9hr layover in São Paulo - Is there anything I can hope to do? (best, cost)

[Pueblofuerte]

Hey guys, I have a 9 hour layover in Guarulhos airport in mid March, is there anything I can do in that time? How's transport to downtown?

[cebuan]

Expensive, I bet. There is always something to do, but the biggest challenge is finding ground transport. There is a local city bus -- Exit Terminal 1 Arrivals and head for the middle island. Look for buses 257 or 299. They may not board you if you are carrying more baggage than will fit on your lap.

[ricardobrazil]

Guarulhos finally has a train service which connects you to São Paulo. It's Line 13 - Jade:



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Om7AZ1Ie5i0

[ricardobrazil]

It costs 4.00 BRL (expect to rise to 4.65 or so in 2019).


As the station is located over a mile away from Terminal 2/3 you just ride the free shuttle to station

[ricardobrazil]

In short:


1 - Shuttle: From Airport to Line 13 train station (10/15 minutes)
2 - Line 13: from Aeroporto - Guarulhos (Airport) to Engº Goulart. Transfer to Line 12. (15 minutes) <-20min gap

3 - Line 12: From Engº Goulart to Tatuapé (easier transfer to Line 3, but available for free only on weekdays from 10am to 5pm and 8pm to 0am /saturday after 3pm/sunday all day long) (10 minutes) or Brás (long walk to line 3, but for free at all times) (20 minutes)

4 - Line 3: From Brás to Sé. Transfer to Line 1 (5 minutes)

5 - Line 1: From Sé to Paraíso. Transfer to Line 2 (10 minutes)
6 - Line 2: From Paraíso to Trianon-Masp (5 minutes)

Sounds complicated i know but in just a little over 1 hour you go from GRU to downtown SP, avoiding our ever-jammed traffic...and depending on which exact time you're arriving there's train express services that can cut that time to almost a half.

[Vacanegro]

There used to be a neighborhood nearby with some Churasco restaurants. I ate there a couple of times before being dropped at the airport. You could search restaurant ratings in that area.

[Pueblofuerte]

Great info Ricardo Thank you soo much!!

I think I might prefer Rua São Bento and the area around Sé than the Av. Paulista, what do you think?

Also do I need some sort of electronic transport card, if so how much? Or can I pay contactless with my card/phone? And what is that thin green line that goes straight to Luz station?

[ricardobrazil]

Originally Posted by Pueblofuerte

Great info Ricardo Thank you soo much!!

I think I might prefer Rua São Bento and the area around Sé than the Av. Paulista, what do you think?

Also do I need some sort of electronic transport card, if so how much? Or can I pay contactless with my card/phone? And what is that thin green line that goes straight to Luz station?

Great choice...you're going to meet the best of our cultural heritage.

Here are my suggestions for a 2 hour walk around Sé, from São Bento Station (Line 1):







- Exit the station on Largo de São Bento (get directions at station maps)


1 - Go straight on Boa Vista street for like 5 minutes until you reach Pateo do Collegio, birthplace of city back in 1554 when Jesuit Priest José de Anchieta founded a little village on a mission of evagelizing the natives. Walk inside to see remmnants of original building dated from 1585. There's also a museum with lots of old maps, sketches and paintings from city centuries ago and even a model of the city back in medieval times when it was surrounded by walls, really worth it. It costs 8.00 BRL.




2 - Down the street you'll find Praça da Sé, our central square, which holds the zero landmark of the city and also Catedral da Sé, a Cathedral built in neo-gothic style, completed in 1969. It's actually the second one...the former one was built in 1616 and got demolished back in 1911.





3 - Turn right on Benjamin Constant street and head for Faculdade de Direito do Largo de São Francisco, Brazil's oldest Law School, built back in 1827.


4 - Turn right again at Libero Badaró street and then left at Viaduto do Chá, a viaduct leading to one of the most beautiful buildings we have, the Theatro Municipal, an opera house built in 1911, designed by Ramos de Azevedo, an architect famous for his works on reshaping São Paulo in the early 20th century.




5 - Right next to it lies Praça Ramos de Azevedo, a square also designed by him, a green space with sculptures made in Italy in honor of Brazilian composer Carlos Gomes, nicknamed Fountain of Wishes by locals




6 - Walk through the valley below heading back to São Bento station, but stop for sights of Palácio dos Correios, our Central post office, from 1922. There's a permanent free-exhibition inside it showing history of post office here.




7 - Across the street you'll see Edifício Martinelli (pointed in red below), our oldest skyscraper, a 30-story building from 1934. Unfortunately it's rooftop is closed for renovation but you can go to the white one in the middle instead, it's Altino Arantes, built in 1947 it's 3rd highest skyscraper in the city,161 meters tall. Tickets can be purchased here at 20.00 BRL.




8 - End your daytrip at same place where you started it, with good view of Mosteiro de São Bento, a monastery from 1922.

[ricardobrazil]

Originally Posted by Pueblofuerte

Also do I need some sort of electronic transport card, if so how much?

Not exactly...all of our metropolitan transport systems (metro and buses) are prepared to be paid with eletronic card, called Bilhete único. But there's also how to purchase single journey tikets at ticket office in stations.


Problem is for now tourists can only purchase our eletronic card at some very specific places (bus terminals) in São Paulo (remember the airport is in Guarulhos, another municipality), and it costs 4.00 BRL plus a minimum first charge value of 20.00 BRL.



So, if i were you i'd buy 2 unitary tickets (bilhete unitário) direct at ticket office in Aeroporto Guarulhos station. You'be able to use rail system the way i told you in the first reply. Use the other one to get back. If you also intend to use bus you'll have to purchase more, or pay in cash on the bus.

Originally Posted by Pueblofuerte

Or can I pay contactless with my card/phone?

We don't have that technology yet.

Originally Posted by Pueblofuerte

And what is that thin green line that goes straight to Luz station?

That is the Express Service, a non-stop train that goes straight to Luz. It's just a little more expensive (8.00 BRL) but it runs on weekdays only, leaving Guarulhos (platform 2) at 9am / 11am / 1pm / 3pm / 9pm. Return is from platform 5 at Luz: 10am / noon / 2pm / 4pm / 10pm.


There's also a Connect Service, a train that runs from Guarulhos to Brás (avoiding transfer to line 12), but it make all stops on the way (same fare as normal service). It runs on weekdays 6:20am, 7am, 7:40am, 6pm, 6:40pm and 7:20pm, and on saturdays at 6:20am, 7am, 7:40am (all times on both destinations). It doesn't run on Sundays/holydays.

[Pueblofuerte]

^^
Dude you're an absolute Legend! I love you for taking the time out to create that map lol.

I think I'm going to try to get the express train if I can. Also what do you think about having 90mins or so around Villa Magdalena maybe for a nice lunch or something before heading back to airport?

In case I haven't made it clear you are a LEGEND! Cheers mate