Historical buildings

HISTORICAL BUILDINGS – Patricia Albuquerque

São Paulo is a beautiful city seen from above, so spare some time to go to one of the few points where you’ll be able to see how far this city extends to.

• Banespa Tower or Altino Arantes Building – skyscraper with observation deck and a small museum. Its design was inspired by the Empire State Building.

• Itália Building – skyscraper with observation deck. It is the second highest building in São Paulo with 46 floors. It hosts Terraço Itália restaurant in its forty-fourth floor.

There is a city tour in São Paulo which the visitor will pass by places in São Paulo old centre during three hours; it is a panoramic tour to an introduction to the history, culture, and the lifestyle of the city. The highlights are:

• Paulista Avenue – one of the most important avenues of the city. It was inaugurated in December 8, 1891. It is site of many cultural centers and museums, such as the MASP and Centro Cultural Itaú. Gay pride parade, São Silvestre marathon and New Year’s Eve take place on this avenue yearly.

• The Metropolitan Cathedral (Sé Cathedral) – a symbol of the city, despite having a Renaissance-styled dome, it is considered by some to be the fourth largest neo-gothic cathedral in the world.

• Copan Building – it was designed by Oscar Niemeyer. It was built between 1951 and 1966; its wavy shape gives the building an impression of movement. The name is an acronym for its original developer (Companhia Pan Americana de Hotéis e Turismo).

• (Luz Station) – historical railway station built between 1895 and 1901. The station remains from the period when the coffee was a major source of income to the city. Today is most notable for housing The Museum of the Portuguese Language.

• Municipal Market – historical market place and today is a national reference due to a huge diversity of tastes, smells and colors of fruits, vegetables, wine, cheese, chocolate, meet, seafood and other items. Cod