São José do Rio Preto is the city and municipality located in the state São Paulo in the southeastern part of Brazil. Vibrant, modern and dynamic, with vast cultural and entertainment offer is a perfect spot for young travelers.
Before the 19th century, the region was inhabited by indigenous people of Kaingang tribe. In the 19th century on the area of today’s state, São Paulo settled farmers from Minas Gerais. The town was established in 1852 on lands, that Luis Antônio da Silveira gave to the Catholic church in the homage to Saint Joseph. In 1912, together with dynamic development of railways. São José do Rio Preto transformed into the main shopping centre of the region.
In São José do Rio Preto you will find a few museums with interesting exhibitions, theatres and art galleries. It is worth to step just for a while to the cathedral São José do Rio Preto to see decorated with beautiful stained glass windows of the building. Parque da Represa Municipal will appeal to those that looks for calmness and contact with nature: it is perfect spot for morning jogging or walk by paths, with a good gastronomy infrastructure. If you are looking for something for kids, go to Parque Ecologico Educativo, where you can find playground, fountains and many attractions, that can be interesting for youngsters. The park is neat and clean, it also has a snack bar. In the city were built a few shopping malls with shops, restaurants, like Shopping Iguatemi or Plaza Avenida Shopping
What’s worth eating there? In São Paulo a typical dish is virado à paulista, made from rice, tutu de feijão (specially prepared beans), fried cabbage and pork. Popular is also obviously feijoada, known in the whole Brazil meat stew with black beans. Whereas pastéis is local fast food snack: fried on oil patty with a various filling – shrimps, minced meat and mozzarella, or with marmalade. The typical drink is juice from sugar cane. Where to eat? We recommend restaurants Churrascaria Farrougrill or Ponto Da Picanha.
