Consolação is the bridge between the buttoned-up business of Avenida Paulista and the bohemian energy of central São Paulo, and its spine is Rua Augusta. The street is famously split in two: the stretch climbing toward the Jardins is upmarket fashion, while the lower section, Baixo Augusta, dropping toward downtown, is the city's most concentrated nightlife strip — rock bars, underground clubs, food trucks, late-night burger joints, and a large and visible LGBTQ+ scene.
It is the gritty-but-cool counterweight to the polish of Jardins, and the natural base for younger travellers, music lovers, and anyone who wants São Paulo's legendary unfiltered nightlife on the doorstep. By day the district has a quieter side too — the leafy, monumental Cemitério da Consolação, resting place of much of the city's old elite, and a cluster of theatres along Rua Augusta. Keep your phone out of sight on the lower stretch at night, where snatch-and-grab is the main nuisance.