Campinas: Brazil's Silicon Valley

In the interior of São Paulo State, Campinas has become over the years the main technological and university hub of all Brazil.

The downtown, nicknamed the Silicon Valley of Brazil, requires a car to navigate between distant neighborhoods.

The Unicamp campus, among Latin America's most prestigious universities, drives scientific research and technological innovation throughout the surrounding region and beyond.

A few minutes away, the Bosque dos Jequitibás, a historic park with centuries-old ultracentennial trees, also houses a small free zoo in the heart of the city.

Continuing towards the centre, you visit the Metropolitan Cathedral, in elegant neoclassical style, overlooking the lively main square of Campinas.

Towards evening, the Cambuí neighbourhood comes alive with refined restaurants and trendy bars frequented by the city's vibrant academic and technology community.

Campinas, nicknamed Brazil's 'Silicon Valley,' hosts research centers for numerous international technology multinationals drawn by the quality of local university education and strategic proximity to São Paulo.

Founded in the eighteenth century as a waypoint along the ancient gold route into Brazil's interior, the city later became an important coffee-producing center before evolving into today's modern technology hub.