South Central, São Paulo: neighborhood guide

South Central is the wealthiest part of São Paulo on average: tall residential towers, offices, clinics and two large malls, with far less of the street chaos of Downtown. It covers seven districts in three subprefectures — Vila Mariana, Moema and Saúde in the north and east, Campo Belo, Santo Amaro and Campo Grande in the southwest, and Jabaquara in the south.

The northern half grew as the city expanded south and is mostly residential, with a large Japanese-Brazilian community; the Festival do Japão, the community's biggest annual event, is held here. The southwestern half was the separate city of Santo Amaro until 1935, and its old centre around Largo 13 de Maio still works as a commercial hub for the Far South. Congonhas Airport sits in this half.

Av. Paulista clips the northern edge of the region. If your hotel is on the avenue or within about four blocks of it, use the Paulista guide instead — that is where most first-time visitors end up.

Yes, if your trip is built around Ibirapuera Park, good restaurants in Moema, or an early flight from Congonhas. The streets are quieter at night, hotels are comfortable, and Lines 1, 2 and 5 connect the region to Paulista and Downtown. Families and business travellers do well here.

No, if you want to step out of your hotel into bars, live music or colonial architecture. South Central is low-rise in atmosphere and spread out; evenings are residential. Stay in Paulista for museums and nightlife, or Downtown for the historic core and the cheapest beds, and visit Ibirapuera as a day trip on Line 2 or 5.

Moema and Vila Mariana are the easiest districts for a visitor: hotels, metro and restaurants within walking distance. Santo Amaro and Jabaquara are cheaper but more workaday, and better placed for the airport than for sightseeing.

Moema is the strongest eating district: Japanese restaurants and sushi bars, Italian, contemporary Brazilian and a dense cluster of cafés and bakeries around Av. Ibirapuera. Vila Mariana is more everyday — padarias, per-kilo lunch places, Korean and Japanese spots near the metro — and cheaper.

Santo Amaro and Largo 13 de Maio serve the office and commuter crowd: simple lunch counters, pastel and sugarcane juice, northeastern food. The two big malls on the same street in Morumbi hold hundreds of shops and dozens of restaurants, useful on a rainy day or with children.

For dinner, book in Moema on weekends; the good places fill up. Tipping is normally a 10% service charge already on the bill.

By metro and train: the region is served by Line 1 (Blue), Line 2 (Green) and Line 5 (Lilac), plus the Line 9 (Emerald) train. For Ibirapuera Park the closest station is AACD-Servidor on Line 5, which is also handy if you bring a bike. Other useful stops are Eucaliptos, Morumbi and Largo 13.

Line 17 (Gold) connects Congonhas Airport to the network but runs on a limited schedule, so check times before relying on it for a flight. By car, the main approaches are the Corredor Norte-Sul from the centre, Av. dos Bandeirantes from the west and Av. Dr. Ricardo Jafet from the southeast. Traffic is heavy in peak hours and parking is expensive.

On foot, Largo 13 de Maio is the liveliest old street scene, and Av. Ibirapuera in Moema is the upscale one. By bike there are about 3.3 km of cycleways in Moema on Av. Pavão, Av. Rouxinol and Av. Iraí, plus a stretch of the Marginal Pinheiros cycleway; the Ciclofaixa de Lazer leisure lanes also cross the area — check current operating days and hours before planning a ride.