Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: The Museum of the Republic was one of the homes used by the incumbent presidents of Brazil dating from the early 19th century. The presidential quarters are also where dictator Getulio Vargas took his own life in 1954. Today, the building houses a national museum, featuring numerous cultural artifacts, historical documents, and a theatre. The central tourist attraction is the room in which Vargas wrote his farewell note to the country before committing suicide, which has been preserved as it was on the day of his death.
