Cosmopolitan Giant: Exploring Some of the Cultural Diversity
and Main Architectural Landmarks of Sao Paulo (private tour)

• The "Luz" antique train station built in Victorian style

Sao Paulo, the 11th most-inhabited city in the world and the wealthiest in Brazil, is an enormous cosmopolitan metropolis. This huge “concrete-jungle”, as its locals are keen to call it, is melting pot of cultures that is home to natives of over 200 countries and to the largest populations in the world of Japanese, Italians and Arabs outside their respective countries. In this urban experience, we’ll appreciate some main architectural landmarks of the old downtown area, the modernist looks of Sao Paulo’s financial center, the neighborhood of Liberdade, which has the highest concentration of Japanese people outside of Japan, and the Ibirapuera park, a 390-acree (158 hectare) park whose landscape was designed in “English garden” style and features several museums inside and some architectural gems by renowned master architect Oscar Niemeyer.

Our exploration of Sao Paulo starts with a visit to the oldest train station in the city, “Estação da Luz” (Luz Station), one of the most important historical buildings in the city built in Victorian style at the end of the 19th century. We’ll also pass-by the Italia skyscraper, a prime example of the Brazilian ‘vertical’ modernist architecture style, also declared a national monument. We’ll then head to the Municipal Theatre, an early 20th-century theater styled after the Opera de Paris. It is both a prized architectural landmark and a powerhouse of the arts in Brazil, having featured international celebrities such as Enrico Caruso, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Isadora Duncan, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Maria Callas and many others. Once there we’ll walk around the downtown area to check out other landmarks such as the Chá Viaduct, the Banespa Building, the Pátio do Colégio and Sao Paulo’s main cathedral. Named the "Sé Cathedral," it is a Gothic revival piece with remarkable stained glass, which we will admire also from the inside.

Leaving the bustling downtown area, we’ll visit “Japan within Sao Paulo”, which is the neighborhood of Liberdade, where we’ll see a very strong Japanese influence running from the architecture to the street lighting. And if we’re lucky we’ll catch a glimpse of its street fair!

After a driving-by through Sao Paulo’s financial center (Brazil’s main financial hub) and Paulista avenue, a main artery lined with modern high-rises, we’ll end our explorations in the Ibirapuera park, a 390-acre green oasis in the midst of this “concrete jungle,” to appreciate some of Oscar Niemeyer’s architectural masterpieces.

We’ll then head back to our hotel with the satisfaction of having beheld some of the most important landmarks of the city of Sao Paulo!

Since you’ll be doing this tour with your own private vehicle and guide, you’ll be able to enjoy each attraction at your own pace; making all the stops you want, all the while enjoying personalized assistance and care from your expert guide. You’ll also enjoy more convenient and faster transfers to and from your hotel, as there will be no other travelers to pick up or drop off at other hotels.

Important: the tour’s exact itinerary and duration may change subject to weather conditions and decisions of the tour guide to optimize your tour experience.