São Paulo/West Side

West is a region in São Paulo. If the Downtown represents the São Paulo of the past, probably no other region represents the São Paulo of present day as well as the West. Although it contains only 7.7% of the population of the municipality, the West is by far the most economically active region, concentrating 28.5% of the jobs. And with little doubt, the West is the place to be in the city for dining, drinking, clubbing, art, culture, business and science.

However, despite its reputation as a "wealthy" area, the West is also the region where São Paulo's social inequalities are most blatant. Here it is possible to find everything, from mansions and luxurious apartments to working class suburbs and slums (favelas), with extremes sometimes quite close to each other.

The West is divided into 15 districts, grouped into three subprefectures:
 * Lapa subprefecture: Jaguará, Jaguaré, Vila Leopoldina, Lapa, Barra Funda and Perdizes.
 * Butantã subprefecture: Rio Pequeno, Butantã, Raposo Tavares, Vila Sônia and Morumbi.
 * Pinheiros subprefecture: Alto de Pinheiro, Pinheiros, Jardim Paulista and Itaim Bibi.

''Note: Avenida Paulista is partly on the West. For places in this avenue and up to 4 blocks from it, check the São Paulo/Paulista section.''

Understand
Although neither the largest nor the most populous region of the city, the West is a probably the most diverse. The districts described below are the ones that have more attractions for a visitor, although many attractions listed in this page are in other districts.
 * Butantã &mdash; The life in this former farming area changed during the early 1900s, with the coming from Instituto Butantan and University of São Paulo. Butantã turned into a middle-class suburban area, whose real estate is quickly rising in value.
 * Barra Funda &mdash; For decades, this district carried industrial activity and was home to Italian immigrants who worked in the factories. After the decline of industry, many areas become degraded, but the population became more diversified and cultural activity has intensified. Today, Barra Funda has economically recovered and is home to many attractions, and it is emerging as a new center of nightlife in the city.
 * Itaim Bibi &mdash; For most of the past century, the neighborhoods of this district, like Brooklin and Vila Olímpia, were calm and residential, strongly influenced by German and Italian immigrants who lived in little ranches. The constant expansion of the city on a northeast-southwest direction, combined with government investment, made the region the new point for businesses, hotels and residences. As one may expect, the area also began to attract all kinds of service to cater to the richer people who moved here, including restaurants, bars, clubs and shopping malls.
 * Jardim Paulista (Jardins) &mdash; From Avenida Paulista, if you decide to go down on Rua Augusta towards river Pinheiros, you will find a sea of side streets named after countries of Europe and the Americas, full of trees and elegant houses (although some are hard to see, hidden behind tall walls). It is probably the area with the most expensive shops and restaurants in the city.
 * Morumbi &mdash; The district is home to the government of the state of São Paulo, and a large portion of the district is occupied by mansions, where many of the richest people of the city live. A number of favelas also exist, illustrating the social contrasts of São Paulo in an almost stereotypical manner. The quick growth of middle class apartments, as well as the expected coming of a monorail, are likely to change the characteristics of the district and are a matter of concern among its inhabitants.
 * Pinheiros &mdash; Vila Madalena and other neighborhoods of this district have become a hot spot for artists, writers, journalists, movie directors, intellectuals in general and, of course, wannabes in every one of these categories. It's not uncommon to run into a famous Brazilian artist – or nearly so – when casually drinking in a bar, leaving the supermarket or having an espresso.

By metro and train
The east side of the Pinheiros river is well-covered by the rail network. In the other side there is a single station (Butantã) although other are planned in Vila Sônia and Morumbi. These are metro and train stations in each district:
 * Alto de Pinheiros: Pinheiros, Cidade Universitária, Villa Lobos-Jaguaré
 * Barra Funda: Barra Funda
 * Butantã: Butantã
 * Itaim Bibi: Vila Olímpia, Berrini
 * Jardim Paulista: Consolação
 * Lapa: Domingos de Moraes, Lapa
 * Perdizes: Sumaré, Vila Madalena
 * Pinheiros: Hebraica-Rebouças, Cidade Jardim, Faria Lima
 * Vila Leopoldina: Ceasa, Imperatriz Leopoldina

By car
The West is connected to the Northwest, Northeast, South, and north part of the Southeast by Marginal Pinheiros, and to the South-Central and south part of the Southeast by Avenida dos Bandeirantes. Connection to the Historical Center and to the north part of the South-Central is made by non-express corridors, like Av. Rebouças, Av. Cidade Jardim and Av. Juscelino Kubitschek.

A car (or taxi) is particularly convenient to reach places in the west side of the Pinheiros river, and also to enjoy the nightlife as walking during the night is not recommended in most places (see ).

By bus
Other than car, buses are the only way to reach most places in the west side of the Pinheiros river. There is a dedicated bus corridor that crosses the West region in east-west direction, starting at the Historical Center and passing through Av. Rebouças and Av. Francisco Morato.

Get around
The West is a large region, with main attractions relatively spread. As such, using metro/train, buses or a car is recommended to extensively cover them. If you have a bit more time, however, some areas can be nicely explored on foot or on pedals.

By bicycle

 * Cycleway Marginal Pinheiros (see São Paulo main section) is partly located in the West.
 * A large portion of Ciclofaixa de Lazer (see São Paulo main article) is also in the West and can be used on Sundays.
 * A large portion of Ciclofaixa de Lazer (see São Paulo main article) is also in the West and can be used on Sundays.

On foot
Two nice areas to be explored on foot are the Itaim Bibi (see ) and Jardim Paulista districts. The two areas are relatively large, however, so it is a good idea to plan your walking route to pass through the most interesting museums, landmarks and shopping areas. Otherwise you may spend a lot of time in boring residential streets.

Skyscrapers




Museums and cultural centers
The campus of University of São Paulo (USP) in Butantã, Cidade Universitária, is home to 7 museums (only 3 described below: see the USP website for others). Pinheiros and Jardim Paulista are the place to find small and medium art galleries of local and international artists (not listed here). Combined with Memorial da América Latina, Instituto Tomie Ohtake, Instituto Butantan, and other museums and institutes, that makes the West possibly the city's most important area in terms of culture and science.





Learn




Shopping malls




Centro de São Paulo

 * Mercado Municipal de São Paulo, A must-see for tourists from all over Brazil and other countries, the officially named Municipal Market Paulistano, known by many just as Cantareira or Mercadão is one of the most traditional tourist spots in the city.

Jardim Paulista
Jardim Paulista is São Paulo's pearl of gastronomy, with many (if not most) of the best rated restaurants of the city here. Be aware, however, that great quality does not always mean great cost-benefit.

Drink
The neighborhood of Vila Olímpia, in Itaim Bibi, is São Paulo's most famous clubbing area, and Vila Madalena, in Pinheiros, is the place for die-hard Bohemians. Nightlife is also intense, although a bit more sparse, in the districts of the Lapa subprefecture (like Barra Funda, Lapa and Vila Leopoldina), and now these areas contain some of the best clubs of the city.

Butantã subprefecture
Most parties from the students of University of São Paulo happen inside the campus, or in other districts like Pinheiros (especially Vila Madalena) or Barra Funda. Outside the campus, the district of Butantã isn't really an exciting place, although lately there are a growing number of bars.



Pinheiros
The bizarrely named streets of Vila Madalena, such as Aspicuelta (who was a 16th century Spanish priest), Girassol (the sunflower) and Purpurina (glitter), are home to bars with something for everyone: there are “classic” pubs with Portuguese tiles on the walls serving super-chilled draught beer and bean soup, such as the Filial; some are homes away from home for journalists and soccer fans, such as São Cristóvão; and for the GLS (Gays, Lesbians and Sympathizers) crowds, Farol da Vila is a good bet.

Those who are fond of live music have several options, from samba to shows by future stars of Brazilian Popular Music—MPB. Even Father Aspicuelta used to have a little glass of wine after mass in some of the bars on “his” street, such as Posto 6 (in honor of Rio de Janeiro), Zé Menino (in honor of the port city of Santos) or Salve Jorge, that gives discounts to clients named Jorge. The search for the perfectly-chilled draught beer might take you to the nearby neighborhood of Lapa, where a happening nightlife scene is beginning to take hold.



Stay safe
Crime statistics in the West are more or less in the average of the city. However, richer neighborhoods like Pinheiros report a high number of kidnappings, specially express kidnappings - about 50% of express kidnappings in São Paulo happen in the West (see ).

There is no need to panic, though. The usual victims of these crimes are not visitors but Paulistanos, who like to show their expensive cars and possessions when going out. Do not imitate them. If you need a car to go clubbing or dining in the region, consider to take a cab or ride with a group of friends.

Acting like a reckless tourist, however, will bring you problems no matter if you look rich or not. Don't go to run-down areas or favelas, not even during the day. Don't walk during the night if you don't see people on the streets. Keep the number of a radio-taxi at hand.

Students of University of São Paulo are often robbed near the pedestrian-only entrances, even during the day. If you are going to the University, there is no need to avoid these entrances, but if you are using them, don't bring valuable items like laptops, tablets or your passport.