Things to do in Sao Paulo, sorted by what you love

Even visitors who never watch a match enjoy the Football Museum. It opened on 29 September 2008 inside the curve of the Pacaembu municipal stadium, using 6,900 m² of space beneath the stands.^20,21 The main exhibition runs through 15 themed rooms that trace how the game reached Brazil and became part of its culture.³ At the end, the Body Game hall turns passing, precision and speed into games you play with your own movements.²²

It keeps its doors open 9:00 AM until 6:00 PM, Tuesday to Sunday, staying open to 9:00 PM on the first Tuesday of the month.^23,24 Tickets cost BRL 25, or BRL 12.50 for students, and Tuesdays are free for everyone.⁴ An audio guide in English helps if your Portuguese is shaky.²⁵ From Paulista station on the yellow line it is a 900 m walk downhill, about 12 minutes.²⁶ Every floor is served by lifts and escalators, which helps with strollers and tired legs.²⁷

To feel the noise for real, go to a game. A Corinthians match experience meets on Avenida Paulista, heads to the Neo Quimica Arena and lasts 6 hours, from $143, with a guide who speaks English, Spanish or French. Group size is capped at 10, which makes the stadium crowds easier to handle. Check the fixture list before you fly: league and cup games cluster at weekends and on Wednesday nights.

Sao Paulo explains itself best through the people who arrived. In Mooca, the State Immigration Museum tells the story of those who came through the Bras Immigrant Hostelry, and it has a studio where you can pose for an old-style portrait in period clothes.^39,40 Its garden is a quiet spot for a picnic afterward. In Liberdade, the Museum of Japanese Immigration holds more than 97,000 objects from the families who settled here.⁴¹

Downtown, the Pateo do Collegio marks the spot where Jesuits raised a college in 1554, and the Se Cathedral nearby was finished only in 1954.^42,43 For Brazil's own founding story, the Ipiranga Museum occupies a palace built as a monument to the independence of 1822; it is free on Wednesdays and on the first Sunday of the month.^44,17 Our landmarks guide walks through all of these in order, with a map of the centre and the stories behind each facade.

Language lovers should not miss the Museum of the Portuguese Language in the Luz railway station. It admits visitors from 9:00 AM to 4:30 PM, and children up to 7 enter free.^45,46 The rooms are interactive, full of voices, songs and wordplay, and they make sense even without Portuguese. Pair it with the Pinacoteca across the park for a full cultural day in Luz, and keep an eye on your bag in the crowded station concourse.

Many of the best free things in the city follow a weekly rhythm. MASP and the Football Museum are free on Tuesdays, the Ipiranga Museum on Wednesdays and the Pinacoteca on Saturdays.^1,4,17,2 The Theatro Municipal runs free guided visits; book them on INTI a day ahead.¹⁹ Add the car-free Sunday on Paulista and you can fill several days without paying an entrance fee.⁵ Book free slots online wherever a museum asks for it, and arrive early.

Summer is the wet season: INMET's normals put January rainfall at 288.2 mm, against 36 mm in August.⁵³ Keep indoor options ready for the afternoon storms. The Football Museum, the Museum of the Portuguese Language and the Catavento science museum all take a few hours each, and the Catavento is free on Tuesdays.²⁹ Galleries in Vila Madalena and the covered stalls of the municipal markets also make good shelter. Our guide to the city with kids covers the aquarium and the zoo.

Whatever your list, start with an overview. The 7-hour tour on this site begins with a morning pickup, then moves through Ibirapuera, Batman Alley, the centre, Liberdade, the Municipal Market and Paulista. By evening you know which corners deserve a second, slower visit, and the rest of your Sao Paulo list writes itself. A lunch stop at a steakhouse buffet is on the route, though the listing does not say the meal is in the fare.