Campinas travel guide

See

Like many others large Brazilian cities, Campinas' Downtown suffers from urban degradation. However, it contains several buildings of historical and architectural value, many associated with São Paulo state's glorious coffee farming era between the 19th and 20th centuries.

• Metropolitan Cathedral of Our Lady of the Conception
• Praça Bento Quirino
• Basílica de Nossa Senhora do Carmo
• Jóquei Clube Campineiro
• Solar do Visconde de Indaiatuba
• Solar do Barão de Itapura
• Museu de Imagem e Som de Campinas
• Capela da Nossa Senhora da Boa Morte
• Solar do Barão de Ataliba Nogueira
• Campinas Central Station
• Museu da Cidade
• Bosque dos Jequitibás

Do

• Campinas-Jaguariúna steam locomotive ride
• Ciclofaixa Campinas
• Carduelis Birdwatching tours
• Estádio Brinco de Ouro da Princesa
• Estádio Moisés Lucarelli
• Teatro Municipal José de Castro Mendes
• Teatro Iguatemi Campinas
• SESI Campinas
• Casa do Lago

Eat

While, like most of the state, Campinas has the fairly typical paulistano range of Italian, Japanese, Middle Eastern, and standard Brazilian food, it doesn't have anything much that might be called campineiro food. The two most notable things might be the local penchant for arugula salad (salada de rúcula) and the local lancherias habit of serving their sandwiches cut into bite size pieces, dubbed the "angel-mouth cut" (corte boca-de-anjo). Among desserts, you should not miss the torta holandesa (Dutch pie) which, despite its name, was invented in Campinas.

Drink

While in terms of cultural options, Campinas is not quite what you expect from a metropolis, its nightlife will surely not disappoint you. Cambuí is the "city center" of bohemian life, but good bars can be found everywhere, Barão Geraldo including. Campinas' clubs, mostly contained in the affluent northern and eastern suburbs, attract crowds from the entire region. The musical scene is dominated by sertanejo (Brazilian country music) and electronic music, although there are options for all tastes, including MPB and rock'n'roll.

Stay safe

Campinas is pretty much similar to São Paulo in terms of crime problems. During the day, most of the city is considerably safe - exceptions are the "Crackland" area in the Botafogo neighborhood (Downtown) and some lower class suburbs. Fortunately, the intercity bus terminal has been moved from Botafogo, so there is no need anymore for a visitor to wander this area. The Downtown area is not safe during the night and should be avoided. Cambuí and most affluent suburbs are relatively safe during the night, but take a cab or drive yourself if you have to walk anything more than a few blocks.