Ibirapuera Park

Blessed with over 2 million square meters of green space, São Paulo's version of Central Park offers quite a bit to see and do. You can wander the paths beside pleasant lagoons or in the Japanese garden; you can jog the exercise track (called a pista de cooper in Portuguese) or rent a bicycle (R$5/US$1.65 per hour) and cycle the pathways. Every Sunday morning there's a free outdoor concert in the park's Praça da Paz. Sundays from 10am to 4pm you can take advantage of the Bosque de Leitura, a kind of free outdoor lending library that lets you borrow magazines or books (including many in English) to read in the park for the duration of day. In the corner near Gate 3 there's the Museu de Arte Moderna (Museum of Modern Art). Just nearby there's the OCA Auditorium, a flying saucer-shaped building that often hosts traveling art exhibits (see www.brasilconnects.org for upcoming events). There are fruit, juice, and ice-cream vendors everywhere in the park, but if you want more substantial fare, the Green Restaurant (tel. 011/557-9770; open Mon-Fri 9am-3:30pm, Sat-Sun 9am-6pm) offers a good kilo selection at R$18 (US$6) per kilogram. The Planetarium is closed for renovations.