World Cup 2014 city guide: Recife

One of Brazil’s oldest cities, Recife is a heady mix of the modern and the historic, where natural beauty mixes with profound urban decay.

The downtown area stretches over two islands and the city’s profusion of bridges and rivers has led to the rather forlorn hope that it might rebrand itself as the ‘Venice of Brazil’.

Recife’s vast urban sprawl is home to around four million people but World Cup visitors are likely to limit themselves to the bars of Recife Antigo, the historic port area of the city, the urban beach at Boa Viagem and the cobbled, hilly streets of Recife’s picturesque sister city Olinda to the north. People in Recife are some of Brazil’s most welcoming and chattiest which adds spice to the rich local musical culture. The city is home to one of Brazil’s biggest carnivals and 1.5m people flock to the Galo da Madrugada (Midnight Rooster) street party every year. On the downside, infrastructure can be creaky and some frustration should be expected.

The journey out to the Arena Pernambuco is invariably gruelling and the stadium has not proved popular among locals. Of the city’s three teams, only Nautico, the smallest, have moved there, and average crowds in 2013 were just 12,500. Sport are the city’s most successful club while Santa Cruz, the pre-cash Manchester City of Brazil, pulled in crowds of 40,000 while in Serie D in 2011.

June and July are when the rains come in Recife and when the rains come it’s time to batten down the hatches. Much of the city lies below sea level and many streets become flooded and virtually impassable minutes after a downpour.

The violent crime that so troubles the city is also a worry. Just a couple of weeks ago a group of Santa Cruz hooligans killed a Sport fan by throwing a toilet from the top deck of Santa’s Arruda stadium. Shortly after that, local police called a 48-hour strike, during which there were 27 murders and widespread looting until the army was called in to restore calm.