Palácio Tiradentes

Lonely Planet review

The stately Tiradentes Palace overlooking the bay, today houses the seat of the legislative assembly. Visitors can wander through exhibits on the 1st and 2nd floors that relate - through photographs and documents - some of the historic events that took place in the nearby chambers between 1926 and the present. One of its darkest hours was when the National Assembly was shut down in 1937 under the Vargas dictatorship - it later served as his Department of Press and Propaganda.

Most information is in Portuguese, though you can listen to a rundown of history in English at the interactive machine in the foyer. The statue in front, incidentally, is not a likeness of Russian mystic Rasputin, but rather that of martyr Tiradentes, who led the drive toward Brazilian independence in the 18th century.