Estadio Jornalista Mário Filho

No discussion of Rio de Janeiro gets far without the Maracanã, the vast stadium that has drawn football crowds since 1950. Built for that year's World Cup, it held nearly 200,000 spectators for the Brazil-Uruguay final, a world attendance record that has never been broken. Today, after several rounds of renovation, capacity stands at around 78,000 seats, but it remains the largest stadium in Brazil.

Officially named the Estádio Jornalista Mário Filho (though everyone calls it the Maracanã, after the river running through the neighbourhood), it has been the setting for Brazilian football's defining moments. Pelé scored his 1,000th goal here in 1969, Zico produced some of his finest performances on this pitch, and supporters of Flamengo, Fluminense, Botafogo and Vasco de Gama have filled the stands for decades of derbies, above all the "Fla-Flu".

The Maracanã has hosted two World Cup finals (1950 and 2014), the Copa América final, and the 2016 Olympic Games. It has also welcomed concerts by the Rolling Stones, Madonna, and Paul McCartney, as well as masses celebrated by Pope John Paul II.

On guided tours, visitors walk through the players' tunnel, the dressing rooms, the press area, and the pitch-side zone where some of football's most memorable scenes played out. The museum holds trophies, shirts, and other artefacts tracing the history of a country where football occupies a place of its own.