Sao Paulo

São Paulo is one of the largest cities on earth. Its art and entertainment are on par with any world capital. Paulistanos believe in working hard and playing harder, and despite complaining about traffic and pollution, wouldn't dream of living elsewhere.

São Paulo can be an intimidating place, but if you have someone to show you around, or if you just like the challenge of navigating urban jungles, it's worth a visit. And despite moving at a much faster pace than the rest of the country, the usual Brazilian warmth and alegría still rules.

When to go

Though Brazil's official high season lasts from December to March, this is the time when travelers to São Paulo will find the best accommodation bargains.

If weather considerations form part of your travel plans, be aware that the city occupies a high plateau, making it chilly in the Brazilian winter and very warm but rarely stifling hot in summer. Unfortunately, smog is a serious problem, especially on dry, sunny days. Frequent gray, drizzly weather can be oppressive at times, but does keep temperatures moderate and the air relatively clean.

Carnaval is celebrated in São Paulo, but at nowhere the same magnitude as Rio or Salvador. The city's two biggest events are the Bienal de São Paulo, a huge gathering of modern visual art from around the world, held every two years at Parque Ibirapuera; and São Paulo Pride, celebrated in mid-June, and by most estimates the world's largest gay get-together.

Weather

São Paulo city temperatures are moderate in winter and warm but not excessively hot in summer, with a tendency towards often uncomfortable humidity levels. Heavy rainfall sometimes occurs in December/January and some local flooding can result.

Pre 20th Century History

Founded by Jesuit brothers Manoel da Nóbrega and José de Anchieta in 1554, São Paulo remained a tiny provincial backwater for almost three centuries. However, it did serve as a base for groups of slave-trading pioneers, known as bandeirantes , who helped establish Portuguese control of Brazil's interior, including incursions into Spanish territory.

By the 18th century, the bandeirantes had turned their attention to mineral exploration, discovering gold mines in Minas Gerais, Goiás and Mato Grosso. São Paulo began to grow as a posting station for an increasing number of fortune hunters heading for the interior, as well as by traders who gathered sugar from nearby plantations for shipment to the port at Santos.

Upon Brazil's independence in 1822, São Paulo was declared a state capital, a decision that led to the founding of the Law Faculty - arguably Brazil's first public institution of higher learning. An increasingly important political and intellectual center, the city was soon leading the fight both to end slavery and to found the republic.

Meanwhile, the city's economic fortunes were taking off, as planters realized they could make themselves rich by replacing sugar with the world's new, favorite cash crop: coffee. Some of the mansions they built still line Avenida Paulista. To get the beans to international markets, railroads were built to the port city of Santos, as well as to other Brazilian cities. When slavery was abolished in 1888, the first great wave of immigrants arrived to work the plantations, first from Italy and Spain, and then Japan.

Modern History

Coffee prices plummeted at the beginning of the 20th century, but there was plenty of capital left from the boom days to fund the city's transformation into an industrial powerhouse, and the coffee-built railroad was improved and soon used to ship manufactured goods. Factory jobs attracted a new wave of immigrants from around the world. At the same time, a growing union movement made the city a hotbed for the political left, in the shadow of the growing power of industrialists and bankers.

By the 1980s, foreign immigration slowed significantly, but the city remained one of the fastest-growing in the world as laborers from drought-stricken northeast Brazil streamed in, seeking opportunities. Many of them found work building the city's new skyscrapers.