said to be home to the largest population of Italians outside of Italy and has the largest number of Japanese living outside Japan and so they have brought their respective cuisines with them. Bixiga is where the Italian settled and Liberdade is where the Japanese found home – although not traditional food the city seems to love its internationalism so much that both neighborhoods teem with some of the finest food options from risotto to sashimi. Although for something very local, the Padarias, call it a bakery, is the daily café where a morning coffee, cheese plus meat sandwich and fresh juice come over the counter. For something a little classier Tanit, on Rua Oscar Freire, delivers a glass of wine and a proper Mediterranean fare along a leafy street that will satisfy after a day out and about.
Buy these
All the world’s favorite big luxury brands have flocked south to Brazil and most congregate around either the famed Rua Oscar Freire or the newest shiny mall JK Iguatemi next to the city’s canal. But that isn’t really that exciting. So it is Osklen, a relaxed sophisticated lifestyle brand, paired with the ever-popular Havaianas that is easily available around the Jardins area and thus makes for a good purchase on route to Rio or Bahia - and much more interesting to boot. A touch west of Jardins is Vila Madalena, the art bohemian neighborhood, where Brazilian crafts and once off artworks are in full flair. In between the graffiti and neighborhood tapas cafes are botecos (bars) playing Samba from breakfast to sunrise.
Listen to this
If it is the classical side of music the heart desires, the Sala São Paulo is home to the São Paulo State Symphony Orchestra. For the more contemporary action Rua Augusta is where a kaleidoscope of all things Brazilian and international comes together. A city that works all day of course likes to play at night and some of the busiest nightclubs in the southern hemisphere keep Paulistanos up all night – in particular Secredo Bar in Pinheiros and D-Edge in Perdizes. Dress for someone, or something.
Sleep here
With its pared down utilitarian design conjuring the 1930s and truly exceptional service the in-the-know all tend to stay at the Fasano, just off Rua Oscar Freire. The jazz band strikes up something familiar, yet exotic, downstairs in the wood paneled bar while the beds upstairs are oversized and eager to allow for more than just repose.
Closer to the Jardins area is Hotel Unique, a watermelon shaped Japanese plotted hotel for the lovers of design. With a rooftop terrace and lengthy pool overlooking the city’s mass of skyscrapers and flocking bloated clouds the city becomes a playground for lovers of a sort of urban nirvana.