Monterrey is Mexico's third-largest city and its industrial and financial powerhouse — founded in 1596 and named after the Spanish Viceroy Count Monterrey, it has always been more focused on commerce than culture. That said, the city has invested heavily in its public spaces and museums, and it's a genuinely interesting place to spend a few days.
The Gran Plaza (Macroplaza), one of the largest public squares in the world, anchors the city centre. It gives onto the Barrio Antiguo — the historic neighbourhood of 19th-century buildings now filled with bars, restaurants, and galleries. MARCO, in a striking building by Ricardo Legorreta, is one of the best contemporary art museums in Latin America. The Museo de Historia Mexicana and the hilltop Palacio del Obispado complete a strong cultural circuit around the centre.
Monterrey is surrounded by the Sierra Madre Oriental mountains. Parque Fundidora, built on the site of the city's old iron foundry, is an excellent urban park with the extraordinary Museo del Acero inside a converted blast furnace. Chipinque Mesa offers hiking with panoramic views, and the Huasteca Canyon — 300-metre limestone walls just west of the city — is one of Mexico's great natural surprises. The Cervecería Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma offers tours and has a publicly accessible beer garden under old oak trees.
The city is wealthier than most Mexican cities and prices reflect that. It's also hot and sprawling; a car or taxi is useful outside the immediate centre.