Popular tourist attractions Ouro Preto, Brazil

Although Ouro Preto now relies heavily on the tourism industry for part of its economy there are important metallurgic and mining industries located in town such as Novelis formerly Alcan the most important aluminum factory in the country the Companhia Vale do Rio Doce and others. Main economic activities are tourism transformation industries and mineral riches such as deposits of iron bauxite manganese talc and marble. Minerals of note are gold hematite dolomite tourmaline pyrite muscovite topaz and imperial topaz. The imperial topaz is a stone only found in Ouro Preto. Soapstone handicraft items are a popular souvenir among tourists and can be found in many shops in the town centre and street fairs.

Jewelry made of local precious and semi precious gemstones (such as hematite) can also be found in abundance for sale. A number of former gold mines in the city offer tours to tourist. One of the most well known is the Mina do Chico Rei near the sanctuary of Nossa Senhora da Conceioao Another infamous mine is the Mina da passagem. In the early 19th century Portugal gave the United Kingdom exclusive use of this mine for 100 years to pay Portugal's sovereign debts. This is the world's largest mine open to the public. The municipality contains about 10% of the 31,270 hectares (77,300 acres) Serra do Gandraela National Park created in 2014.

The street carnaval in Ouro Preto attracts thousands of people every year. Traditional band music is played across town and mny people dress up in costumes during the holiday. There are two main types of street parade in town the one with samba schools and the one with blocos. Carnaval usually takes place in February or March depending on the timing of Lent. It starts on the Saturday immediately before Lent and ends the day before Ash Wednesday. The street party is also celebrated in neighbouring towns such as Mariana. Ouro Preto is also a university town with an intense student life.

The Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto (Federal University of Ouro Preto or UFDO) has approximately 10,000 students in the city. Many of them live in communal houses that are somewhat similar to fraternity houses as found in North American colleges. These communal or shared houses are called republicas of which 66 belong to the university called republicas federais and 250 are privately owned (republicas particulares).