When my flight from Miami touched down at Guarulhos International Airport — GRU — I’ll be honest: I had no idea what was waiting for me on the other side of customs. I’d put Brazil off for years. People told me it was unsafe, complicated, overwhelming. After 80+ countries, I thought I knew what to expect from a big international airport arrival.
I didn’t. São Paulo was something else entirely.
That first arrival set the tone for one of the most memorable food and travel experiences of my life. The city is raw, electric, diverse and — above all — one of the greatest food destinations on the planet. In this guide, I’m sharing everything I discovered during my time in São Paulo, plus the practical tips I wish someone had given me before I landed.
Let’s dive in!
Guarulhos Airport is located about 25 kilometres outside the city centre. And São Paulo’s traffic? Let’s just say it has a well-earned reputation. During peak hours, what should be a 30-minute drive can easily turn into 90 minutes or more.
My advice — and this is something I tell everyone heading to Brazil for the first time — is to pre-book your GRU airport transfer before you fly. I made the mistake once of trying to figure out transport when I was jet-lagged and carrying all my equipment after an overnight flight. Never again.
A private transfer from GRU means a fixed price confirmed before you land, a driver waiting in the arrivals hall with your name on a board, and someone who knows the city’s roads and the best routes around the traffic. After a long flight from the US or Europe, that peace of mind is worth every penny. The service operates 24/7, tracks your flight in real time, and the drivers speak English — which matters a lot when you’re arriving in a Portuguese-speaking country for the first time.
✈️ Pro tip: Book your airport transfer at gruairporttransfer.com before you fly. You’ll receive the driver’s contact details in your confirmation — save it offline so you don’t need Wi-Fi to find it when you land at GRU.
I want to be direct with you: I came to Brazil expecting Rio to be the highlight. And Rio is incredible — the beaches, the views, the energy. But São Paulo genuinely surprised me. This city of 22 million people might just be the greatest food destination in the Western Hemisphere. I said what I said.
The culinary story of São Paulo is a story of immigration. Portuguese, Italian, Japanese, Lebanese, German, African — every wave of immigrants that arrived in Brazil over the past 150 years left their mark on the food culture of this city. The result is something that doesn’t exist anywhere else on Earth.
If I could only tell you one place to visit in São Paulo, it would be the Mercado Municipal — the Mercadão. This enormous covered market has been operating since 1933 and it is a sensory experience unlike anything I’ve encountered in over 80 countries of travel.
The market covers an entire city block and houses hundreds of vendors selling tropical fruits, imported cheeses, cured meats, spices, dried goods and everything in between. Walking through it for the first time, I genuinely didn’t know where to look first. Jackfruit the size of a small child. Açaí in every form imaginable. Cheeses I’d never seen before. Shelves of cachaça from every region of Brazil.
But here’s the thing you absolutely must do at the Mercadão: eat the mortadella sandwich. I’m talking about a massive, thick-cut mortadella on crusty bread, topped with melted cheese, eaten standing up at the counter on the second floor of the market. It costs almost nothing, it is absolutely delicious, and it is one of those travel food experiences that you talk about for years afterwards. Do not skip it.
🥪 Must eat: The mortadella sandwich at Bar do Mané on the second floor of the Mercadão is legendary. Arrive before midday on weekdays to beat the crowds. Pair it with fresh caldo de cana (sugar cane juice) from one of the market stalls.
Here’s something I genuinely didn’t anticipate before my trip: São Paulo has the world’s largest Japanese community outside of Japan. And the Japanese food scene here is extraordinary.
The Liberdade neighbourhood is the centre of Japanese-Brazilian culture in the city. Walking through Liberdade feels like a portal into a parallel world — street signs in Japanese and Portuguese, Japanese supermarkets, ramen shops, izakayas and sushi restaurants packed with local families.
The Japanese-Brazilian sushi I tried in São Paulo was among the best I’ve eaten anywhere in the world. The Brazilian ingredient combinations — tropical fruits, local fish, Brazilian sauces — create something that’s distinctly different from Japanese sushi but equally excellent. If you eat sushi, plan an evening in Liberdade. You will not be disappointed.
If you happen to be in São Paulo on a Sunday, get yourself to the Feira da Liberdade street market in the Liberdade neighbourhood. The whole main street fills up with stalls selling Japanese and Korean food, crafts, produce, imported goods and sweets. It’s free, it’s lively and it’s one of the best free experiences in the city. Go hungry.
Ask any local food person where to eat in São Paulo right now and they’ll send you to Pinheiros. This neighbourhood of tree-lined streets and converted houses has become the epicentre of São Paulo’s contemporary dining scene. Chef-driven restaurants, natural wine bars, craft cocktail spots and innovative street food vendors compete for attention along streets that are packed with the city’s creative class on weekend evenings.
I could eat in Pinheiros every night for a week and still not run out of new things to try. If you have one dinner to plan in São Paulo, plan it here.
Brazil’s barbecue tradition — churrasco — is one of the great contributions to global food culture. And in São Paulo, you can eat it at every level, from neighbourhood barbecue joints to the famous all-you-can-eat churrascaria restaurants where servers come to your table with sword-like skewers of meat in an endless parade of picanha, fraldinha, costela, linguiça and more.
The picanha — rump cap — is the cut that defines Brazilian barbecue. It’s fatty, flavourful and when cooked properly over charcoal, it is genuinely one of the best things I have ever eaten. Order it everywhere you go.
Parque Ibirapuera is one of the great urban parks of the world. At over 1.5 million square metres, it’s an enormous green oasis in one of the world’s densest cities. Within the park you’ll find the Museu de Arte Moderna (MAM), the Pavilhão da Bienal and beautiful lakes and cycling paths. On Sunday mornings, the surrounding roads close to traffic and the whole park becomes the communal living room of the city. Go early, bring coffee and soak it in.
Vila Madalena is São Paulo’s bohemian neighbourhood and the Beco do Batman is its most famous attraction. A series of interconnected streets completely covered in street art — murals, graffiti, stencils — that has been evolving continuously since the 1980s. It’s colourful, photogenic and genuinely impressive. The neighbourhood around it is also great for bars and restaurants if you want to extend your afternoon into the evening.
The Museu de Arte de São Paulo — MASP — is one of Latin America’s most important art museums, and its building is one of the most distinctive architectural statements in the city. Designed by Lina Bo Bardi, the museum is suspended above Avenida Paulista on two enormous concrete pillars, creating a covered public space beneath it. The collection includes works by Raphael, Rembrandt, Degas, Picasso and a comprehensive survey of Brazilian art. Admission is free on Tuesdays.
Liberdade: Japanese-Brazilian culture, best sushi in the city, Sunday market. Essential.
Vila Madalena: Street art, bars, restaurants, the creative heartbeat of the city.
Pinheiros: Best dining scene right now. Plan at least one dinner here.
Jardins: Upscale boutiques, excellent restaurants, tree-lined streets. Good base area for first-time visitors.
Centro / República: The historic centre with the Mercadão, the Theatro Municipal and a gritty urban energy that’s fascinating to walk through in the daytime.
Getting from the airport: Pre-book your GRU airport transfer — it makes the arrival process dramatically simpler. Fixed price, driver in arrivals, flight tracking included.
Language: Portuguese, not Spanish. Even a few words go a long way. Brazilians genuinely appreciate any attempt to speak the language.
Safety: São Paulo gets a reputation that’s more complicated than it deserves. Stick to the neighbourhoods I’ve mentioned, use vetted transport and apply normal big-city common sense. I felt safe throughout my time in the city.
Getting around: São Paulo has a metro system that’s clean and efficient and covers the main areas. Uber works well for shorter journeys within the city.
Currency: Brazilian Real (BRL). Cards are widely accepted. Avoid currency exchange at the airport — rates are poor. Use a bank ATM inside the terminal.
When to go: June to September is the driest and most comfortable time to visit. The city’s food and cultural calendar is year-round, but winter is the easiest season for visitors.
How long to stay: São Paulo rewards time. Three days gives you a taste. Five or six days lets you actually explore. If you can combine it with a trip to Rio and the southern states, even better.
São Paulo was one of the biggest travel surprises of my life. I arrived expecting a chaotic, overwhelming mega-city. What I found was one of the most exciting, diverse and culinarily extraordinary places I’ve ever been. After visiting 80+ countries and eating my way through markets, street stalls and restaurants on every continent, São Paulo belongs in my personal top five food cities of the world.
If you’re planning your first trip to Brazil, don’t skip it. Start here. Sort your arrival — book your GRU airport transfer before you land so you can hit the ground running — choose a good neighbourhood to base yourself in, and then eat everything you can. The city will take care of the rest.
I guarantee you’ll leave São Paulo already planning your return trip. I know I am.
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