Recommendations for Sao Paulo?

[mjd]

I'm going to be in Sao Paulo a few days next month. I've read the great praise for the sauna at Lagoa, but there must be lots of other great places. I've checked the listings on the Brazillian websites but they are exhaustive--I'm hoping that someone can recommend to me a few good places to check out--maybe another saunas, movie theater, bars, or clubs. I'm staying downtown at Itamarati Hotel.

[trilingual]

The Fragata sauna is smaller than Lagoa, but festive. It's in the upscale Jardins area of the city; see the Brazilian Saunas review (the very first one) for details. Another reviewer posted about Sauna Alterosas, in a less-deluxe part of town. Evidently he had a good time!

 

There are any number of escort websites in SP that you might want to look at, if you haven't already. Many are mentioned in other threads on this board, but probably the largest is http://www.olimpos.com.br

 

The street your hotel is located on (Av. Vieira de Carvalho) is VERY gay at night: its only about three blocks long and is lined with gay bars. Especially in the summer the crowds will overflow into the streets. You can begin your evening at Cafe Vermont (on the corner with Pça. da República) which is crowded from around 11:00 to 1:00 a.m., after which the patrons head for the dance clubs. If you haven't had dinner, order a "frango à passarinho" to go with your beer. It's very good at Cafe Vermont and is really a meal in itself. Across the street is the Caneca de Prata, an historic gay establishment that has a tradition of being a meeting place for mature gentlemen and potential rentable companions. Working your way down the street towards the other square, the Largo do Arouche, you'll come to the Lord Byron, a more sedate establishment that gets a somewhat more upscale crowd, the Habeas Copus, a somewhat American-style place in the rustic mode with a long bar, the Queen Victoria, large and usually crowded, and a couple of discos on the Largo do Arouche for the late night crowd. There are also some typical generic Brazilian bars that are cheaper and get a more downscale clientele, but it all ends up blending together as the crowds overflow the bars and hang out on the sidewalk, the median strip, etc. Down towards the Largo do Arouche end of the street there is some street hustling. AYOR, needless to say.

 

There are numerous cruisy movie theaters downtown. I haven't been in a while, so I don't have a current personal recommendation. Maybe ArthurBrazil has some suggestions? Some of the theaters advertise in the local gay bar papers, and there is one called the Cine Saci that advertises on one of the biggest Brazilian gay websites. The Dom José, on the street of the same name downtown (which is located across the Pça. da República from Vieira de Carvalho) used to be a major hot spot. For the three or four reais it probably costs to get in, you won't lose much in order to check it out. I think there's also a cinema across from the Dom José, whose name I don't recall (something like Versailles?) that's also supposed to be cruisy.

 

That should keep you busy, I think!!!

[sf traveler]

I spent a week in Sao Paulo last April and I have to tell you Lagoa was where I wanted to go every night! It's big, it's beautiful, and so are they. Basically, with all the usual caveats, the boys were sweet as could be and frisky as hell. No place else could be as interesting. While there I met up with Jake from this board and some of his later posts describe his visits to the seamy side of SP's nightlife on another visit. His descriptions seemed very interesting, but ultimately not as satisfying as Lagoa. Unless you love nightclubs, go to Lagoa and you'll never look back.