Ibirapuera Park was laid out by landscape architect Roberto Burle Marx, with buildings designed by Oscar Niemeyer. The immense green space with its monuments, museums, playgrounds, gardens, trails, lakes, and performance spaces is a leisure paradise for the people of S£o Paulo, as well as a showcase of modern architecture and culture. Commemorating the pioneers from S£o Paulo who opened up Brazil’s interior, the Bandeiras Monument is a magnificent work by Brazilian sculptor Victor Brecheret, with imposing heroic figures. An obelisk commemorates those who died in 1932 in the struggle for a new constitution.

Auditório Ibirapuera, the ultra-modern music hall designed by Oscar Niemeyer, is considered one of S£o Paulo’s best concert venues. Museu da Aeronáutica e do Folclore, the Aeronautics and Folk Art Museum, displays aircraft models and flight equipment on the ground floor, with nearly 20,000 exhibits devoted to folk art and traditions from all over Brazil filling the remaining floors. The large Museu Afro-Brasil celebrates the contributions of Afro-Brazilians and their social and cultural history.