Concluding our three-part series on Brazil’s host football stadium venues, Stephen Bailey checks out the four cities on the country’s northeast coast.

Salvador

Sprawling along the Atlantic Ocean coastline, Salvador is one of South America’s most historic cities.

Pastel houses line streets that have retained an old colonial charm.

Pensioners push wooden carts laden with fruit, before stopping at city squares and shouting out incomprehensible deals.

Church bells pervade through quiet neighbourhoods, while cafe terraces offer lazy afternoons of coffee and people-watching. Salvador’s Old Town is a Unesco World Heritage site, and aimlessly wandering along its charming streets is an essential experience.

It’s an old town with fraudulent roots. Salvador was where the Portuguese set up their first colony, building the city on the profits from slavery.

Over almost 500 years, disparate cultures have slowly blended together, creating what modern Salvador is most famous for: its fun-loving, colourful locals.

While Rio de Janeiro is famous for carnival, the world’s biggest street party takes place in Salvador

Samba bands busk on the street, exotic dancing is a part of the daily rhythm and residents are generally regarded as some of the most welcoming on the continent.

While Rio de Janeiro is famous for carnival, the world’s biggest street party takes place in Salvador.

The World Cup draw has given the city a couple of the most anticipated group matches.

Spain against the Netherlands and Germany versus Portugal are two of six scheduled in the brand-new Arena Fonte Nova.

With France also appearing in Salvador, it is likely to attract a cosmopolitan blend of football fans. But visitors without tickets aren’t going to be disappointed.

Head away from the Old Town and a sweeping expanse of beachside neighbourhoods provide a tropical haven. Broad white sand is fringed with palm trees and rolling surfer waves, while 12km from downtown is the Allah Garden Beach, a pristine piece of sand that will be transformed into a FIFA Fan Fest.

Overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, it promises a daily party of beach football games, cheering on an underdog playing on the giant screen and falling asleep in a drunken stupor.

Salvador’s diversity means that many visitors could use it as a base during the World Cup.

Spend a few days soaking up the enchantment of the Old Town, get involved in the daily partying or head along the Atlantic coastline for a tropical beach retreat.

Northeast of the centre, the beaches continue almost uninterrupted; locally-popular spots such as Jaguaribe and Piata gradually turning into soporific stretches of sand further north.

Salvador’s diverse neighbourhoods should also help it retain its distinct atmosphere. Fans will be spread across the city, helping ensure authentic interactions with locals.

In the brief interspersions between football matches, there is a captivating succession of old churches and squares to explore.

This architecture has remained untouched since the 18th century and another equally old attraction provides the soundtrack.

Locals claim that their music is the mother of samba. Developed by slaves on the sugar cane plantations and heavily influenced by tribal African music, samba de roda involves lots of sporadic percussion and random body movements.

It is difficult to learn as there are no set moves. Samba de roda was seen as a liberating form of resistance against oppression and black cultural assimilation.

Like most things in Salvador, it is brimming with enthusiasm and a care-free attitude.

The locals barely need an excuse for celebration so the World Cup is likely to bring a month-long public holiday and non-stop festivities.

Without question, Salvador is going to be a lot of fun. Even Bosnia and Herzegovina against Iran could turn into an impromptu carnival.

So bring your dancing shoes and get ready to party.

Recife

Eight hundred kilometres up the coast is Recife, another destination with a chequered colonial history and a glorious coastline.

Many world cities claim to be on the beach. Recife is practically built out of the sand, a strip of palm trees all that separates 8km of beach from the city.

Gentle rollers crash on to white sand and a continual stream of vendors walk past selling coconut water and fake sunglasses.

High-rise apartments gaze down on surfers, and there are enough bars to keep any influx of drunken European football fans happy.

Move inland and the city’s Dutch heritage is clearly evident.

Nicknamed the Brazilian Venice, the streets of Recife wind over and around a series of rivers and canals.

Beautiful baroque churches and crumbling forts provide the architectural highlights, while colourful colonial buildings give Recife an elegant charm.

Stare at the golden engraving in the Franciscan Convent of St Anthony, admire the massive crystal chandelier in the Santissimo Sacramento and wander the quiet streets around St Peter of Clerics Cathedral.

With its rich combination of beach life and tourist attractions, Recife could have been a must-stop on the Brazil World Cup trail – except it hasn’t embraced the tournament with the same enthusiasm as elsewhere.

The local government initially abandoned plans to install a Fan Fest, a decision that was condemned by FIFA. Recife would have been the only city without a dedicated fan park.

Last-minute negotiations have meant that Recife has been reinstalled on FIFA’s list of Fan Fest sites. But just a few weeks before the tournament kicks off, the Quai da Alfandega is nothing more than a stretch of empty beach.

The local government seems indifferent to the World Cup, publicising concerns over safety and costs instead of promoting the benefits of the tournament. How the fans will react is unknown.

Despite local team Santa Cruz plying their trade in the third division, almost 40,000 supporters turn up for matches.

Recife could be a loose cannon – some might visit and be underwhelmed, but if the city can get its act together in time, there’s no reason why it won’t be as enjoyable as its more famous neighbour, Salvador.

Fortaleza

Continuing the journey up the coastline, Fortaleza is the most northern of the host cities and has a proud history of fighting the slave trade and resisting colonialism.

Slavery was abolished here before anywhere else in Brazil. Remarkably, that was as recent as 1884.

In modern times, Fortaleza has become a package tourist mecca, attracting as many Brazilians as it does sun-seeking Europeans.

All-inclusive resorts are on the rise as large tour operators look to build Fortaleza in the same way as Cancun or other Caribbean destinations.

There’s sun, sand and enough bars that mean nobody has to veer more than four blocks from the beach. Visiting Fortaleza is the Brazilian equivalent of spending two weeks getting drunk in the Canary Islands.

That’s a concoction that will divide opinion among visitors, but Fortaleza is one of the cities that have most embraced World Cup fever.

The Fan Fest has a perfect location, on the popular Iracema Beach in a prime downtown area of the city.

Soak up the action on the screens and then stumble into a busy district of nightclubs and roaming parties.

On June 17, the Brazilian team comes to town for their match against Mexico, another nation famed for its boisterous supporters. Six games will be played at the Estadio Castelao, a 60,000-capacity stadium that regularly hosts Brazilian national team games.

Fortaleza isn’t particularly pretty, nor does it have much to offer other than the beach. But local football passion is an essential part of the World Cup atmosphere, and this coastal holiday destination will be offering a non-stop party.

For the best experiences, visitors should try to plan their visit around any Brazil fixture. Just be sure to arrive at the fan park a few hours before kick-off time.

Natal

Little remains from when the Portuguese landed in Natal on December 25, 1599, and named the city after their word for Christmas.

In the historic centre, there is a small collection of historic buildings to explore, a haphazard collection of styles winding through the Cidada Alta e Ribeira neighbourhoods.

But people do not come to Natal for history or sightseeing. They come for the beaches.

Boasting 300 sunny days a year and a sumptuous coastline, Natal offers the quintessential beach escape.

It’s very popular with affluent Brazilians and is regarded as significantly quieter and safer than nearby Recife.

Even the freeway is dominated by the beach, busy flyovers looking down on sunbathers and bronzed locals.

While the beach football games may suggest local talent, this is a city with little footballing pedigree.

In the past few decades, the three local teams have spent a combined total of three seasons in the Brazilian top division.

After hosting four games in the World Cup, the brand new Estadio das Dumas is unlikely to see attendances of more than a few thousand.

The location of the Fan Fest is also a risky one. Praia do Forte is an empty strip of sand with almost no infrastructure.

If it can’t offer enough to tempt the locals away from the more popular beaches, this fan park could be a huge disappointment.

For an idyllic retreat, Natal rivals anywhere on the continent but visitors looking for a frenzied festival of football will surely find much better destinations nearby.

Can’t get enough of the Football? Pick up your free 80-page World Cup 2014 magazine full of features, commentary and fixtures, out with Times of Malta on June 7.