The Estação da Luz opened in 1901 as the São Paulo terminus of the São Paulo Railway, the British-built line that hauled the state's coffee down to the port at Santos. The iron-and-glass main hall was prefabricated in Glasgow and shipped over in numbered crates; the clock tower is a small Big Ben in Victorian sandstone. A 1946 fire and a long decline reduced the station to a sad relic by the 1990s, but a restoration in the 2000s brought it back.
The Museu da Língua Portuguesa — the Portuguese Language Museum — occupies the upper floors and is one of the most thoughtful interactive museums in Brazil. Combine with the Pinacoteca do Estado next door for a full morning in this corner of the centre.