The coast of São Paulo

São Paulo's coast is packed at the weekend (when the city dwellers leaves for the beach) and deserted during the week. There are many beautiful beaches to choose from: some backed by rainforest-covered mountains and all washed by a bottle-green warm Atlantic. The best are along the northernmost part of the state coast, the Litoral Norte, around Ubatuba, and along the Litoral Sul near Cananéia. There are beautiful islands too including Brazil's largest, Ilhabela, and her wildest, Ilha do Cardoso. The dividing point between the Litoral Norte and Litoral Sul is the historic city of Santos; made most famous by Pelé (there's a museum devoted to him), and dotted with a few interesting buildings and museums in a spruced-up, attractive colonial city centre.