Hotels in São Bernardo do Campo

São Bernardo do Campo is a working city first and a destination a distant second. It is the "B" in São Paulo's industrial ABC region, where Brazil's car industry grew up along the Via Anchieta and where the metalworkers' strikes of the late nineteen-seventies made a union leader named Lula a national figure. Factories and corporate offices still set the rhythm, so most visitors arrive on business. The surprise is how green the southern half is: the Billings Reservoir covers a large share of the municipality, and the Anchieta and Imigrantes highways wind past it down toward Santos and the coast.

Locals will also point you to the old roadside restaurants serving frango com polenta, a fried-chicken-and-polenta tradition from the area's Italian settlers. There is little classic sightseeing, traffic is heavy, and São Paulo's museums and landmarks, such as the Cathedral and the Monument to the Bandeiras, mean a drive or a long transit ride. Congonhas Airport is reasonably close, though. Stay in the central district near the city hall for restaurants, business access and the quickest roads into São Paulo.