Sao Paulo, Brazil

São Paulo (meaning St. Paul in English) is the capital of São Paulo state in southeastern Brazil. It is located 250 miles (400 km) from Rio de Janeiro, and 640 miles (1030 km) from Brasília.

The city proper has 1575 sq kilometers (575 sq miles) of area and had a population of 10.9 million in 2003, making it the largest city in Brazil by far and the world’s second largest city in terms of population.

About 20 million people live in the Greater São Paulo metropolitan area, which is currently ranked as the second-largest in the world and the largest in the Southern Hemisphere, though different sources may put the city in fifth, sixth or seventh positions. The city and state of São Paulo are so economically relevant for the patterns of South America that they are considered a separate region of Brazil when international competitiveness rankings are formulated. Concerts, plays, film festivals, fashion shows, and international sports events, São Paulo disputes with Rio de Janeiro the title of Brazil's capital of culture and sports.

The city has a multicultural metropolitan area, which some have compared to New York, with heavy Portuguese, Italian, Arabian and Japanese influences. It is the city with the largest number of Japanese people outside Japan. São Paulo is known for its varied and sophisticated gastronomy, ranging from Chinese to French, from fast food chains to five star restaurants. Its night life is animated by thousands of bars, pubs, lounges, and discos, that cater for a variety of music tastes and are often open all night.

São Paulo is home to the largest university in Brazil (University of São Paulo), to a major art museum (MASP), a major symphonic orchestra (OSESP), a Formula One Grand Prix race track (Interlagos), and the world's largest private-owned sports stadium (Morumbi, site of the São Paulo soccer team).

There are two major airports in the São Paulo metropolitan area: Guarulhos (GRU, for domestic and international flights) and Congonhas (CGH, for domestic flights only). São Paulo's birthday is January 25.