If Brazil were a wedding ring, Sao Paulo would be its diamond. No other place in the southern hemisphere shines as much as this megalopolis.
Set on the Brazilian Southeast plateau, Sao Paulo is turned on 24/7. It rushes so intensely that the capital has the suggestive nickname of Brazil’s locomotive. It makes all sense. This is the biggest, the richest, the most cosmopolitan and, no doubt, the most fun megalopolis of all Latin America. Indeed, Sao Paulo has it all.
Today, we will have a walk in the downtown area, along with some magnificent historical heritage of the city.
Our tour begins at the very ground zero of Sao Paulo, the See Square (Praça da Sé, in Portuguese). Surrounded by buildings from the early 20th century and adorned with antique lamp posts and a few samples of tropical vegetation, the place has a nostalgic atmosphere.
The neoclassic architecture of the Justice Palace, the seat of the State Court, reinforces the local vintage scenery. Built during the 1920s and 1930s, its design was inspired in the Roman Justice Palace, and its premises count with a modern fountain spouting water all day long.
Just beside the court stands the monumental See Cathedral. The site has a five-aisled nave and a dome that reaches impressive 30 meters over the crossing, making it the fifth largest gothic church of the world. Divine stained glasses and huge and decorated cornerstones impress both visitors and congregation members. The place also holds high importance within the local clergy. All bishops and archbishops of Sao Paulo are buried in a crypt placed just beneath the church’s main altar.
Four minutes’ walk from See, heading northwest, we find the adorable School Yard (Pátio do Colégio, in Portuguese). More than 460 years ago in this ancient site, Jesuits monks founded the so-called village Sao Paulo dos Campos de Piratininga. In the beginning, churches and houses made of palm leaves and straw were sheltering missionaries who tried to catechize native Brazilians. A few centuries later, when Sao Paulo started to give signs of the power it would become in the future, colonial-style cement houses dominated the view. Some of them are still well preserved and housing churches and museums which are open for visitors.
Yet the downtown district is the address of one of the most emblematic symbols of Sao Paulo. Emerging from a landscape crowded by skyscrapers, you can see the imponent Altino Arantes building, nowadays better known as Farol Santander. Its art deco style reminds the Empire State Building of New York with the Sao Paulo state flag blazing on its top.
But the best is still to come. You can visit the building gazebo roof and discover with your own eyes why the city is also referred to as a concrete jungle. From the top of its 160 meters high, you will fell small against this gigantic and endless city.
Don’t worry if you think everything around looks too grey. Wait till the sunset. When the night comes, you will just confirm that absolutely nothing shines more than Sao Paulo.
