Petrópolis.

A little piece of the history of our country is available in Petrópolis, Ouro Preto, Bahia and Paraty.

Fast-growing Petrópolis, 42 miles north of Rio and with a population of 300,000, calls itself the Imperial City because of its rich heritage, which remains a principal reason to visit for those of us ordinary folk who don't regard ourselves as particularly fashionable.

Along the narrow, palm-lined streets and canals of downtown, apartment buildings have sprung up alongside quaint older homes that range in style from Tudor cottages to Swiss chalets, and in both Petrópolis and smaller Teresópolis, 60 miles northeast of Rio, Brazilians now flock to local outlet stores to shop.

The Imperial Museum in Petrópolis, where visitors line up early for a glimpse of the imperial grandeur of their past, is the country's most-visited museum.

Built during the reign of Pedro II as the summer residence of the imperial family, a branch of the same Bourbon and Orleans-Bragança lines that once ruled France and Portugal and still rules Spain, the pastel, neo-classical palace, surrounded by a carefully tended tropical garden, now harbors, among other imperial possessions, a remarkable Sèvres gilt chest and the emperor's crown jewels, a riot of gold, diamonds and pearls.

Petrópolis is about 45 minutes from Teresópolis. It´s where Santos Dumont, one of our most greatest and famous inventors lived, the one who invented the airplane, he was the one who made the 14 bis fly around the Eiffel Tower. Dom Pedro II, one of our emperors liked to spend his summers there, because of the nice mountain fresh weather he decided to invest and make the city grow and called it Petrópolis.

That´s where we´ll visit his Palace and other old buildings and houses which have become some of our most important museums, that´s where part of our history is told.