Pinheiros, Vila Madalena & São Paulo's Legendary Nightlife
São Paulo's nightlife (the nightlife of the city that never sleeps — the city that is the undisputed entertainment capital of Brazil and one of the most vibrant nightlife destinations in the world): the Pinheiros and Vila Madalena neighbourhoods (the two adjacent bohemian neighbourhoods west of Avenida Paulista that are the centre of São Paulo's cultural and nightlife scene) host the greatest concentration of bars, nightclubs, live music venues, and independent restaurants in the city.
Avenida Paulista, MASP & São Paulo's Cultural Heart
São Paulo (the largest city in Brazil and in the Southern Hemisphere — population approximately 12.3 million in the city and 22 million in the Greater São Paulo metropolitan area, the largest metropolitan area in the Southern Hemisphere and the 4th largest in the world): Avenida Paulista (the 2.8-kilometre boulevard that runs through the heart of São Paulo — the most important street in Brazil, the street that concentrates the headquarters of the largest Brazilian banks and corporations, the largest art museum in Latin America (the MASP), and the most vibrant street life in the city) is the axis around which São Paulo's cultural, financial, and social life revolves.
Samba, Carnaval & São Paulo's African-Brazilian Cultural Heritage
São Paulo's Carnaval (the São Paulo Carnival — the second largest Carnival in Brazil after Rio de Janeiro, held in the Sambódromo do Anhembi in the Santana neighbourhood every February — a spectacle of Brazilian popular culture, music, and dance that is as much a product of São Paulo's African-Brazilian community as of the Carioca culture of Rio) and the samba tradition (the music and dance form that originated in the African-Brazilian community of Rio de Janeiro and Salvador da Bahia and became the national music of Brazil) are at the core of São Paulo's cultural identity.