São Paulo Center Walking Tour: A Deep Dive into the History of Brazil's Largest City
5.0
16 Ratings
Centro Histórico de São Paulo

Discover the rich history and architectural wonders of São Paulo on a private walking tour. Explore iconic landmarks and learn about the transformation of this vibrant city over 465 years.

Duration: 4 hours
Cancellation: 1 day learn more
Highlights
  • Pateo do Collegio - Historic São Paulo founding site and museum of the city. With the intention to teach and catechize the natives, the Jesuits built the first school and began what 4 centuries later would become the largest city in the Southern hemisphere.

  • Manor Of The Marquesa Of Santos - The residence built around the second half of the eighteenth century served as housing for Domitila de Castro Canto known as “Marquesa de Santos”. Domitila played an important role in contributing for the greatness of the city of São Paulo.

  • Image House and Alley Pinto - House No 1 is a three-story 17th century historical residence that nowadays is one of the thirteen historic buildings part of the Museum of the City of São Paulo.

  • Catedral da Se de Sao Paulo - Visit the Sé Cathedral which was inspired by medieval European churches. The imposing construction marks the center of São Paulo (the ground zero of the city is at Sé Square), a very busy area.

  • Faculdade de Direito da Universidade de São Paulo (FDUSP) - From the Largo São Francisco Law school, its students and graduates, began the main movements of Brazilian History, from the Abolitionism to the Republican Movement. Not to mention the campaign for “VOTING NOW” (diretas já) during the military government in the 80’s. Over time, 9 Brazilian presidents, several governors, mayors and a countless of other figures emerged from it.

  • Fundação Escola de Comércio Àlvares Penteado - FECAP holds the oldest public utility certification in Brazil since 1915. The institution was also the first to open courses in Economics (1934) and Accounting (1939) in the country.

  • Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil - In the historical heart of the city, the Cultural Center Banco do Brasil occupies a building of 1901 with five floors. Cinema, theater, auditorium, store and coffee shop as well as great exhibitions all in a neoclassical architecture.

  • B3 – A bolsa do Brasil - São Paulo’s Stock Exchange is the main stock trading market of publicly traded companies in Brazil and 8th in the world in capitalization.

  • Farol Santander - One of the tallest buildings in São Paulo with an observation deck on the top with a stunning 360º view of São Paulo.

  • Martinelli Building - The first skyscraper in Latin America. The construction generated much controversy, because until then there was no building of such great height. Currently, the building is one of the main architectural symbols of Brazil.

  • Mosteiro De Sao Bento - The San Benedictine Monastery is one of those sacred tips that also applies to people who are not religious.

The building hosted Pope Benedict XVI during his visit to Brazil.

Believers are attracted by the masses with Gregorian chants, and shop with breads, cakes, cookies and jams made by the monks themselves and whose recipes are secular.

  • Matarazzo Building City Hall Of Sao Paulo - Inaugurated in 1939 to host one of the largest industrial conglomerates in Brazilian history, the Matarazzo Industries”. Designed by the favorite architect of the Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, the Italian Marcello Piacentini.
  • Edificio Sampaio Moreira - Featuring 12 floors and 50 meters high, Sampaio Moreira was the tallest building in the city of São Paulo between 1924 and 1929, when the Martinelli building was inaugurated. It is considered, therefore, the first multi-story large building in the city, as well as one of the first in the country to present such typology.
  • Viaduto Do Cha - One of the postcards of São Paulo, the tea viaduct was the first in the city of São Paulo. It bears this name because of the extensive tea plantation nearby.
  • Vale do Anhangabau - Historical meeting point for cultural and political manifestations. The most significant was the “VOTING NOW”(diretas já) movement calling for direct elections during the military government.
  • Shopping Light - Inaugurated in 1929, the building was the headquarters of the Canadian company that was responsible for the electric power service of São Paulo between 1899 and 1981.
  • Theatro Municipal De Sao Paulo - Considered a postcard of São Paulo, the Municipal Theater is one of the most important historical places in town due to several important cultural events that took place in its facilities like the Week of Modern Art of 1922.
What's Included
  • Observation Deck entry at Farol Santander
  • Guided tour with a professional bilingual guide
What's Not Included
  • Meals and drinks.
  • Tips. (optional)
Additional Information

Take a private walking tour in the São Paulo downtown to understand the amazing historic process of São Paulo that in 465 years of existence, marked by relative inexpressiveness for more than three centuries, has become the largest city in the Southern hemisphere.

Begin your tour at Pátio do Colégio, where your guide will provide you with some historical background about the area. Then, move on to visit the Manor of the Marchioness of Santos, Sé Cathedral, Sé Square, Largo São Francisco Law School, the FECAP and more.

Continue to see Brazil Bank’s Cultural Center. Make a quick stop here to use the toilets or grab a drink, before walking to the Stock Exchange. Take in a great view of the city at the Altino Arantes building and Farol Santander.

Other sites you will pass on the tour include: the Martinelli building, the Monastery of Saint Benedict, the Sampaio Moreira building, and City Hall. The tour will finish at the Municipal Theater and you can admire its beautiful architecture.

Location
Largo Páteo do Colégio
• In front of the main entrance of “Pátio do Colégio” on the address Praça Pateo do Collegio, 02 - Centro • Reference point: It's a walkable distance from the subway / metro stations "Sé" and "São Bento" part of red line.
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
5.0
(16 Ratings)
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Traveldude747
Jun 7, 2024
A great walking tour - Fantastic walking tour of downtown Sao Paulo. My guide Ilan was extremely knowledgeable and informative and gave me a great overview of the history and architecture of Sao Paulo. I was able to visit numerous interesting places and get some great photos. Highly recommended to really get to know Sao Paulo.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
A9441udbethanyg
Apr 17, 2024
Wonderful tour - Doris was amazing. She was so knowledgeable and friendly. We really enjoyed both of our tours with her and learned so much. And the food??? Holy cow it was unbelievable.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Colleen_h
Jan 24, 2024
We did not tour São... - We did not tour São Paulo, rather Santos. I made an error in location in terms of where our cruise ship docked. Viator assisted in changing São Paulo tour to Santos. It was an excellent and welcome change. Our guide Roma was an amazing historian, so proud of her city and made our full day so rewarding - she balanced traffic, with rain and 12 passengers’ need so well. We saw more than we expected! Well done Roma.
Review provided by Viator
Inspiration746157
Jan 11, 2024
Walking tour - An excellent tour if you want to know the center and part of the history of São Paulo. The guide Priscila has a lot of knowledge and excellent treatment.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Ericgoldcoast
Nov 3, 2023
Josée was fantastic!! - We took a tour of the center of São Paulo on foot with Josée, in French. It was excellent! She was super flexible, always adapting to our schedules and requests. She was very careful with my French and slightly elderly mother-in-law. Great and interesting explanations, a little time for natural juice and lots of jogging. We love it and highly recommend it! Thank you Josée and see you next time!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Navigator12180983669
Oct 29, 2023
Excellent - SAN PAOLO is wonderful but if you want to have a proper meal of rice and beans you absolutely have to come to the port here you will find a very famous Italian-American restaurant where you can dine to the rhythm of sambaaaaa
Review provided by Tripadvisor
M
Jun 29, 2023
Very nice tour, fun, dinamic and well paced - This tour was very well paced. Participants age ranged from 13 to 75. Explanations were great, very appropriate for the age and interests of the participants. The choice of places to visit was customized accordingly. Our guide Marcio was fun, knowledgeable, and made everything easy for us.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Runningtheworld
May 19, 2023
Few Hours in Sao Paulo? Perfect Tour! - What a fun (and safe) way to see downtown Sao Paulo! We walked to meet up with Deborah, and she gave us an amazing tour of the downtown area. There were so many unique spots that she pointed out that we would have completely missed without her local eyes. She also took many photos for us so that we did not have to worry about using our phones in areas where they could be stolen. She also stayed with us through the tour of the Santander building, and even participated by coloring a flower for an immersive exhibit in which we were partaking. Finally, since the tour ended past sunset, she stayed with us until our Uber picked us up. If you only have a few hours in Sao Paulo, this is an excellent way to see it!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Bevg459
May 12, 2023
Great experience! - Deborah was amazing! We had a history filled walking tour of São Paulo. I would highly recommend this tour company & especially Deborah!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Sandrab3748
Feb 22, 2023
Excellent São Paulo historical walking tour. - Bruno from Gregtur took us on an amazing downtown walking tour of São Paulo. We saw the historic centre from where it all began with the buildings dating back to the arrival of the Portuguese together with the cathedral, the old financial centre and some of the earlier sky scrapers. The tour was well organised and Bruno was an excellent guide. He soon picked up on our interests and made the tour both informative and fun. His English was excellent. He was kind and charming and made us all feel very safe in the slightly dodgier areas. I highly recommend the tour and Bruno as a guide!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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