Tours

You can hire a bilingual guide through a travel agency or a hotel concierge (about R$15 an hour with a four-hour minimum), or you can design your own itineraries. The São Paulo tourist board's Cidade São Paulo website offers various themed walking itineraries and English-language audio guides, and it outlines tours facilitated by subway through the TurisMetrô program, run by SPTuris, which also conducts three half-day bus tours on Sunday: one covering the parks, one centered on the museums, and one focused on the historical downtown area. Officially, the board's guides don't speak English, but it's sometimes possible to arrange for an English speaker.

Contacts

Check Point. Check Point's daily tours specialize in everything from the city and business trips, to eco-tourism and theme parks. They don't have a physical location, so reservations are online-only. São Paulo, São Paulo. 11/2791–1316; 11/99187–1393; www.checkpointtours.com.br.

Gol Tour Viagens e Turismo. This company offers half-day city tours, and they also do custom and out-of-town tours for small groups to cities such as Campos do Jordão. Centro, São Paulo, São Paulo. 11/3256–2388; www.goltour.com.br.

SP Free Walking Tours. To explore the city's historic center or the gleaming towers and old mansions around Avenida Paulista, join one of the free, English-language group tours run by this outfitter. Tours are around three hours long; check their site for a full weekly schedule and meeting points. São Paulo, São Paulo. www.saopaulofreewalkingtour.com.