If you have a free hour…

Don’t move. Rule number one in São Paulo: Never venture out into the city’s horrendous traffic unless you must. This may seem limiting, but there’s good news. The city is organized into self-contained neighborhoods, and every single one—including all four main business districts—offers attractions worth a visit.

Avenida Paulista is the symbol of São Paulo and remains its main business drag. Here, visit the São Paulo Museum of Art (MASP, closed Monday, 1578 Avenida Paulista, +55 11 3251-5644, masp.uol.com.br), the most important museum of Western art in Latin America.

Avenida Brigadeiro Faria Lima boasts office towers and the city’s most upscale shopping mall. The neighborhood hosts the Museu da Casa Brasileira (Museum of the Brazilian Home, 2705 Avenida Brigadeiro Faria Lima, +55 11 3032-3727, mcb.sp.gov.br), featuring Brazilian and international designs.

Morumbi is a fashionable residential district, and here you’ll find the Maria Luiza e Oscar Americano Foundation (closed Monday, 4077 Avenida Morumbi, +55 11 3742-0077, fundacaooscaramericano.org.br/eng/home.html), set in a modernist house full of paintings and other fineries amid sprawling gardens. The complex includes a fancy tearoom.

The Centro is experiencing a modest revitalization. Panoramic views of the city can be found at the Banespa Building (closed weekends, 24 Rua João Brícola, +55 11 3249-7180) and the Terraço Itália (344 Avenida Ipiranga, +55 11 2189-2929, terracoitalia.com.br).

If you have a free day…

The Metrô system isn’t great for getting to business meetings, but it does serve some of São Paulo’s most colorful and historic districts. These include the Centro (featuring the Municipal Theater, the Sé Cathedral and the historic São Francisco “patio”); the Avenida Paulista (shopping, MASP and the Trianon Park); Luz (the old English-style train station and an adjacent park, the Museum of Sacred Art, the Pinacoteca art museum, and the Museum of the Portuguese Language); and an Asian immigrant neighborhood called Liberdade. The Metrô runs guided tours on weekends, but all the attractions in each neighborhood can be visited independently.

If you have a free weekend…

When the locals, known as Paulistanos, want to escape São Paulo, they usually head for the coast: the beaches of northern São Paulo state; and the colonial town of Paraty, just across the border in Rio de Janeiro state. You can join the rich and often famous at Maresias beach in the town of São Sebastião. Maresias received six out of a possible 10 stars from GlobalSurfers, an online guide to surfing around the world. Local clubs offer nightlife on par with what you’d find in São Paulo.