What to Do in Luís Carlos, Guararema

What to do in Luís Carlos, Guararema? This village is a destination for cyclists, drivers, and train tourists alike, since it’s a genuinely cinematic, beautiful place to visit.

About an hour from São Paulo, Luís Carlos is one of the most charming, well-preserved historic villages in the metropolitan region, offering visitors a real trip back in time.

The village was revitalized in 2014, after years of neglect. It’s lined with colorful colonial-style houses you’ll notice the moment your train arrives. The village is small, just two parallel streets, and the train makes a one-hour stop here, making for a fairly quick visit.

The town takes its name from Luiz Carlos Da Fonseca Monteiro de Barros (1880–1932), a civil engineer born in Rio de Janeiro. He moved to São Paulo, became head of the Central do Brasil railway’s 2nd Traffic District, where he ordered the station built. This had long been requested by the town’s immigrant population, who needed a way to ship their crops to Rio and São Paulo.

Soon after, at forty, he began writing a book published in 1920 called Colunas, and he joined the Brazilian Academy of Letters, Chair 18, on May 26, 1926.

We visited the village by train, and we loved it!

Getting to Luís Carlos

By car: via the Rodovia Ayrton Senna or the Via Dutra, heading toward Mogi das Cruzes via Rodovia Henrique Eroles (SP-66) to reach Luís Carlos.

By bus: the companies Pássaro Marrom and Viação Jacareí handle transport — we’d recommend checking available schedules to Guararema.

By train: departures from Guararema run at 10 AM and 2:30 PM, on weekends and holidays.

Worth remembering: shops and restaurants here only operate on weekends and holidays, following the train schedule.

The Guararema Train

This line handled cargo and passenger transport, opening in 1914, and stood out for its English-style architecture. It served the needs of local immigrant farmers, who needed to ship their crops to São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.

The railway was part of the Central do Brasil line, connecting São Paulo to Rio de Janeiro. The only part of the original structure still standing is the open-air car, since the red-painted ones are restored cars from the São Paulo Railway, which once connected Jundiaí to Santos.

The ride departs from the Guararema station and runs to Estação Luís Carlos, departing at 10 AM and 2:30 PM on weekends and holidays, taking about 30 minutes to cover the 7 km between stations, with an hour to explore Luís Carlos, making the whole trip about two hours total.

Considered the largest operating steam locomotive in the country.

Tickets can be bought online or at the station’s ticket office, and through the end of 2021, they’re 50% off.

Pátio dos Imigrantes

This is the most eye-catching spot, since the moment you arrive, you’re transported to a village from the last century, thanks to the buildings, the church, and the benches around the square. There’s also a popcorn vendor in the square, a hit with kids — genuinely our top tip for what to do in Luís Carlos, Guararema.

The church has simple decor, but it’s still worth stepping inside to see it.

Before the pandemic, the village hosted local festivals, like a nighttime Festa Junina in June, Carnival in February, and a flower and wine festival in September.

There are small shops here selling souvenirs and products like cachaça, cheese, and homemade sweets.

There’s also a small alley and a tourist information house showing off the town’s attractions. The Viela Elias Cecin Zogbi is named in honor of the man who left Lebanon in 1914, at age 24, and upon arriving in Luís Carlos, dedicated himself to farming, later opening a dry goods store.

Elias played a major role in shaping the Luís Carlos neighborhood, and his descendants kept the properties they inherited, some of which were later loaned to the Guararema municipal government to help revitalize the area — which is why he was honored this way.

Where to Eat in Luís Carlos

We ended up taking the 2:30 PM train, so we’d just had lunch in Guararema — but here are some tips on spots we saw and wanted to try, plus one we managed to get ice cream from.

Rosa Chic

This spot has several types of fried dough snacks. The most popular are the bolinho de chuva (fried dough balls) and the bolinho caipirinha, a specialty of Guararema. This cake is made with yellow cornmeal and sausage, and there’s even a sign at the entrance explaining it. We weren’t able to try it, though, since they only sell it in orders of six, and we wanted fewer.

Kimoni Sorvetes

Kimoni has locations in Guararema, Santa Isabel, and Terra Rica, PR — ice cream here is sold by scoop or by weight, in a cone or a cup, plus popsicle options, making it a great tip for what to do in Luís Carlos, Guararema.

The ice cream is tasty, though we weren’t huge fans of the cone, since it was a bit soft.

462 Brewpub

The restaurant that catches the most attention here, known especially for its witbier, a Belgian-style beer. Since we were traveling with a kid and wanted to shop for souvenirs, we weren’t able to stop and try it, though Andrey wanted to grab dessert and coffee here.

Bistro Luz

Located right next to the church, serving Brazilian cuisine, with set plates, appetizer portions, tapiocas, desserts, and juices.

I hope you enjoyed these tips, and learn more about the area in What to Do in Guararema.