Ouro Preto

Ouro Preto needs 2 days: walking its steep cobblestone streets among colonial mansions and 13 baroque churches, on one, visiting the Igreja de São Francisco de Assis, a masterpiece by sculptor Aleijadinho, along with the Museu da Inconfidência, on the other. April-September is best, with drier weather. It's mid-priced for Brazil. It was the capital of Brazil's 18th-century gold cycle and epicenter of the Inconfidência Mineira independence movement, and its urban ensemble, with Aleijadinho's work as the high point of American colonial baroque, was the first site in Brazil declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.