GENERAL INFORMATION


Please find below some tips on what to do/where to go in São Paulo. For further information, especially if you can stay longer than the conference days, please visit:

www.fiquemaisumdia.com.br

www.spturis.com/descontos

Download the list of travel agencies for welcoming tourist information.

São Paulo is a megalopolis of 17 million people, with endless stands of skyscrapers defining the horizon from every angle. The largest city in South America and getting bigger every year, this nearly 500-year-old capital of São Paulo State now sprawls across some 8,000 square km (3,089 square miles), of which 1,525 square km (589 square mi) make up the city proper. The main financial hub in the country, São Paulo is also Brazil's most cosmopolitan city, with top-rated nightlife and restaurants and an impressive cultural and art scene

Traveling Tips

Ask for the help of friends: Brazilians are very fond of making new friends, so before going anywhere by yourself (and risking getting lost!) ask for the company of the friends you make at WOCAL for going out and taking you to places in town. They will love the fun. Walk in groups, it is always safer;??- consult a map of the neighborhood before going anywhere?(http://www.apontador.com.br/) - but enjoy the nightlife and the cultural life in town. There are excellent restaurants, bars (including “samba bars”, theaters and nightclubs;??- drink bottled water or filtered water; - take a taxi if you can spend a little more, public transportation in São Paulo is really complicated and overcrowded, only use it if you are in the company of Brazilians who know the city well. The exception is the subway, which is safe, convenient and easy to use.

Currency

Money can be exchanged at the airport, at some banks, and at currency exchange places. You can exchange your money at the many banks located on Avenida Paulista. There are also some banks, including an HSBC on campus - near the conference site. Most of these banks also have ATMs where money may be withdrawn directly. Banks are generally open from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. Please note that only around 50 dollars/100 reais can be withdrawn from ATMS after 1opm at night. Most shops and restaurants will take credit cards.

Weather

The weather in São Paulo may change abruptly from chilly to hot. We suggest that you be prepared for both cold and warm weather. Winter is usually a dry season, but it wouldn’t be bad to include a small umbrella in your luggage.

Shopping

People come from all over Brazil and South America to shop in São Paulo. Go to Jardins or Itaim if you want to stroll on the streets among the rich and famous, or find a shopping mall to buy leather items, jewelry, gifts, antiques, or art (Shopping Eldorado - http://www.shoppingeldorado.com.br/ and Shoppin Iguatemi - http://www.iguatemisaopaulo.com.br/ are near USP.
A real treat is Livraria Cultura- a massive bookstore on Avenida Paulista and Rua Augusta (http://www.livrariacultura.com.br/scripts/cultura/index.asp)
(At the bottom of their home page, find a map that shows their exact location on Avenida Paulista)

Eating Out

More than 12,000 restaurants fill this melting pot of cultures.
Be sure to try two great Brazilian culinary experiences: feijoada and churrasco. Feijoada is a pork-and-black-bean stew popular on weekends, while churrasco is barbequed meat - especially beef. Visit a "Churrascaria" with a large group of WOCAL friends for the ultimate Brazilian dining experience!

Dance Clubs & Live Music

The city's eclectic heritage is reflected in its nightlife. São Paulo is one of the few places in Brazil where you can dance to throbbing techno music even after the sun comes up, lose yourself into one of the many rock joints around town and hear live MPB (Brazilian popular music), jazz, and blues acts, all on the same night. The entertainment is 24/7 -- guaranteed.

Bars

Brazilians go to ‘barzinhos’ (little bars), as locals call them, to spend the whole night talking, people-watching, discussing politics or soccer and, of course, having ‘caipirinha’ (a drink made of sugar cane spirit – cachaça – and lime). In São Paulo, you can choose between the upscale bars of Jardins and the youth-oriented (and always crowded) hang-outs of Vila Madalena, among many others

Culture

Along Avenida Paulista, be sure to visti MASP, South America’s best modern art museum. Across the street is Parque Trianon – designed by Burle Marx, Brazil’s greatest landscape architect.
In the downtown area, there are two nice museums located across the street from each other: Museu da Língua Portuguesa (the Museum of the Portuguese Language) recently created and the first of its kind in the world, and the Pinacoteca. We suggest that you go first to Museu da Língua, then have lunch at the coffee shop at the Pinacoteca, and visit the latter in the afternoon. Be sure to stroll in the adjacent Parque da Luz - with rubber trees and many other Brazilian plants. On Saturday, the entrance to this museum is free, and it gets very crowded.
Another very important and interesting museum to visit is the Museu Afro Brasil (http://www.museuafrobrasil.com.br), in Parque do Ibirapuera, which is relatively close to the university and to the Hotel Howard Johnson.
On campus, we suggest a walk to Instituto Butantã (access from the roundabout at the beginning of Avenida Luciano Gualberto, inside USP), one of the most important research centers of immunology in the country. It is situated in the middle of a nice park and has an interesting museum with live snakes.