Cambuí is the most liveable part of Campinas, a leafy middle-class neighbourhood north of the centre where the streets are wide, the trees are large, and the pavements are in reasonable condition. It is where the city's restaurant and bar scene concentrates, particularly along Rua Conceição and the surrounding streets, and on weekend evenings these fill up with a youngish crowd moving between wine bars, boteco-style bars serving cold draft beer and petiscos, and upmarket Brazilian restaurants.
There is a farmers market in the neighbourhood on weekend mornings, which is worth a walk for breakfast and produce. The boutique cafes here are a step above the average Brazilian café and offer proper espresso drinks alongside the obligatory pão de queijo. If you are spending more than a day in Campinas, staying in or near Cambuí is the sensible choice — it gives you somewhere pleasant to return to after the city centre's harder edges.