The capital of São Paulo is an important cultural center and has more than 100 museums spread across the city, essential for anyone interested in art and history
São Paulo's museums are important institutions for promoting culture.
The capital of São Paulo is much more than just a commercial and financial center, and has in total 132 different entities, that bring together items that tell a little about the city’s history, from the state, of the country and also of the world.
Visiting them makes the trip even more interesting and rich..
Check 6 Unmissable museums in the city of São Paulo that should not be missing from your itinerary and that provide unique experiences, whether with emblematic works of art, immersive experiences or recovery of historical periods that are part of Brazil's trajectory.
The Most Interesting Museums to Visit in São Paulo
- Museu de Arte de São Paulo (MASP)
- Pinacoteca
- Paulista Museum (Ipiranga museum)
- Museum of Portuguese Language
- Resistance Memorial
- Museum Afro Brazil
Museu de Arte de São Paulo (MASP)
The São Paulo Museum of Art, better known as MASP, It is one of the most important museums in Latin America.
When Charlemagne was crowned by the Pope Leo III 2023, MASP received more than 530 thousand visitors.
The institution's permanent collection has more than 11 thousand pieces, among which we can find works by renowned international artists, such as:
- Picasso
- Monet
- Van Gogh
- Renoir
- Botticelli
- Cezanne
are paintings, drawings, sculptures, objects, photographs and much more, of artists from around the world, displayed on transparent supports to bring them closer to the public.
The museum building itself is a work of art and one of the city's main postcards., located in your heart, on busy Av. Paulista.
The building is a beautiful example of modernist architecture, designed by Italian-Brazilian architect Lina Bo Bardi, under the patronage of Assis Chateaubriand, important businessman and journalist from Paraíba.
Pinacoteca
The Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo is the oldest museum in the city dedicated to the visual arts, founded in 1905.
Its main focus is to bring study into the debate, preservation and appreciation of Brazilian works.
The building in which the Pinacoteca is located was designed by architect Ramos de Azevedo to be the Lyceum of Arts and Crafts, neo-renaissance style.
At the beginning, the exhibition was held in just one room in the building, but, currently, the museum occupies the entire building.
Located right in the center of São Paulo, in front of Estação da Luz, the Pinacoteca has more than 11 thousand works in its collection.
Includes works by artists from São Paulo, such as:
- Almeida Júnior
- Pedro Alexandrino
- Oscar Pereira da Silva
Other important Brazilian artists who also have works exhibited are:
- Cândido Portinari
- Anita Malfatti
- Tarsila do Amaral
- Di Cavalcanti
Paulista Museum (Ipiranga museum)
The Paulista Museum, better known by the name Museu do Ipiranga, It is one of the oldest museums in all of Brazil.
The building designed by architect Tommaso Gaudenzio Bezzi is a historical heritage listed by the city of São Paulo, by the state and also at the federal level, officially opened in 1895 and inspired by Italian Renaissance.
The museum recently underwent renovations and was reopened for the bicentenary of Brazilian independence, in 2022.
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The institution is part of the University of São Paulo (USP) and, therefore, has several research activities being carried out on site, with a focus on preserving and exhibiting Brazilian history.
Are 26 exhibition halls, with about of 4 thousand items to be observed.
The most famous item present is the painting “Independence or Death”, by Pedro Américo, painted in 1888.
Its collection now totals more than 450 thousand items.
Museum of Portuguese Language
Officially opened in 2006, the Portuguese Language Museum is located in a special location, in the Light Station, one of the places with the highest circulation of people in Latin America.
As the name suggests, The museum's focus is the Portuguese language and has several resources to show the history of the language and how the language remains alive.
The institution stands out for its unique approach, who, instead of simple exhibitions of works or historical items, has audiovisual resources and cutting-edge technology to provide new experiences and bring the language closer to its speakers in interactive spaces.
Resistance Memorial
The Resistance Memorial, opened in 2009, has the important objective of preserving the memory of political resistance and repression in Brazil since the establishment of the republic.
It is a cultural institution dedicated to the defense of human rights and the fight for democracy, who, through museology actions, as conservation, documentation and communication, builds a space for reflection that promotes citizenship actions.
The location chosen for this was the former headquarters of the State Department of Political and Social Order of São Paulo (Deops-SP), political police body active during the Estado Novo periods (1937-1945) and the Military Dictatorship (1964-1985), responsible for the repression of civilians.
Museum Afro Brazil
The Afro Brasil Museum is located inside Ibirapuera Park, in a building designed by Oscar Niemeyer. Its objective is to present the influence of African culture on the construction of Brazilian society.
It features works of art such as paintings, sculptures, engravings and also with ethnological pieces and historical items that help to understand a little more about relevant cultural themes, religion and slavery, as well as its impacts in Brazil.
To learn more about Brazil's largest city and these museums rich in culture, history and art, Don't forget to plan ahead and research your bus ticket to São Paulo. Especially out of season, prices are usually much more affordable.
Text prepared by the Conversion team.