São Paulo
São Paulo, the largest city in South America, is located on the Piratininga plateau and is surrounded by rivers that drain inland. Since its founding around 1554, São Paulo has become the gateway to the Serto (interior of Brazil), and explorers known as the Bandirantes campaigned from the city into the region. Today's main roads into city centers still follow the routes of detainees Immigrants from all over the world have always been a part of São Paulo, and you will still see the influence on life and culture of Portuguese, Spanish, German, African, Jewish, Arab and Japanese residents. For example, there is an entire museum dedicated to Japanese immigration and another to the contributions of Africans to Brazil. Perhaps the most difficult thing to understand about the city is its size. A good way to get an idea of how far it extends is from the observation deck of the 46-story Italia building on Avenida Ipiranga. Many of São Paulo's tourist attractions are sprawling, so you...