São Paulo, is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere, and the world's 7th largest metropolitan area. The city is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous Brazilian state. The name of the city honors Saint Paul. São Paulo exerts strong regional influence in commerce and finance as well as arts and entertainment. São Paulo is considered an Alpha - World City.
The city has many landmarks, such as the Paulista Museum, the neo-gothic Metropolitan Sé Cathedral, the São Paulo Museum of Art (MASP), the Monumento às Bandeiras (Portuguese for Monument to the Flag) and Niemeyer's Ibirapuera Bienal Complex; and more recently the Octávio Frias de Oliveira Bridge (Estaiada Bridge) in the South Side. Paulista Avenue, in Midtown, is the city's most important financial center.
The city is home to the São Paulo Stock Exchange, or BOVESPA, the Future Markets, and the Cereal Market Stock Exchanges, the second largest stock exchange in the Americas. São Paulo has been home to several of the tallest buildings in Brazil, including the Mirante do Vale Building and Itália Building.
With an estimated population of 11,037,593 residents within an area of 1,523 square kilometers (588.0 sq mi), São Paulo is the most populous city proper in the Americas.
The city also lies at the center of the heavily urbanized São Paulo metropolitan area, with an estimated 19,889,559 people in 2009 over 7,944 square kilometers (3,067.2 sq mi), is the largest metropolitan area in the nation. São Paulo metropolitan area is ranked as the second most populous in the Americas.
People from the city of São Paulo are known as paulistanos, while paulistas designates anyone from the whole of São Paulo state, including the paulistanos. The city's Latin motto, which it has shared with the battleship and the aircraft carrier named after it, is Non dvcor, dvco, which translates as "I am not led, I lead."
A famous nickname for the city is "Sampa." São Paulo is also known for its unreliable weather, the size of its helicopter fleet, architecture, gastronomy, and multitude of skyscrapers.