São Paulo's Ellis Island. Beginning in the 19th century, three million immigrants went through the gates of this building to start a new life in Brazil. The last group to get processed was in 1978. Today's visitors get an excellent idea of what those immigrants must have felt. The admission hall, office, hospital, and dormitories are shown in their original condition. Objects are on full display, not hidden in display cases. Another room shows how immigrants first eked out a living in their newly adopted country as masons, printers, farmers, and bakers. The upstairs has been converted into a diorama of an early-20th-century São Paulo street. On Sunday and holidays a historic train takes visitors on a short ride around the museum area. On other days you can still visit the carriages and the station area. Allow 2 hours.

Copyright: Excerpted from Frommer's Brazil, 4th Edition, (c) 2008, Wiley Publishing, Inc.

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