Embu

Founded in 1554, Embu, or Embu das Artes, is a tiny Portuguese colonial town of whitewashed houses, old churches, wood-carvers’ studios, and antiques shops. It has a downtown handicrafts fair every weekend. On Sunday the streets sometimes get so crowded you can barely walk, so it's worth arriving early. Embu also has many stores that sell handicrafts and wooden furniture; most of these are close to where the street fair takes place.