The Metrô and Getting Around

Two lines under your feet

The best thing about the Suite's address, after the view, is what runs beneath it. República station sits right below Praça da República and is served by two metrô lines: Line 3 (Vermelha / Red), which runs east–west across the whole city, and Line 4 (Amarela / Yellow), the driverless line that heads north to Luz and south under Avenida Paulista. Between them, most of what you came to see is a short, air-conditioned ride away.

If República is ever busy, Anhangabaú (Line 3) is a couple of minutes' walk east, and Sé (Lines 1 and 3) and Luz (Lines 1 and 4) are both close by. You are, in metrô terms, about as central as the city gets.

The card, the fare, the hours

• Get a Bilhete Único. It's the rechargeable card that works on the metrô, the CPTM trains and the city buses, and it lets you transfer between them at a discount. Buy and top it up at any station booth or machine. You can also tap most contactless bank cards straight at the turnstile now.
• One flat fare gets you anywhere on the metrô, no matter the distance.
• Hours run from around 4:40am to midnight, a little later on Saturday nights. For late nights, an app-car is simpler.

Which stations matter to you

• República (Lines 3 & 4) — home.
• Luz (Lines 1 & 4) — two stops north on Line 4 for the Pinacoteca and Sala São Paulo.
• Paulista–Consolação (Line 4) — south for Avenida Paulista and MASP.
• Sé (Lines 1 & 3) — the old cathedral square and the historic center.

The metrô is clean, fast and easy to read. It is also the single best reason to leave the car at home.

A few honest tips

Ride outside the peaks if you can — roughly 7 to 9 in the morning and 5 to 7 in the evening, the central trains get properly full. Keep your phone in your pocket rather than out on the platform, the same as you would in any big city. And download an offline metrô map so you're not hunting for signal underground.

Once you have the card and the two lines straight, the whole of central São Paulo opens up from your own front door. Start with the self-guided walks — most of them use these exact stations.