Jasmine W.
Yelp
While researching things to do in São Paulo, Mercado Municipal kept coming up as a cool thing to see in the city. And on my first full day in São Paulo, I was able to check it out for myself!
A group of 5 of us drove over from Santo Amaro, which took around an hour and a half on a Wednesday mid-morning. When we got close to the market, we tried to find parking but had a difficult time. 3 of us ended up getting dropped off on Rua da Cantareira and the other 2 eventually found a paid parking lot to leave the car at. Unless you're really close to Centro, plan on hitting traffic if you are trying to get to the market...it seems to be bad everywhere!
The market itself, located in Centro, is HUGE. Unlike the farmers markets I'm accustomed to in Honolulu, Mercado Municipal is completely indoors. For a Wednesday, the market was crowded! I think there were a lot of tourists there like myself, but it seemed like there were also a lot of locals in the mix.
There are a number of vendors selling a wide variety of products: fresh produce, dried fruits, fresh meat and seafood, preserved meat and seafood (sausage or bachalau, anyone?), sauces, spices, oil, beer, cheese...you name it, and its Brazilian equivalent is likely to be found here! What's cool is that a lot of these products can't be found in grocery stores or in other parts of the city, so if you see/try something you like, you should get some if you think you'll want it later. Be adventurous...if samples are being offered, you should try! I ended up trying some fresh fruit samples at a few booths of fruits I'd never seen before (like custard apple) and loved it so much I bought some to eat for breakfast throughout the rest of my trip! I also ended up getting some hot sauces to bring back for family and friends, some cheese to sample in the evening, and bachalau (that was vacuum-packed) to bring back for my dad. Just remember if you are traveling back to the US, certain things can't be brought in to the country including any meat products or fresh fruits! Check the US Customs website for the most updated information on what can and can't be brought into the US from overseas.
There are also restaurants and food stalls scattered throughout the ground floor, and restaurants exclusively on the second floor. (If you enter from the Rua de Cantareira side of the market, walk straight to the opposite side of the market and there are few stairs/elevators that you can take to get to the second floor.) These restaurants and stalls cover a lot of ground: sandwiches, pastel, egg tarts, smoothies, acai, beer...come hungry and with a friend so you can try stuff from a number of different stalls!
With shopping and eating time put together, we spent almost 3 hours exploring Mercado Municipal. Its a great central place to taste and see São Paulo, and a must if you are visiting internationally!
TL;DR - lots of traffic in the surrounding area, both restaurants and vendors, and samples to try new Brazilian things!