São Paulo: A Local’s Guide to Culture, Art, and Neighbourhoods
In this deeply personal and vivid journey, One Planet Journey’s Cecylle Ulivieri takes us through the rich culture of her native São Paulo, Brazil’s largest metropolis. Wander through graffiti-covered alleys in the Vila Madalena neighbourhood, feel you travelled to Japan in Liberdade, before heading to the tranquil rose gardens of Avenida Paulista. It’s about art and architecture, but also identity, memory, and connection. Through Cecylle’s eyes, we experience a city shaped by migration, resistance, and creativity.
São Paulo – A Cultural Melting Pot
For me, São Paulo has always been synonymous with love. I’ve lived here, felt the city embrace me, and as my interest in art and culture grew, I got to know some of the city’s incredible sights. And I’m eager to share them with you, giving tips on places you can’t miss when you visit São Paulo.
The city, founded in 1554 by Jesuit missionaries, started as a small village tucked between rivers and hills. It remained relatively modest until the late 19th century when the coffee expansion turned it into an economic powerhouse. Suddenly, immigrants from Italy, Japan, Germany, and the Middle East, together with an influx from across Brazil, flocked to São Paulo in search of opportunity. This mix of backgrounds helped shape São Paulo into the multicultural city you see today, with all its fantastic cultural expressions and fusion food.
If you’re into art, you’ll fall in love with São Paulo. It boasts some of Brazil’s most important museums, including Museu de Arte de São Paulo (MASP). It is famous for its collection of contemporary Western art, and the impressive modernist architectural design by Lina Bo Bardi. For street art aficionados, I recommend a walk through Beco do Batman, in Vila Madalena. It offers a regularly changing explosion of colour and creativity. Then there is the São Paulo Art Biennial, a world renowned affair.
Street Art at Vila Madalena
Street art changed the way I saw the city. São Paulo is basically a huge open-air gallery. In neighbourhoods like Vila Madalena, the walls turn into canvases, and even the alleyways seem curated. Batman is a well-known spot, but honestly, some of my favourite works are in unexpected places. For example, on the sides of car parks or in hidden stairwells in the city centre. They tell stories about politics, identity, resistance and hope, and are part of the cultural landscape, as significant as any museum. It’s a São Paulo culture expression that you’re immersed in.
Beco do Batman, or ‘Batman’s Alley’, in the lively Vila Madalena neighbourhood, came to be in the early 2000s. Now a canvas for local street artists, its origin as an unofficial space for graffiti, had less forgiving circumstances. The mural graffiti, then seen as visual pollution, has since become one of São Paulo’s most iconic urban art spots, attracting tourists from all over the world. The alley, previously a forgotten and run-down area, is a magnet for artists and restaurants. It’s turned into a cool place with complex and large-scale productions, transforming the alley into an ever-evolving open-air gallery.
Today, Beco do Batman has covered walls that exude history and reflect local and global artistic movements. It is a symbol of the power of communities and their creativity, demonstrating that in even the most unexpected places, art can grow.
Liberdade: The Japanese Neighbourhood
One of São Paulo’s most exciting neighbourhoods is Liberdade. I can’t help but feel that every time I walk through its streets, I’m entering a completely different geography. Liberdade’s fascinating story begins at the beginning of the 20th century. At this time, Brazil experienced considerable waves of immigration, and in 1908, the first ship with Japanese immigrants arrived. Many settled in the city, hoping to work on the huge coffee plantations. Over time, Liberdade transformed itself into the beating heart of the Japanese community.
Originally a working-class district, it turned into more of a cultural hub as more Japanese families moved in. In the early 1920s, tiny boutiques started selling Japanese products. They lined the roads with shops, food markets and restaurants that offered a taste of Japan in the middle of São Paulo.
As I walk through the streets today, I’m immersed in the smell of fresh food, the sight of lanterns hanging from the pavements and the sound of the Japanese language. Amazing how they managed to preserve their cultural identity in a foreign land across the generations. This beacon of multiculturalism attracts Japanese and international travellers, curious about the heritage of the neighbourhood. It’s a place where you can enjoy a steaming bowl of ramen while walking past a colourful mural painted by local artists. Not to mention the special treat of the famous Melona ice cream.
Walking in the heart of São Paulo: Centro Histórico
The historic centre is the beating heart of São Paulo, the site of its origins in 1554. With the foundation of the Pátio do Colégio church, the Jesuit priests founded the city, which today is the largest metropolis in Latin America. I’m born in São Paulo and as I got older, a curiosity about the culture and roots of the city grew within me. To my surprise, I observed how modern life has intertwined with this historic space. The church stands there, a peaceful anchor in the busy centre. It serves as a reminder that the surrounding streets once had a completely different vibe than the grandeur that is there today.
What strikes me most is how the city’s growth is visible in the layers of architecture. We also call São Paulo the stone jungle because of the enormous amount of skyscrapers. You can pass the Sé Cathedral, one of the largest neo-Gothic cathedrals in the world, and then turn a corner and find a baroque church or an elegant office block right next door. It’s a real mix of old and new, and the city is still growing.
One of my favourite and most charming spots in the historic centre is the Praça da República. On Sundays, the Praça da República fair takes place, with more than six hundred stalls selling arts and crafts. You will find clothes, decorative objects, toys, and jewellery, as well as typical food from each region of the country. Most of it is from the northern and northeastern states, and also from neighbouring countries like Peru.
Immersion inside MASP
There’s magic in the air when you step into the São Paulo Museum of Art (MASP). Every time I feel as if I’ve entered a new world. Find it on Avenida Paulista, but despite its name, MASP is more than a museum. We see it as an icon of São Paulo. It’s a culture landmark that somehow always leaves me with more questions than answers.
I remember my first visit to MASP clearly. Immediately, the bold, modernist architecture struck me as I approached. The brilliant Lina Bo Bardi designed it, and no doubt the building’s most striking feature is its elevated structure. Picture four giant red pillars holding up the museum’s glass and concrete body. It gives it an almost floating appearance. I’ve never seen any other museum like it, a true piece of art in itself where you step outside the traditional museum experience.
There’s an open space beneath it, a place for the public to walk through and around. It provides the building a sense of openness and accessibility that I think is rare for an institution of this magnitude. The open-minded spirit invites people in, making it a space for people and art. Once inside, the experience only deepens as MASP’s collection is world class. You have European masters like Van Gogh and Rembrandt, as well as contemporary works by Brazilian and Latin American artists. What I love most is how the museum presents its collection. Forget the traditional, framed style. Here the art work hangs on glass easels. This unique display method makes the artworks part of the space, just like the building itself floating in mid-air.
The iconic Avenida Paulista
As you are on Avenida Paulista, one of the city’s most famous streets, you’re never far from the action of São Paulo. As soon as you leave MASP, you feel the vibrant energy of Paulista Avenue, with cafes, restaurants, and cultural centres, reminding you that art is everywhere in São Paulo.
In São Paulo, you don’t really observe culture. It’s something you live, the city surrounding and challenging you, as it invites you to participate. The city celebrates its complexity, always shifting but rooted in the stories of its different people.
I suggest you take advantage of the marvellous walk along the city’s most famous avenue. It’s a time capsule and an outside living room at the same time. The Casa das Rosas Museum is one of my favourite places, and gives me the feeling of stopping in the middle of frenetic city life. Built in 1935, it has a classic French architectural style, with neoclassical, neocolonial, and art déco elements. It’s one of the few remaining mansions on Avenida Paulista that still preserve the architecture of the coffee-growing period, at a time when large mansions dominated the landscape. Furthermore, the house promotes development and encouragement of literature in Brazil.
São Paulo – Culture you feel
To explore São Paulo well, the principles of deep and meaningful travel comes to mind. Here, you don’t tick off lists, you have to grow into the city and its rhythm. Each time I’m here, I uncover more layers, peeling back the loud and messy ones. Walk the streets with curiosity, and you start to feel the culture of São Paulo, be it street art that pops out of alleyways, or the smell of ramen wafting through Liberdade. For me, it’s always been more than a home. In São Paulo, history, culture, and everyday life collide in the most unexpectedly magical ways.
Have you been to Brazil? Which cities did you visit? Let us know in the comments. Subscribe to our newsletter and benefit from travel guides, sustainable tourism and luxury travel tips, insightful interviews, and inspirational places to visit. One Planet Journey – The World’s First Deep Travel Magazine.
