Superlative Sao Paulo

Brazil’s largest city is a blend of cultures unlike anyplace else on earth.

- Ralf Walters

Truly a city of the exceptional, São Paulo is the “-est” of many world-beating attributes. It’s the fourth largest city on the planet, behind Tokyo, Delhi and Shanghai, the largest city in both the Western and Southern Hemispheres, and the largest Portuguese-speaking city in the world. It’s an international and industrial business hub whose economic and cultural diversity have attracted a mix of people from all over the globe.

A significant percentage of the population claims Portuguese, Spanish, Lebanese, Japanese, Italian and German heritage. So its diverse and colorful culture makes it an easy city for American travelers: “When you step out of the tour bus, people will assume you’re a ‘Paulistano,’” as our tour guide shared.

Founded by Jesuit Priests on Jan. 15, 1554 – the anniversary of the conversion of St. Paul – his namesake city São Paulo has a population of 21 million in its greater metropolitan area. Situated in the southeast corner of Brazil on a plateau of the Brazilian Highlands that extends inland from the Serra do Mar, it’s 30 miles from the Atlantic and 2,690 feet above sea level.

Because São Paulo is one hour ahead of Eastern Time, I gained an hour on my arrival at the 23-story Renaissance São Paulo Hotel near Avenida Paulista, allowing me to unpack and take in the view from my 21st floor suite. The panorama, though limited by gray skies and a distant hazy fog, was spectacular. The futuristic cityscape appeared to stretch on without end, disappearing to a vanishing point.

Row after row of towering steel, concrete and glass skyscrapers faded into the distance, interrupted briefly by an elongated green space that rivaled New York City’s Central Park. Not until my last morning did the sun break through and turn the sky blue, revealing a low lying mountain range to the west.