My place to be
That is Avenida Paulista (Paulista Avenue). Probably the most known and busiest avenue from São Paulo (or from the whole country? I should check that).
Many people from other states fear this place without even knowing it, especially those from small towns. Of course, it can be scary, it’s understandable. It’s the most important business center of the state, it’s always crowded (while some, or most, street and avenues of city are empty after 9pm - besides those streets filled with bars and nightclubs - you can easily see a good amount of people walking around at ANY hour of the day).
But to sum the whole avenue and its streets nearby to a business center only it’s largely unfair. The place is much, much more than that. It has malls, restaurants, pubs, bars, theaters, movie theaters, hotels, schools, colleges, museums, bookstores, hospitals, gyms, etc, etc and etc. It has much more than many cities in this country have.
Here are a few things you shouldn’t miss....
º Conjunto Nacional - it has a great bookstore called Livraria Cultura, recently opened a new store in the building, the biggest bookstore in whole city if I’m not mistaken. It’s huge and has the most extensive collection out of all bookstores in town. You should also check its cinema (Cinema BomBril), there’s always some movie that’s not showing on large scales cinemas such as Cinemark or Hoyts)
º MASP (Museu de Arte de São Paulo) - It always has some interesting collections/expositions to see and the building is beautiful. Perfect for some nice pictures if you don’t to go in there.
º Sunday’s fair at MASP - Mostly antiques fair that happens every Sunday morning/afternoon at MASP’s open space. It’s free and worth taking a look at even if you don’t want to buy anything. (there’s also another fair across the avenue, selling all kinds of things - from clothes to toys, to memorabilia, etc. It’s a nice Sunday thing to do)
º Noitão HSBC Belas Artes (It’s not actually at Paulista itself, but it’s only a 1-2 minutes walk from it, hehe) - If you’re a big movie buff this is a great tip for you. Every second Friday of the month they show 3 movies (a theme is established) , one of those is a surprise movie. The interesting thing is - this big session happens overnight, start at midnight and ends around 6am. Yup! You read that. But don’t be ’scared’, it’s a lot of fun. And it’s always full. You also have the chance to win prizes such as DVDs, books, movie tickets, etc. And by the end of the session you get a simple breakfast (mostly pão de queijo and a coffee).
I'll think of some more later. Or leave a comment with your favorite place in Av. Paulista. =)
