Brazil's 200th anniversary of independence from Portugal has been celebrated with the opening of the Independence Museum – Museu do Ipiranga – of Sao Paulo, which has been reopened after years of restoration work.

Tickets for a visit were sold out within a short time on Thursday, as the Brazilian newspaper Folha de S. Paulo reported.

The museum, home to more than 3,000 objects, had been closed for nine years for renovation and expansion.

The goal was to transform the mighty building into a welcoming place, as the architect in charge, Eduardo Ferroni, told Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa) during a tour of the "fully restored and doubled in size" Independence Museum.

The Brazilian government now says it expects up to 1 million visitors a year to visit the modernized, interactive Museu do Ipiranga.