Located to the north of Praça da Sé, the Mercado Municipal (Rua da Cantareira 306) is an imposing neo-Gothic hall built in 1933. In addition to its enormous display of Brazilian fruits, vegetables, cheeses, and other food goods, the hall is noted for its huge stained-glass windows depicting scenes of coffee growing and cattle ranching. The market is open Monday through Saturday from 5am to 4pm, but is at its most active in the early morning.

One of the few remaining relics of old São Paulo, the Páteo de Colégio complex sits a hop and a skip north from Praça da Sé on Rua Boa Vista, on the exact site where the original Jesuit mission was founded in 1554. Though built in 1896, the simple Anchieta Chapel (daily 8am-5pm) is an accurate reproduction of the original. Next door to the chapel, the newly renovated Museu Padre Anchieta (Tues-Sat 9am-5pm; R$5/US$2) features a number of maps of São Paulo through the years, plus a large diorama of the original settlement. Better yet, at the back of the complex there's the green and quiet Café do Páteo.

Explore São Paulo

  ·Along Avenida Paulista
  ·Around São Paulo
  ·Bixiga
  ·Butantã and Morumbi
  ·Jardins
  ·Liberdade
  ·North of Praça da Sé
  ·Parque do Estado
  ·Parque do Ibirapuera
  ·Praça da República and around
  ·Praça da Sé