Avenida Paulista Guide: MASP, Museums and Sundays Without Cars

Avenida Paulista is São Paulo's main street and symbol: nearly three kilometres of office towers, banks, cultural centres and museums along a ridge above the city, a short metro ride from the old downtown. On weekdays it's all business. On Sundays it becomes the city's biggest public space.

MASP

The São Paulo Museum of Art, designed by Lina Bo Bardi and opened on Paulista in 1968, is a concrete-and-glass box held up by four red pillars, leaving a huge open plaza beneath. Inside, the permanent collection includes works by Raphael, Rembrandt, Van Gogh and Renoir alongside Brazilian and Latin American art, hung on Bo Bardi's glass easels so they seem to float in one open gallery. Entry is free on certain days, so check the museum's website, and expect queues then.

More culture along the avenue

• Japan House. A cultural centre with a timber façade by the Japanese architect Kengo Kuma, with free exhibitions on Japanese design and a small shop and restaurant.
• Instituto Moreira Salles. A modern building with strong photography exhibitions, a library and a café with views over the avenue.
• Centro Cultural FIESP and the Itaú Cultural. Free exhibitions and events, useful on a rainy day.
• Casa das Rosas. A 1930s mansion with a rose garden, one of the few survivors of the coffee barons' houses that once lined the street.

Paulista on Sundays

Every Sunday, the avenue closes to cars and fills with cyclists, skaters, families, street musicians and performers. There's an antiques fair under MASP, with crafts and street food stalls nearby. Come in the late morning and walk the length of it. If you have only one day for the avenue, make it a Sunday and start at MASP.

Around the avenue

Trianon Park, a patch of original Atlantic rainforest opposite MASP, is a shady break. Rua Augusta runs downhill in both directions: towards Jardins for boutiques and restaurants, and towards the centre for bars and a grittier crowd. Rua Oscar Freire, in Jardins, is the city's luxury shopping street.