FIFA World Cup 2014 is around the corner! Anxiety and desperation is seriously building up! Got your tickets booked? Plot your Amazon tours, beer festivals and all-you-can-eat barbecues with Wetinhappen.com.ng’s ground-hopping guide to Brazil 2014…
RIO DE JANEIRO
Population 6.4 million
Famous for… its staggering landscape.
One thing you should do in the city…
Take the glass-walled cable car at Praia Vermelha and climb to Sugarloaf Mountain. Have some coffee up there and admire one of the most awesome views in the world.
Ground Maracana Stadium
The Maracana will host seven games, including the July 13 final
Capacity 76,804
FACT: When Brazilian NASA scientist Paulo de Souza discovered a special rock in his Mars observation project, he named it Sugar Loaf as a tribute to the self-acclaimed Marvelous City.
NATAL
Population 850,000
Famous for… its sand dunes
One thing you should do in the city…
Jump on a buggy for a ride in the middle of the sand dunes – thrills and spills aplenty.
Ground Arena das Dunas
Capacity 42,086
FACT: Natal was where Coca-Cola was first tasted in Brazil, in 1942. As a strategic city in World War Two, it was crowded with American troops who brought the new drink to locals.
MANAUS
Population 2 million
Famous for… its rainforest
One thing you should do in the city…
Watch the meeting of the Black River’s dark waters with the sandy colors of the Solimoes River. The best hostels and hotels have transportation to get there.
Ground Arena Amazonia (above)
Capacity 42,374
FACT: The Amazon River pours the same amount of water into the Atlantic Ocean in a day as London’s River Thames flows into the North Sea in a year.
SAO PAULO
Population 11.3 million
Famous for… its multiculturalism
One thing you should do in the city…
Visit D.O.M, owned by Chef Alex Atala and considered to be the best restaurant in Latin America. It is frequently among the world’s top 10 eateries, although it’s not cheap.
Ground Arena Corinthians
Capacity 65,807
FACT: Brazil’s financial powerhouse is fuelled by pizza: a million are sold each day, and etiquette says fork and knife are a must. Some are unpretentious, others cost up to N8000
BRASILIA
Population 2.8 million
Famous for… its unique architecture
One thing you should do in the city…
See Esplanada dos Ministerios, Brazil’s futuristic Whitehall. The Cathedral imitates hands praying, Museu da Republica is a half-orb and Congresso Nacional looks like a cereal bowl.
Ground Estadio Nacional Mane Garrincha
Capacity 68,009
FACT: Brasilia was named capital city in 1960 after Rio was deemed too susceptible to riots and foreign navy attack.
SALVADOR
Population 2.9 million
Famous for… its all-year-round street carnival
One thing you should do in the city…
Go wherever African-inspired cultural groups Olodum and Ile Aiye are playing. Their drummers could be on the streets, in a party or in a proper concert.
Ground Arena Fonte Nova
Capacity 48,747
FACT: Salvador has more than one church for each day of the year: 372.
CURITIBA
Population 1.9 million
Famous for… its European atmosphere
One thing you should do in the city…
Check out the Botanic Gardens for a nice family stroll (or a place to flirt with Brazilians).
Ground Arena da Baixada
Capacity 41,456
FACT: If you see a cyclist drenched in oil wandering around, do not fear. ‘Oilman’, a 54-year-old teacher, is a popular face in the city and always around in election years.
FORTALEZA
Population 2.5 million
Famous for… its top seafood
One thing you should do in the city…
Visit waterpark Beach Park. For about N5000, you can go on one of the biggest water slides on Earth.
Ground Estadio Castelao
Capacity 58,704
FACT: Popular attraction Ponte dos Ingleses is a bridge named after the English company that developed it in 1921.
PORTO ALEGRE
Population 1.5 million
Famous for… Brazil’s best barbecues
One thing you should do in the city…
Spend hours at an all-you-can-eat barbecue. Gauchos know how to cook the best meat in the world and they have all kinds of it.
Ground Estadio Beira-Rio
Capacity 48,849
FACT: It has the best quality of life and highest literary rate in Brazil.
DON’T waste your time on salad when in Porto Alegre
CUIABA
Population 600,000
Famous for… its heat
One thing you should do in the city…
See the Chapada dos Guimaraes National Park. There are steep cliffs, waterfalls and wildlife combining the Amazon and Brazilian wetlands.
Ground Arena Pantanal (below)
Capacity 42,968
FACT: The city is located at the exact geographical centre of South America – an equidistant 2,000km from both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. So maybe think twice before packing that snorkel.
RECIFE
Population 1.6 million
Famous for… its musical roots.
One thing you should do in the city…
Listen. It has deep respect for Brazil’s musical culture yet knows how mix it with international sounds. It’s Manchester with beaches!
Ground Arena Pernambuco
Capacity 42,248
FACT: Recife is nicknamed ‘the Brazilian Venice’ for its dependence on 39 bridges connecting everyone above its two rivers.
BELO HORIZONTE
Population 2.5 million
Famous for… its pub culture
One thing you should do in the city…
Find one of the pub festivals that run all year long. Some focus on the food, others on the beer and a few initiate visitors in sugar cane liquor tasting.
Ground Estadio Mineirao
Capacity 62,547
FACT: The city’s Mercado Municipal is the best place to buy Brazilian cheese. Minas Gerais state laws forbid the varieties of Minas cheese to be sold outside its borders.
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