Why São Paulo should be on your travel to-do list

Tell people you’re going to Brazil and the automatic response is “Oh, Rio’s great”. Pronouncing that you’re actually headed to São Paulo is met with little but blank stares and a puzzled, “Why?”

But Brazil’s biggest city should be on everyone’s radar. More than just a place to catch a flight to the country’s beaches, São Paulo’s wealth of culture, foodie scene and great hotels make it a destination in its own right.

Let’s start with the latter, because every excellent trip begins with an excellent base. Ours is Palácio Tangará, an Oetker Collection hotel with 141 rooms, set amid the Burle Marx Park, named for the famed landscape architect of German-Jewish and Brazilian Catholic descent. While the hotel’s setting would be unusual anywhere — a low building amid skyscrapers, in a bubble of greenery — it’s all the more so in this sprawling city.

After walking past high velvet chairs in the airy lobby with its beautiful gold hanging ceiling installation, our own suite is vast and the height of luxury, complete with dining table for six, guest bathroom and walk-in wardrobe. Neutral décor has pops of pale green — the black-and-white checkerboard rug in the living room is swoon-worthy, as is the bathroom, a huge expanse of contrasting black and white marble.

Our (many) suite windows overlook the scene-y swimming pool, perfect for people-watching and tanning, and the hotel also has an indoor pool, sauna, spa by Sisley and gym. The Tangará Jean-Georges restaurant is famed chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s first foray into South America. Excitingly, it was awarded a Michelin star last year, and deservedly so.

The dinnertime Gastronomic Experience features a five-course menu and a choice of more than 180 wines, but you’ll fare just as well at lunch. Menu items are marked to denote locality and include pizza (with a luxe twist, thanks to truffle and fontina), pasta, fresh fish and salads. Crispy salmon sushi is a highlight and all is beautifully presented on a mixture of slate, earthenware and china dishes.

It’s also where you’ll find the lavish breakfast buffet: we dine al fresco on the cool leafy terrace. For an authentically Brazilian experience, try an açai bowl with peanut butter or the guava and cheese pastries, the perfect way to kick off a day exploring the city, including its Jewish heritage.

Brazil is home to 120,000 Jews, around half living in São Paulo. First arriving in Brazil in the 16th century, most were forced converts (Marranos) fleeing the Spanish Inquisition. However, the Portuguese colony was largely unfavourable to religious minorities and Jewish life remained limited. It was only during the brief spell of more tolerant Dutch rule in the mid-1600s that the first Brazilian Jewish community emerged, in Recife in the northeast.

After Brazil’s independence in 1822 and the first Brazilian constitution, granting freedom of religion, Jewish immigration intensified. Initially, Moroccan Jews arrived, on the back of the growing rubber industry, followed later by Eastern European Jews escaping pogroms, then Nazi Germany. The 1950s saw an influx of North African Jews, resulting in a community that’s a mixture of Ashkenazi and Sephardi.

In some ways the São Paulo community’s development has mimicked that of British Jews, moving out from immigrant neighbourhoods such as Bom Retiro to the more affluent Jardins and Higienópolis, now home to a kosher butcher and restaurants.

Because there’s also a significant Japanese community in São Paulo too — the largest outside of Japan — Japanese food here is excellent; sushi and sashimi merging with zingy South American flavours. From grab-and-go options to upscale eateries such as Nakka and Jam, Japanese food is a must-try in this city. Paulistanos enjoy sweet treats too — Brigadeiro chocolates, made with condensed milk, are delicious.

While we are cautious about safety, not walking around in the dark and sticking to recommended neighbourhoods, we feel much safer than expected, although in Higienópolis, we spot several apartment buildings guarded by security firm Haganá, a private security company set up by former IDF officers in the 90s.

There are numerous shuls, Chabad houses and several Jewish schools, but the focal point of Jewish life in Brazil are Hebraicas — Jewish sports clubs or community centres, which galvanise the community. São Paulo’s Hebraica is immense: it has 18,000 members, an auditorium, tennis courts, swimming pools and a food court on site.

However, while the Jewish community is well-integrated and anti-Semitism is not perceived as a threat in São Paulo, there are other issues. “Assimilation is unfortunately a very big problem,” Chabad Rabbi Dovid Goldberg of Beit Chabad Morumbi tells me via email.

“The community is warm, close and traditional, but the assimilation rate is taking its toll. The community is shrinking — partly because of assimilation, and also people leaving the country because of the bad economy, security and so on.”

Jewish life aside, there is much to do. São Paulo is home to the world’s second oldest art Biennal after Venice. The Pinacoteca art museum and Museum of Contemporary Art are worth a visit — the former’s architecture is particularly special — and for the less artistically minded, head to Mercado Municipal and Ibirapuera Park. One of the city’s key attractions, it is the equivalent to New York’s Central Park: an oasis in which you can grab a fresh coconut water and admire the black swans.

We also loved the buzzy Avenue Paulista, which is pedestrianised on Sundays. With buskers, people selling shmutter and artists drawing portraits of those willing to pay for them, you can while away a whole morning here. You can’t talk about a stay in São Paulo without a mention of its traffic, some of the worst we’ve ever experienced. Uber is the easiest way to get around, but do factor extra time into your plans.

And while Carnival is famously associated with Rio (this year it begins on March 1), São Paulo has its own growing carnival scene. In the run-up to it, there are shows with huge crowds, live entertainment and dancing. Music is a huge part of life here in São Paulo, and its energy is everywhere.

With so much to discover in this vibrant multicultural city, Rio, your days might just be numbered.

 

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