This square—next to the river Anhangabaú (which means “bad spirits” in the native Tupi-Guarani language), at the triangle formed by the Monastery of São Bento, the Monastery of São Francisco and the Pátio do Colégio—was the center of life in São Paulo in the earliest years of the city’s history.

These days the river is hidden underground: its only remaining traces are the viaducts Viaduto do Chá and Viaduto Santa Efigênia which border what is now the Parque do Anhangabaú. And what a park it is: from its tranquil goemetric spaces you can admire a sculture garden, gaze at the sky-high splendors of the Edificio Martinelli and the Edificio do Banespa or simply sit and watch the cars rush out of the nearby highway busy tunnels.