Any tourist tips for Sao Paulo and Brasilia

[travguy]

Hello All:

Very low airfares from several US cities into some Brazilian cities now, including Brasilia. Often with stops in SP or Rio for the connection. Thinking about 3-5 days in SP. I am familiar with Rio. Clueless for SP, save for the many comments about the GP sauna there. I think Pauleiro posted some SP comments a year or 2 ago. Trying to get an idea how folks spend their non sauna time in SP. In Rio a typical day for me would be some am work, a jog at the beach, maybe the gym or a late am hour or 2 at the beach, make lunch at the BnB and head out to do some shopping or Sexy Rose to follow. I assume there are places like Sexy Rose in SP and Brasilia. Early am sex clubs like Taurus, etc? 117 or 202 at 1800 hrs or so, with dinner before or after. Sometimes a nap and a late night early am event. A day here or there doing tourist stuff or a day trip. Sundays at the Ipanema Hippie Fair art market in the am and Gloria music events after lunch. Banju Sauna to follow. Depending on costs and my mood I will generally stay in Copa, Ipa near G Osorio or Paz, or Leblon near the M stop that is further out. Prices and general tranquility increase away from Copa. What are the equivalents for SP and Brasilia?

Thanks in advance.

[davet]

There's a lot of non-sex travel info for SP here. But in short, it's a tough city to love on the first trip. You have to look beneath the grit and grind and dive into its nooks and crannies and hidden neighborhoods between the massive roadways. As always, the gayborhood (Consolacao) is a fun, conveniently-located neighborhood, and Jardims can be quite pleasant. 

[ShivRoy]

Brasilia can be done in one full day if you sked a layover in a way that you arrive early morning and depart on a late flight in the evening. I've done exactly that twice - first time as my solo trip, and second time when I showed Brazil (and Brasilia) to my friends. You can comfortably see all the stunning architecture in one full day, other than that there's little to do there and I recall the sauna there to be disappointing. In both visits, I didn't spend a night. Brasilia is a must-see, but more of a layover destination.

[ShivRoy]

WIth regard to SP, I'm no fan of the city - echoing what @davet said, it's tough to love on the first visit, but to me it's been equally tough any subsequent visits as well.

What I really love in SP is the Japanese community in Liberdade - generally, Brazil has the biggest Japanese community outside of Japan (larger than in the U.S.), and a lot of them are in SP in Liberdade which is sort of a Japantown. Excellent food, best sushi I tried anywhere outside of Japan, simply incredible. Other than that, some world-class cocktail bars in upscale neighborhoods. But unlike to many others on this forum, SP is not the city I'm rushing to return to in Brazil. Tastes differ of course, yada yada yada.