Transportation Directory - Sao Paulo Brazil

Description: São Paulo, Portuguese for ‘Saint Paul’, is the most populous city in Brazil and the capital of the state of São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as an alpha global city, São Paulo is the most populous city outside of Asia and the world’s 20th-largest city proper by population.

Additionally, São Paulo is the largest Portuguese-speaking city in the world. It exerts strong international influences in commerce, finance, arts, and entertainment. The city’s name honors the Apostle, Saint Paul of Tarsus. The city’s metropolitan area, the Greater São Paulo, ranks as the most populous in Brazil and the 12th-most-populous on Earth.

The process of conurbation between the metropolitan areas around the Greater São Paulo (Campinas, Santos, Jundiaí, Sorocaba and São José dos Campos) created the São Paulo Macrometropolis, a megalopolis with more than 30 million inhabitants, one of the most populous urban agglomerations in the world.

Population: 12,330,000

Demographics: The main groups, considering all the metropolitan area, are: 6 million people of Italian descent, 3 million people of Portuguese descent, 1.7 million people of African descent, 1 million people of Arab descent, 665,000 people of Japanese descent, 400,000 people of German descent, 250,000 people of French descent, 150,000 people of Greek descent, 120,000 people of Chinese descent, 120,000–300,000 Bolivian immigrants, 50,000 people of Korean descent, and 80,000 Jews.

History: The Portuguese village of São Paulo dos Campos de Piratininga was marked by the founding of the Colégio de São Paulo de Piratininga on 25 January 1554. For the next two centuries, São Paulo developed as a poor and isolated village that survived largely through the cultivation of subsistence crops by the labor of natives.

For a long time, São Paulo was the only village in Brazil’s interior, as travel was too difficult for many to reach the area. In the 17th century, São Paulo was one of the poorest regions of the Portuguese colony. After Brazil became independent from Portugal in 1822, as declared by Emperor Pedro I where the Monument to the Independence of Brazil is located, he named São Paulo as an Imperial City.

By the time Brazil became a republic on 15 November 1889, coffee exports were still an important part of São Paulo’s economy. São Paulo grew strong in the national political scene. In 1947, São Paulo gained its first paved highway: the Via Anchieta (built on the old route of José de Anchieta), connecting the capital to the coast of São Paulo. In the 1950s, São Paulo was known as “the city that never stop” and as “the fastest growing city in the world”.

At the end of the 20th century and beginning of the 21st century, São Paulo became the main financial center in South America and one of the most populous cities in the world. As the most influential Brazilian city on the global stage, São Paulo is currently classified as an alpha global city.

Elevation: 760 m

Climate: Humid subtropical climate. Average annual temperature in Sao Paulo is 18 C (65 F), the average for July is 19 C (66 F), the average for January is 25 C (76 F).

Attractions: Paulista Avenue, Liberdade, Museu Catavento, Allianz Park, Mosteiro De Sao Bento, Museu De Futebol

Airports: Sao Paulo International Airport GRU

Distance To City Centre: 25 km

Commute Length: 30 min

Average Cost: 50 USD

Peak Times: 6am – 9am, 4pm – 7pm