Things to do for Children in Sao Paulo
I use to complain about how there was nothing to do here for children compared to the museums in London but the problem is actually finding out about things. Here's a list of a few things I've come across and welcome any additions!
Cupcake Classes in English or Portuguese by Sophie & Theo's Cupcakes - Baking and decorating lesson for all ages.
Ibirapuera Park - large playground near Gate 6 and 7, feed ducks and swans.
Trianon-MASP park - playgrounds shaded from Sao Paulo summer heat, on Av Paulista
Sao Paulo Aquarium in Vila Mariana. Make sure you purchase your tickets online (R35 for an adult). To buy in person on arrival is R40 an adult, R30 for children over the age of 3.
Livraria da Vila - activity hour at 4pm during school holidays, Lorena in Jardins and Fradique in Vila Madalena. Educacuca also have portuguese classes for different age babies. You can pick 1 or 2 times a week. Email Cris for more details. Love just hanging out in the children's book section.
Petting Zoo in Santo Amaro
Cinema for mothers and babies (under 18 months)
Cia dos Bichos - petting zoo, a day trip out for everyone
My Gym - softplay area for babies and toddlers. Has classes and free play sessions.
Instituto Brincante - famous Brazilian theatre school runs music + theatre classes for kids of different ages. Based in Vila Madalena.
Galpo de circo - circus training (trampolines!) for children above the age of 4! Can't wait for my girls to be old enough! In Vila Madalena.
Parque Burle Marx - need to get a car (or have a taxi wait for you) to get to this park on the far side of Morumbi. Love this park for it's natural walking trails. Our girls love running through leaves, picking up twigs and jumping up and down in puddles here.
Cobasi - ok I know that this is a pet shop and not a children's shop but on a rainy day the girls love running around it. It's big and has fish, birds, dogs to adopt, dogs just shopping, ferrets, cats - basically a free mini-zoo! We usually go to the one up near Parque Vila-Lobos.
Praçinha da Vila Nova Conceiação - A favourite of families in the neighbourhood. If you go on a weekday it is filled with nannies and their charges, and on weekends it's filled with families who have nowhere else to go. I like to go there because it's close to my favourite yoghurt shop (Delicari) and I can usually find parking on a weekday.
SESC is like their version of YMCA and there are always subsidised activities for everyone! Sign up to their regular newsletter so you can find out when they have free theatre, activities or if they are running their indoor sandpit (pinheiros location) for the holidays!
Kindermusik Classes with Camille Milller - English music classes in Pinheiros starting this February 2015. Professional singer-songwriter turned professional supermum is starting music classes for up to 7 year olds. Check out her demo class this Saturday 7th 10am.
Instituto Butantan is home to snakes and spiders and the first anti-venom hospital in the world. It has made it's home on old farmland with lots of old buildings sprinkled around. You can visit the snakes and spider museum, check out the history museum and during school holidays they put together a week of great (free) activities!! It is a must-go for us and the staff there are great with kids!
Catavento - a great place for kids for all ages. It is an interactive Science Museum - R $6 for adults and R$3 for children over the age of 4 years old. My girls looove running through the solar system section through to the butterflies and mini aquarium ... to the interactive section with bubbles and tornados and balances - and it's all educational too! It's also 2 minutes away from Mercado Municipal where you can pop in for the best oysters in town with a beer and pastels for the kids!
Great restaurants for children
To be honest, most restaurants here in Brazil are SO child-friendly. They could be running around in circles, screaming at the top of their lungs, flicking chocolate ice-cream on some high-society Paulista's new cream linen dress and everyone will still coo over how cute they are!
Chacara Santa Cecilia in Pinheiros is a giant buffet style restaurant with lots of trees and light. It does make you feel like you are far away from the big tall buildings of São Paulo. There is a playroom for children. Food was good and the kids could run around freely. About R$90 per adult and children under age of 3 eat for free.
Churrascaria Vento Haragano on Reboucas- playroom for children upstairs. Give your child, their name and your table number to one of the childminders and go and enjoy your meal!
Adega Santiago - one of my favourites here, a Paulistano institution! Portuguese restaurant, has tapas style dishes and everything is delicious. I will even eat bacalhau here... go to the one in Shopping Cidade Jardim (yes, a shopping mall) and get a table outside so the children can run around while you sip on your Dao, slurp on oysters and watch the sunset.
Zeni Sushi - well this is one of our favourite Brazilian rodizio sushi restaurants located a hop, skip and jump away from our favourite hole-in-the-wall, Boteco das Cesinhas. It opens at 7pm and we take the girls there for our family dinners and they can eat as much salmon sashimi as they want (without us having a heart attack over the bill).
Canter Bar at the Jockey Club - a great Saturday afternoon out. Enjoy their feijoiada lunch with some beers, caiprinhas and placings bets on the horses (races start at 2pm). Kids can run around and around, watching the horses come on and off the track and go for free pony rides in the parking lot. You can book a table ahead if you are going as a big group.
Rascal - you can find this buffet restaurant (Mediterranean / Italian) in most shopping malls but what is great is that the food is very good, you can have a drink and the kids can eat for free.
I use to complain about how there was nothing to do here for children compared to the museums in London but the problem is actually finding out about things. Here's a list of a few things I've come across and welcome any additions!
Cupcake Classes in English or Portuguese by Sophie & Theo's Cupcakes - Baking and decorating lesson for all ages.
Ibirapuera Park - large playground near Gate 6 and 7, feed ducks and swans.
Trianon-MASP park - playgrounds shaded from Sao Paulo summer heat, on Av Paulista
Sao Paulo Aquarium in Vila Mariana. Make sure you purchase your tickets online (R35 for an adult). To buy in person on arrival is R40 an adult, R30 for children over the age of 3.
Livraria da Vila - activity hour at 4pm during school holidays, Lorena in Jardins and Fradique in Vila Madalena. Educacuca also have portuguese classes for different age babies. You can pick 1 or 2 times a week. Email Cris for more details. Love just hanging out in the children's book section.
Petting Zoo in Santo Amaro
Cinema for mothers and babies (under 18 months)
Cia dos Bichos - petting zoo, a day trip out for everyone
My Gym - softplay area for babies and toddlers. Has classes and free play sessions.
Instituto Brincante - famous Brazilian theatre school runs music + theatre classes for kids of different ages. Based in Vila Madalena.
Galpo de circo - circus training (trampolines!) for children above the age of 4! Can't wait for my girls to be old enough! In Vila Madalena.
Parque Burle Marx - need to get a car (or have a taxi wait for you) to get to this park on the far side of Morumbi. Love this park for it's natural walking trails. Our girls love running through leaves, picking up twigs and jumping up and down in puddles here.
Cobasi - ok I know that this is a pet shop and not a children's shop but on a rainy day the girls love running around it. It's big and has fish, birds, dogs to adopt, dogs just shopping, ferrets, cats - basically a free mini-zoo! We usually go to the one up near Parque Vila-Lobos.
Praçinha da Vila Nova Conceiação - A favourite of families in the neighbourhood. If you go on a weekday it is filled with nannies and their charges, and on weekends it's filled with families who have nowhere else to go. I like to go there because it's close to my favourite yoghurt shop (Delicari) and I can usually find parking on a weekday.
SESC is like their version of YMCA and there are always subsidised activities for everyone! Sign up to their regular newsletter so you can find out when they have free theatre, activities or if they are running their indoor sandpit (pinheiros location) for the holidays!
Kindermusik Classes with Camille Milller - English music classes in Pinheiros starting this February 2015. Professional singer-songwriter turned professional supermum is starting music classes for up to 7 year olds. Check out her demo class this Saturday 7th 10am.
Instituto Butantan is home to snakes and spiders and the first anti-venom hospital in the world. It has made it's home on old farmland with lots of old buildings sprinkled around. You can visit the snakes and spider museum, check out the history museum and during school holidays they put together a week of great (free) activities!! It is a must-go for us and the staff there are great with kids!
Catavento - a great place for kids for all ages. It is an interactive Science Museum - R $6 for adults and R$3 for children over the age of 4 years old. My girls looove running through the solar system section through to the butterflies and mini aquarium ... to the interactive section with bubbles and tornados and balances - and it's all educational too! It's also 2 minutes away from Mercado Municipal where you can pop in for the best oysters in town with a beer and pastels for the kids!
Great restaurants for children
To be honest, most restaurants here in Brazil are SO child-friendly. They could be running around in circles, screaming at the top of their lungs, flicking chocolate ice-cream on some high-society Paulista's new cream linen dress and everyone will still coo over how cute they are!
Chacara Santa Cecilia in Pinheiros is a giant buffet style restaurant with lots of trees and light. It does make you feel like you are far away from the big tall buildings of São Paulo. There is a playroom for children. Food was good and the kids could run around freely. About R$90 per adult and children under age of 3 eat for free.
Churrascaria Vento Haragano on Reboucas- playroom for children upstairs. Give your child, their name and your table number to one of the childminders and go and enjoy your meal!
Adega Santiago - one of my favourites here, a Paulistano institution! Portuguese restaurant, has tapas style dishes and everything is delicious. I will even eat bacalhau here... go to the one in Shopping Cidade Jardim (yes, a shopping mall) and get a table outside so the children can run around while you sip on your Dao, slurp on oysters and watch the sunset.
Zeni Sushi - well this is one of our favourite Brazilian rodizio sushi restaurants located a hop, skip and jump away from our favourite hole-in-the-wall, Boteco das Cesinhas. It opens at 7pm and we take the girls there for our family dinners and they can eat as much salmon sashimi as they want (without us having a heart attack over the bill).
Canter Bar at the Jockey Club - a great Saturday afternoon out. Enjoy their feijoiada lunch with some beers, caiprinhas and placings bets on the horses (races start at 2pm). Kids can run around and around, watching the horses come on and off the track and go for free pony rides in the parking lot. You can book a table ahead if you are going as a big group.
Rascal - you can find this buffet restaurant (Mediterranean / Italian) in most shopping malls but what is great is that the food is very good, you can have a drink and the kids can eat for free.
