Given its flamboyant and operatic leanings, and its rapscallion roots in the escapades of the fortune-seeking bandeirantes of the 1700s, it may come as something of a surprise that Campinas remains one of the less-visited cities in its region. But there’s no feeling sorry for this loud and lively, if off-the-beaten-track, metropolis of more than one million people. The tenth richest town in the country as a whole, Campinas center is a sprawling mass of high-rises and boulevards, studded with the likes of the Centro de Convivência, where orchestral spectacles draw crowds from Sao Paulo, and the city cathedral, complete with an impossibly beautiful interior forged solely from the boughs of jacaranda trees. The city is also known for its green areas; there is the Parque do Taquaral and its concomitant aquarium, planetarium and bike paths, and the wilder Bosque dos Jequitibás, the latter showcasing a swathe of dense rainforest along with the city zoo. Meanwhile, away from the rattling tramlines of the downtown, mesas and bluffs rise to form the Sao Paulo hills and Campinas tour guides can help scout spa towns and ecotourist hotspots aplenty.