World Cup 2014 city guide: Fortaleza

Alongside Recife and Salvador, Fortaleza is the third of Brazil’s big north-eastern World Cup host cities. And like its nordestino cousins, Fortaleza is an intoxicating mix of natural beauty, friendly people and considerable social inequality.

For the visitor, there is the bustling, historical downtown district to explore or one of the city’s urban beaches for a little R&R between games. At night there are plenty of places to eat and drink, whether at the beach or in one of the upmarket neighbourhoods such as Varjota. Fortaleza’s cultural roots, mainly based in forro music, are less varied than in Recife or Salvador but it is still a lively place, with life made more pleasant by the balmy climate.

Like Recife and Salvador, however, the severe poverty and lack of opportunities for large parts of the population have resulted in considerable social challenges. A recent report found Fortaleza to be the seventh-most violent city in the world, with 72.81 murders per 100,000 inhabitants in 2012.

The two big clubs in Fortaleza are Ceara and Fortaleza, though neither have the financial resources to compete with clubs in Rio or Sao Paulo. Both are well supported and can pull in crowds to put their rivals to shame — 60,000 recently watched Ceara in the Copa do Nordeste Final. However, as both are stranded in the lower divisions filling the Arena Castelao on a regular basis has not proved easy.

As with the other north-eastern host cities, the climate is generally blissfully warm and sunny. The chance of rain here during World Cup months is less than in Recife and Salvador, too.

Fortaleza was seen as one of the big winners of Brazil’s preparations, largely down to the relationship between the governing PT party and local politicians. The city will host six games, including a quarter-final. The Arena Castelao was the first World Cup stadium to be finished and is the cheapest new or rebuilt stadium of any of the last four World Cups.