World Cup 2014 city guide: Natal

Much smaller than the other north-eastern capitals of Recife, Salvador and Fortaleza, Natal is perhaps the lowest key of all the World Cup host cities.

Neither city nor stadium have generated much in the way of positive headlines but neither have they been criticised in the same way as Manaus, Cuiaba or Brasilia. Instead, Natal has quietly got on with the job, building a relatively uncontroversial, reasonably sized stadium in what is a pleasant, sleepy city surrounded by miles of stunning beaches. The town is not especially interesting but it is the beaches that are the star here — no trip to Natal is complete without a buggy ride among towering sand dunes. It’s worth travelling to some of the more distant beaches, too, such as Sao Miguel do Gostoso or Pipa to the south.

Due to its size and lack of obvious pull factors Natal has not received the same quantity of economic migrants as Recife or Fortaleza and as a result poverty, while still visible, is not as widespread a problem as in the other north-eastern capitals, meaning the city feels safer and quieter.

The two big clubs in the city are fierce local rivals ABC and America, though, as in Fortaleza, neither have the financial resources to compete with clubs in the south and south-east of the country, and both currently play in Serie B.

So far the Arena das Dunas has not proved a success, with average crowds hovering around the 6,000 mark. This may be in part due to Brazilian football’s peculiar calendar — in the first part of the year teams play in local championships against tiny opposition from within their state.

Generally speaking, fans can expect sun, blue skies and sea breezes. There may be a little rain but average temperatures in June and July still hover around the 25C-27C mark. Natal got off to a late start with its stadium building and progress continued to be sluggish for much of the construction period.