The Sights and Sounds of Avenida Paulista in Sao Paulo

2 years ago, I briefly wrote about Avenida Paulista (Paulista Avenue) in The Sights and Sounds of Downtown Sao Paulo, Brazil. Avenida Paulista is basically the modern Downtown Sao Paulo and the streets are filled with retail, restaurants, bars, and shopping complexes. I visited during the 2014 FIFA World Cup and Paulista Avenue was quite festive.

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The Sights and Sounds of Avenida Paulista in Sao Paulo
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The Sights and Sounds of FIFA Fan Fest in Rio de Janeiro
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From a previous blog comment, a reader by the name of ‘harvson3’ explains that Avenida Paulista in Brazil has the same shorthand function that the expression “Wall Street” has in the United States. Both are metonyms for “big businesses.”

‘harvson3’ also explains that awkward pyramidal building on Avenida Paulista is FIESP, the Sao Paulo State Federation of Industries. It’s the largest chamber of commerce in South America. It’s an ugly but memorable building.

Avenida Paulista is also home to the famous MASP museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Sao Paulo.

As I was walking around Paulista Avenue, I saw some of the national team members in larger than life form.

A very colorful and decorative car drove by with Brazilian music to celebrate the national team on opening match day.

The policia military (military police) was out in full force protecting the city of Sao Paulo during World Cup opening match day.

The sidewalks of Avenida Paulista were lined up with street vendors hawking their World Cup wares.

If sidewalk shopping isn’t your thing, you can also hop into one of the many shopping complexes where they sell counterfeit handbags, watches, CDs, and DVDs.

There are also numerous cafes and restaurants throughout the day. Note that Avenida Paulista comes to life at night with patrons crowding bars and restaurants.

I headed over to Brigadeiro metro station and headed towards Downtown Sao Paulo for FIFA Fan Fest. There was also a huge security presence in the metro stations which was a huge plus considering opening match day is one of the biggest events Sao Paulo has ever hosted.