Sao Paulo (Sao Paulo)

Member Name: Zmugzy

Product:	Sao Paulo
Date:	28/11/05 (93 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Has Everything

Disadvantages: Too Big

São Paulo is a multi-cultural metropolis of Paulistas - local inhabitants - who are descended from the large populations of Portuguese, Italians, Germans, Turks, Africans and Arabs that have arrived here over the centuries. However, there is less of an African influence here than in the other cites to the North such as Rio and Salvador. Over the last decade there has been a large influx of migrants from the North East. São Paulo also has one of the biggest populations of ethnic Japanese outside of Japan. As such there is every type of restaurant with every type of culinary delight that you can imagine in this city.

The Metro is fairy efficient and the trains are spacious and clean but it can be confusing at times as there is a lack of signs and maps to tell you where you are. Some stations have two or more floors where you can stand on balconies and simply watch trains coming and going and witness the mass of humanity that congregates in such spaces.

Sao Paulo is famous for its shopping malls. There a four or five quite spectacular multi-storey examples across the city but they are places I generally abhor so I don't give them much of a mention here.

Although there are no beaches in Sao Paulo there are places along the coast of Sao Paulo State that you can drive to or take the bus. Ubatuba (6 hours away by bus) is one popular destination frequented by the locals. It is a place where a lot of the Paulista middle classes have the second homes by the sea. You're unlikely to find many foreign tourists here and if you avoid the local holiday periods you might find some of its many beaches virtually empty.

Summary: Worth a visit