Thirty-two municipal parks are open as leisure areas for those looking for a ‘refuge’ in São Paulo. Among them, 14 have lakes playing important role in the city, reducing flood, supporting water drainage and helping to increase relative air humidity.

The oldest park in the city, Luz, has brought back 100 years of history after recent restoration of its bandstand - in 1901, the meeting point of Paulista society, featuring as background for parties, theaters and public events.

Today, Ibirapuera Park is the most complete and visited park in São Paulo, offering playgrounds, courts, bicycle path, tracks, reading wood, vivarium, gardening school, museum, planetarium, venue for events, a lake housing several species of fish and more than 100 types of birds.

There are other ten parks only in Southern Area, like Aclimação (images bellow), background for music concerts, dance and theater; Trianon (images bellow), on Paulista Avenue, offering Sunday gym and programs for the third age during the week; Independência Park, in front of Ipiranga Museum, has beautiful European-style gardens surrounded by fountains. In district of Morumbi, Burle Marx and Alfredo Volpi parks are the nearest offering areas for leisure.

The following parks are also in São Paulo: Carmo, Guarapiranga, Anhanguera, Lions Club, Rodrigo de Gáperi, Santa Amélia, Chico Mendes, São Domingos, Jardim Felicidade, Cidade de Toronto, Chácara das Flores, Raul Seixas, Piqueri, Vila Guilherme, Vila dos Remédios, Luís Carlos Prestes, Raposo Tavares, Cemucam, dos Eucaliptos, Nabuco, Parque Lina e Paulo Raia, Severo Gomes and Buenos Aires, and also Área de Proteção Ambiental (APA - Environmental Protection Area) Capivari-Monos.