Mexico

Monterrey

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  • Population:1.1M (2020)
  • Area:970 km²
  • Elevation:546 m
  • Timezone:CT/CDT
  • IATA:MTY

Overview

Monterrey, the capital of Nuevo León and Mexico's third-largest city, is the country's industrial and business powerhouse — a city of glass towers set in a dramatic bowl of mountains, watched over by the saddle-shaped Cerro de la Silla. It pairs the vast Macroplaza, the steelworks-turned-park Fundidora and the MARCO contemporary-art museum with a famous norteño food culture built on cabrito and carne asada.

Travel

Monterrey, the capital of Nuevo León, is Mexico's third-largest city and its industrial and business capital — home to giants like Cemex and FEMSA and to the prestigious Tec de Monterrey university. Nicknamed 'La Sultana del Norte', it sits in a spectacular bowl of the Sierra Madre Oriental, and its defining image is the Cerro de la Silla, the saddle-shaped mountain that rises over the city. The civic heart is the Macroplaza, one of the largest city squares in the world, stitched together in the 1980s and lined with landmarks: the Palacio de Gobierno, the Museo de Historia Mexicana, and Luis Barragán's striking Faro del Comercio, an orange concrete slab that fires a green laser across the night sky. On the plaza stands MARCO (Museo de Arte Contemporáneo), a Ricardo Legorreta building and one of Latin America's leading contemporary-art museums, with its famous Juan Soriano dove at the entrance. From the plaza, the Paseo Santa Lucía — a landscaped 2.5-kilometre artificial riverwalk with boat rides — leads to Parque Fundidora, a huge public park built on a former steel mill, where the blast furnaces now house the Horno3 steel and science museum. Beyond the city, the mountains are the great escape: the cloud-forest balcony of Chipinque, the canyons of Parque La Huasteca, the vast Grutas de García caves reached by cable car, and the Cola de Caballo waterfall. Monterrey's food is proudly norteño — cabrito (spit-roasted kid goat) is the signature dish, alongside a deep carne-asada (grilled-meat) culture, machacado con huevo for breakfast and the caramel candies called glorias. The city is football-mad too, split between Rayados and Tigres. The climate is hot and semi-arid, with mild winters and very hot summers; spring and autumn are most comfortable. Metrorrey light rail covers key corridors, and Monterrey International Airport (MTY) connects the city across Mexico and the US.

Monterrey's civic centre is the Macroplaza, one of the largest public squares in the world, created in the 1980s by clearing several downtown blocks. It links a string of landmarks: the Palacio de Gobierno, the Museo de Historia Mexicana and the Museo del Noreste, the cathedral, and Luis Barragán's Faro del Comercio — a slim orange concrete tower that projects a green laser beam across the city at night. On the plaza's edge sits MARCO, the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo, a landmark Ricardo Legorreta building (look for the giant Juan Soriano bronze dove at the door) and one of the most important contemporary-art museums in Latin America. Just south, the Barrio Antiguo — Monterrey's oldest quarter, with cobblestone streets and 19th-century houses — holds the city's galleries, cantinas and nightlife.

Frequently asked questions

It is Mexico's industrial and business powerhouse — the 'Sultana del Norte' — and the country's third-largest city, headquarters of corporations like Cemex and FEMSA and home to the prestigious Tec de Monterrey. For visitors, its calling cards are the dramatic mountain setting (the saddle-shaped Cerro de la Silla is the city symbol), the vast Macroplaza, the steelworks-turned-park Fundidora, the MARCO art museum, and a hearty norteño food culture famous for cabrito and carne asada.

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