Barueri travel guide

Barueri is a city in the São Paulo metro area, São Paulo state. Barueri holds the highest GDP per capita among the large cities of the state, thanks to its strong economy based on industry and services. Its growing financial center makes the city an increasingly important international business destination. However, it is one of the most unequal municipalities in Brazil, with great contrasts between upscale neighborhoods and peripheral neighborhoods, although it has tried to change this.

Understand

Alphaville Barueri Financial Center. (Photo: Lucas Garcia, Public domain)

Barueri is divided by the Tietê river into two distinct "cities" with very little in common:

• The left (southwest) shore of the river, commonly called Barueri, corresponds to the old part of the city (founded in 1610 as an indigenous village): mostly low-rise and residential, with a predominance of low to middle class households;
• The right (northeast) shore of the river, often called Alphaville-Tamboré, Alphaville Barueri or Alphaville, is a planned urban area that mostly emerged after 1973. It was modelled to mimic a typical American city, with a dense and high-rise center, a periferical industrial park, and sprawling suburbs with large houses and lots of green. The difference is that in Alphaville, the suburbs are all gated communities with strong security measures. However, Alphaville also contains in its vicinity a slum-like neighborhood, Parque Imperial.

Despite the high inequality between the two sides of the city, Barueri has been able to use its high tax revenue to improve infrastructure and social conditions in the poorer (southwest) side, which is also starting to become attractive for economic investments.

In 2020, it was home to 277,000 people.

Get in

By car

By far the best way to get to Alphaville from São Paulo is by car, by taking BR 374 (Rod. Castelo Branco), utilizing exits 21 through 23 to access the neighbourhood. Toll payment is required. For Barueri, utilize exits 26 through 28, closest to the city center.

By bus

From São Paulo, the Alphaville center can be reached by metropolitan bus (EMTU). There are several bus options (check the EMTU website), but they typically take 2 hours and costs about 12 reais. The bus lines that depart from metro stations in São Paulo are 116, 818 (Armênia station), 378, 378PR1 (Paraíso) and 524 (Barra Funda). With exception of 818, most of these buses do not have the Alphaville center as their final destination.

By train

The Barueri city center contains the Barueri station of CPTM Line 8-Diamond. The trip from the Barra Funda metro station takes around 78 minutes and costs a regular CPTM tariff.

• Barueri railway station (Estação Barueri).

Get around

Pedestrianized street in the Alphaville center. (Photo: HTPF, Public domain)

The Alphaville and Barueri centers are compact enough to be explored on foot. Public transport consists of buses, operated by Benfica. A car is generally the most convenient way of moving from one part of the city to another.

See

Other than the skyscrapers and the "artificial urban feel" of Alphaville, there are a few places in Barueri worth visiting.

• Parque Ilha do Tamboré (Parque Ecológico do Tietê - Núcleo Ilha do Tamboré), Avenida Doutor Dib Sauaia, 1600 - Alphaville, ☏ +55 11 4191-9844. 08:00-17:00. Public park with 1.5 million m² in the right shore of the Tietê river, although 1/3 of the park is not normally visitable. It contains a lake (which contrasts with the toxic Tietê river), forest trails, animals such as capybaras, sport facilities, BBQ areas and a sort of museum of random curiosities.
• Fonte Cunhatã, Praça Lelita Bittencourt - Centro. Fountain made of brass and basalt, representing three women. The word "cunhatã" means "women" in the tupi-guarani indigenous language (Barueri was originally inhabited by Native Brazilians).
• Igreja Matriz de Barueri (Igreja São João Batista), Avenida Henriqueta Mendes Guerra, 245 - Centro. Located in the main shopping street of Barueri. Obviously not a historical construction, but has an interesting modern architecture.
• Municipal Museum of Barueri (Museu Municipal de Barueri), Av. Henrique Gonçalves Baptista, 359.

Do

Alphaville is a typical business tourism destination, with not much to do besides shopping, drinking and dining. Sports are mostly done inside the gated communities, and cultural activities are few (mostly children-oriented) as they tend to be absorbed by nearby São Paulo.

Buy

• Boulevard Central, Boulevard Arnaldo Rodrigues Bittencourt - Centro. The main shopping street of Barueri (i.e. left side of the Tietê river) is a simple but charming place, filled with palm streets and containing an arch and an Ancient Roman-style water fountain.
• Centro Comercial Alphaville. The artificial but pleasant "shopping district" of Alphaville, composed of several pedestrianized streets with shops, services, restaurants and green squares. Parking is cheaper or free outside regular shopping hours.
• Iguatemi Alphaville, Al. Rio Negro 111 - Alphaville. 11:00-22:00. With a beautiful facade and a nicely decorated interior, Iguatemi Shopping was considered the best shopping mall of the São Paulo metro area by the Estado de São Paulo newspaper in 2012. Its cinema was considered the best by Época magazine in 2011. The mall contains about 200 shops and 10 gourmet restaurants, focusing on designer and more premium experiences.
• Shopping Tamboré, Avenida Piracema, 669 - Tamboré. Contains some nicely decorated internal gardens, and contains a nice selection of stores, for people looking for day-to-day shopping or having a lunch.
• Parque Shopping Barueri, Rua General de Divisão Pedro Rod. da Silva, 400 - Nova Aldeinha (Near Antonio João station). The only shopping mall in the Barueri (left side of the Tietê), focusing on low to middle class consumers. 170 shops.

Eat

As one may expect, Alphavile is the center of high-end gastronomy in Barueri. There is no shortage of choices of restaurants, but there isn't much authenticity either - the best restaurants in the area are native from São Paulo or other cities.

• Almanara. The traditional Lebanese food restaurant chain has two branches in Alphaville. Worth tasting are the fishing skewers.
• Alphaville, Alameda Rio Negro, 1456 - Alphaville. Sun-Thu 11:30-23:30, Fri Sat 11:30-00:00.
• Iguatemi Alphaville, Alameda Rio Negro, 111 - Alphaville (Iguatemi Alphaville - Piso Lazer). Sun-Thu 11:30-23:00, Fri Sat 11:30-23:30.
• Freddo, Alameda Rio Negro, 111 - Alphaville (Iguatemi Alphaville - Piso Rio Negro). Mon-Sat 10:00-20:00, Sun 11:00-20:00. Argentinian chain of handmade ice-cream.
• General Prime Burger, Alameda Rio Negro, 111 - Alphaville (At Iguatemi Alphaville - Piso Lazer), ☏ +55 11 4191-7023. Burger shop with some unusual hamburgers, like the boar burger and the crusty Picanha burger filled with mozarella.
• Novilho de Prata, Alameda Mamoré, 843 - Alphaville, ☏ +55 11 4195-1372. Churrascaria rodízio restaurant.
• Si Señor, Av. Piracema, 669 - Tamboré (Shopping Tamboré - Piso Térreo), ☏ +55 11 4208-2894. Branch of a Mexican restaurant chain.

Drink

• Deck Bar e Restaurante, ☏ +55 11 2680-9222. As the name says, it is both a bar and restaurant. With live music after 19:00 between Tuesdays and Fridays.
• Alphaville I, Alameda Grajaú, 321 - Alphaville, ☏ +55 11 4689-0522. With both indoor and outdoor areas.
• Parque Shopping Barueri, Rua General de Divisão Pedro R. da Silva, 400 - Nova Aldeinha (At the ground floor of Parque Shopping Barueri), ☏ +55 11 4208-3382. With an indoor area.
• The Black Horse, Avenida Copacabana, 148 - Alphaville (at 18 do Forte Empresarial), ☏ +55 11 4208-5038. Mon-Sat 12:00-15:00 and after 18:00. English pub with furniture brought from England and an Irish as chef. In the upper floor there are billiards, darts and other games.

Sleep

• HB Hotels Alphaville Sequóia, Alameda Madeira, 292 - Alphaville. Offers flats equipped with kitchen. Breakfast included. From R$201.
• Bourbon Alphaville Business Hotel, Alameda Cauaxi, 223 - Alphaville. Rooms with wi-fi, amenities include outdoor swimming pool, gym, sauna and restaurant. From R$201.
• Recanto dos Sonhos, rua das andorinhas, ☏ +55 11 4229-4526, recantodossonhos@recantodossonhos.com.br. Check-in: 13:00, check-out: 12:00. R$ 100 - 900.

Connect

• UP2U Coworking. Calçada das Hortênsias, 12 - 3 andar. Barueri/SP - Centro Comercial Alphaville. Coworking space with wi-fi, coffee, candies, air conditioner, work station, coworkers network. 11 2755-2051/ up2u@up2ucoworking.com.br From R$ 12.

Go next

The small and charming Santana de Parnaíba, northwest of Barueri, contains a formidable heritage from the colonial period and holds important cultural festivities.

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