Local before arrival
Many complain that São Paulo has no real center. The impressively wide Avenida proves that’s not true. This is the heart of the largest city in the southern hemisphere, a landmark where things happen. Once a street of magnificent mansions belonging to coffee barons, the architecture-crazy Paulistas tore them down and replaced them with skyscrapers that became the largest business center in Latin America. The red-light district has also established itself here, amid the anonymity.
