Sorocaba

Brazil · Americas

About Sorocaba

Sorocaba is a municipality in the interior of the state of São Paulo, Brazil. With over 723,000 inhabitants, it is the seventh-largest city in the state and the second-largest outside the Greater São Paulo region, ranking behind only Campinas. It forms its own Metropolitan Region of Sorocaba, comprising 27 municipalities with a total population of 2 million inhabitants, the 15th most populous in Brazil.

With a surface area of 450,38 km² (or about 170 sq mi), Sorocaba is integrated with Greater São Paulo and the Metropolitan Regions of Campinas, Jundiaí, Paraíba Valley and North Coast and Baixada Santista, forming the São Paulo macrometropolis, which is home to over 30 million people, about three quarters of the state's population and the first such urban agglomeration in the Southern Hemisphere.

The city is highly industrialized, with its industrial production reaching over 120 countries and a GDP of over R$ 32 billion, the 19th-largest in Brazil, surpassing state capitals such as São Luís, Belém, Vitória, Natal, and Florianópolis. Over 22,000 companies operate in the city, 2,000 of which are industries.

Sorocaba travel guide

Understand

Sorocaba, founded in 1654, is located in the southeast region of the state, about 90km from the capital.

Getting there

By bus 1 Sorocaba bus station (Terminal Rodoviário de Sorocaba), ☏ +15 3232-6964. Relatively small, but it has various companies which run between Sorocaba and nearby cities of the region such as Ibiúna, São Roque, and Iperó, as well as destinations further afield such as Curitiba, Londrina, Foz do Iguaçu, Belo Horizonte, and Rio de Janeiro. Only one company, Viação Cometa, offers service from the city of São Paulo. (updated Aug 2020)

By car SP 75 (Santos Dumont highway), from Itu, Salto, Piracicaba and Campinas SP 79 (Waldomiro Correa de Camargo highway), from Itu SP 97 (Emerenciano Prestes de Barros highway), from Porto Feliz SP 264 (João Leme dos Santos highway), from Salto de Pirapora, Votorantim, and Piedade SP 270 (Raposo Tavares highway), from Itapetininga, Presidente Prudente, São Roque and Vargem Grande Paulista SP 280 (Castelo Branco highway), from São Paulo, Ourinhos SCB 354 - from Iperó

Getting around

By bus Sorocaba is well served by city buses from two terminals..

Terminal São Paulo, serves the south and east zones. Terminal Santo Antônio, serves the west zone.

By bicycle With a network of 106 km of cycleways, 50 public bicycle parking lots, and 19 bicycle borrow points, Sorocaba is possibly the best large city in Brazil for cycling. Accidents involving bicycles are also rare. A map of the cycleways of the city can be found here[1].

See

Cathedral Church. 1 Brigadier Tobias' Manor (Casarão de Brigadeiro Tobias). (updated Aug 2020) Monastery of São Bento, Largo São Bento - Centro, ☏ +55 11 3328-8794. Pelourinho, Rua Dr. Nogueira Martins - Centro. In 1599, governor Dom Francisco de Souza established the first slave trading post in Vila de Nossa Senhora de Monte Serrat. In 1661 it was transferred first to Itavuvu and then to what is now central Sorocaba. Sorocaba Historical Museum. Housed in the former house of the Marquesa de Santos. Zoológico Municipal Quinzinho de Barros, R. Teodoro Kaisel, 883 - Vila Hortência, Sorocaba - SP, 18020-268. (updated May 2021)

Buy

Mercado Municipal, Largo do Mercado – Centro. Sorocaba Shopping Center, Av. Afonso Vergueiro, 1, ☏ +55 15 3232-2757. 700. One of the first malls constructed in Brazil, with a cinema and a large variety of shops. (updated May 2021) Shopping Iguatemi Esplanada, ☏ +55 15 3224-4666. Av. Profa. Izoraida Marques Peres, 401 - Campolim. Several department stores, a cinema, and one of the region's biggest supermarkets. (updated May 2021) Panorâmico Shopping Center, ☏ +55 15 3231-6917. Rodovia Raposo Tavares, km 99,5, Sorocaba. Pátio Cianê Shopping, Av. Dr. Afonso Vergueiro, 823 - Centro, Sorocaba - SP, 18035-370. (updated May 2021)

Eat

Budget

Mid-range

Splurge Bacã, de Av. Marginal Dom Aguirre. MW, Campolim. Floresta Negra, Jardim América, close to Campolim. German cuisine. Santa Victória, Alto da Boa Vista Chopperia Barbacana. Jardim Piratininga. (updated May 2021)

Drink & nightlife

Tribeca Café. Dance music, pop and techno. (updated May 2021)

Sleep

Budget Cardum Hotel Chamonix Hotel Hotel Ipanema Sorocaba Hotel

Mid-range Grand Hotel Royal. Ibis Shelton Inn Sorocaba Park Hotel

Splurge Flat The First Hotel Pitangueiras.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia, travel guide fromWikivoyage (CC BY-SA)。Photography via Wikimedia Commons.