The upmarket old-fashioned service supermarket in São Paulo. If you can't find it here, you probably can't find it anywhere in Brazil (with exceptions detailed in other tips). Not cheap, but management very obliging and they can often start a food trend - eg a year ago there was hardly any basmati rice in Brazil and what there was was exorbitantly priced. I lobbied them and now they stock 5 varieties - all of a sudden tandoori chicken and curries are appearing on the menus of various restaurants. If you want to make a feijoada to impress friends you can buy a ready-made pack here.

Casa Santa Luzia Imp. Ltda
Alameda Lorena, 1471
01424-001 São Paulo SP
www.santaluzia.com.br/default.asp

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A bookshop that has grown explosively since 1990 together with the Brazilian publishing industry expanding from 1 shop to 4 (General/Arts & Leisure/Languages/Science & Business) all in the same office/shopping complex on the Central Avenida Paulista as well as a branch in the Villa Lobos shopping centre - if you're looking for a book, this should be your first port of call, and note that Brazilian bookshops are genuinely multilingual with lots of books in Portuguese/English/Spanish/French/Italian.

www.livrariacultura.com.br/scripts/cultura/index.asp

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Tucked away in the centre of SP but one of the great food markets of the world (IMHO) in a railway-station like building dating from 1928 - best place to buy fish/meat/cheese/fruit/spices - anything edible in SP (NB if you're going to buy fish like tuna/salmon, look for the Japanese owners and ask for sashimi quality)

Has also undergone a pleasing renovation with a glass-floored balcony section that allows you to admire the stained-glass windows or watch the commotion below while eating the famous pasteis de bacalhau - a fried A4 size pasty full of shredded salt cod, or sandwiches with gravity defying amounts of ham/salami/mortadella/cheese, etc. Not very good on veg, but there is a more conventional market across the road which sells live animals.

Rua da Cantareira - Metro São Bento (turn right and go down the hill to 25 de Março, then turn left).

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A 19th century park dating back to the 2nd Empire full of German chalets that began life as an animal breeding centre and is now just a park, although it has some interesting features and seems pretty safe (not necessarily true of other SP parks like Trianon/Luz). A good Saturday morning excursion for parents with young children - swings, a mini zoo, an aquarium, at 11am usually a free open air theatre. There is also a pond full of ducks and next to it a reconstructed hut which serves traditional corn meal griddle cakes cooked over an open fire and free coffee for 25p each.

Also worth noting is the farmer's market selling organic produce (Tues and Sat, although it's only on Sats that stallholders turn out in force - look out for the Demetria stall selling first rate biodynamic breads/jams/dairy products, only to get e.g. their butter you have to be there before 8 am or call them and order in advance.

www.parqueaguabranca.sp.gov.br/

Av. Francisco Matarazzo, 455, but several entrances - incl. Rua Ministro Godoy

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Hard to believe, but the latest craze in Brazil is coffee bars, due to the fact that until the mid-90s, all the good stuff was exported leaving the dregs for the locals. Luckily, the charge has been led by discerning locals rather than Starbucks.

Santo Grão is actually run by a Kiwi who married into a traditional producer's family but with the zeal of the newly converted he has opened a large café which organises tastings and also sells bulk coffee - try the coffees from Minas which are smoother than traditional Paulista ones, notably Cerrado Mineiro, but make sure they grind it properly.

Oscar Freire, 413
www.santograo.com.br/

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