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Visit Monterrey Travel Guides

Travel Guides

Twelve dispatches on the city: safety, neighborhoods, food, the Sierra, the water question, the language. The questions visitors ask, answered conditionally, the way a local would.

    Cerro de la Silla under dramatic cloud cover above Monterrey
    01

    Is Monterrey safer than US cities?

    The data is unambiguous. Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, Washington, Atlanta, and Houston all post higher homicide rates than the parts of Monterrey you will actually visit.
    Wide aerial view of Monterrey with the Sierra Madre on the horizon
    02

    How many days do you need in Monterrey?

    Three days covers the city. Five lets you see the Sierra. Seven gives you the region. Anything less is a tease.
    The twin peaks of Cerro de la Silla against a clean blue sky
    03

    When to visit Monterrey

    A hot, semi-arid valley with a short window of perfect weather. The season you come in shapes the trip more than anything else.
    The Loma Larga tunnel through the Sierra Madre below Cerro de la Silla
    04

    How to get to Monterrey

    Flying, driving from Texas, the bus from CDMX. Each route has a hidden best practice that the airlines and the maps will not tell you.
    The high-rise skyline of central Monterrey against the Sierra Madre
    05

    Where to stay in Monterrey: a neighborhood guide

    San Pedro is the default, but San Pedro is large. Here is how to choose the right block within it, and when to skip San Pedro entirely.
    The preserved blast-furnace sopladores at Parque Fundidora
    06

    Why is Monterrey so rich?

    The wealth has a date, an address, and a labor force. The city was built by people who worked twelve-hour shifts — the families capitalized what came after.
    Cabritos roasting on vertical spits over coals
    07

    What food is Monterrey famous for?

    Cabrito, machacado, frijoles charros, the carne asada as a social form. Northern Mexican cooking is the cleanest, most ingredient-driven cuisine in the country.
    The Cola de Caballo waterfall cascading through ferns and forest
    08

    The best day trips from Monterrey

    Cola de Caballo, La Huasteca, Grutas de García, Saltillo, Real de Catorce. The city is also a base for the region.
    Aerial labeled view of Monterrey showing key neighborhoods and rivers
    09

    How to read a Monterrey address

    San Pedro is not the same as Garza García, which is not the same as San Pedro Garza García. Here is what each colonia name actually means.
    The Estadio BBVA in Guadalupe, home of Rayados
    10

    Rayados or Tigres: how to pick a side

    The Clásico Regio is the closest thing this city has to a civic event. Which team you support is more than a sports preference.
    The arid Sierra Madre peaks above Monterrey, showing the dry climate that drives the water crisis
    11

    The Monterrey water question

    The wealthiest city in Mexico ran out of water in 2022. Here is what happened, what it looks like now, and what it means for a visitor.
    The illuminated Hotel Monterrey signage at dusk in the Centro district
    12

    How to speak like a Regio

    Northern Mexican Spanish is closer to Texan-Spanish than to the Spanish of Mexico City. A short vocabulary that will make you legible at the table.