The hook
The richest gold town of the 18th-century Americas, left almost intact when the gold ran out: steep cobbled streets falling between whitewashed houses, and some two dozen baroque churches carved by a mixed-race sculptor with no hands who worked with tools strapped to his wrists.
01Why it's worth it
Ouro Preto — "black gold" — produced a large share of the world's gold for a few decades, and the wealth went into churches. The result is Brazil's most complete colonial townscape and its first UNESCO site: São Francisco de Assis, with its façade and soapstone carving by Aleijadinho, the crippled genius of Brazilian baroque, and interiors heavy with gilt. The town is also where the Inconfidência Mineira, the failed 1789 independence plot, played out; its figurehead Tiradentes was hanged and quartered, and is now a national hero with a museum in the old jail. It's a university town too, so it isn't a preserved shell. Tiradentes, an hour away, is smaller, flatter, prettier, and more polished, with a steam train to São João del-Rei. Around both: the Estrada Real, the old royal road, mineiro cooking, and mountain air. Be warned that Ouro Preto's streets are punishingly steep and the cobbles are ankle-turning.
02How to experience it
Base in Ouro Preto for two nights, take the churches slowly (São Francisco de Assis first), and walk the Estrada Real out of town for a morning. Add Tiradentes for a gentler day, ideally with the steam train. Eat mineiro food properly, and pack real shoes for those hills. Holy Week brings sawdust carpets and processions.
From the locals
Brazilians giving itineraries in Minas route people out of the state capital and into these towns: "BH 2 nights and then visit Ouro Preto and Tiradentes," one advised, adding bluntly that "BH itself doesn't have much to offer unless you really like mineiro food" — the food being, in fairness, a reason people move there.