Explore Monterrey

What to know before visiting Monterrey

Monterrey is the capital and largest city of the northeastern state of Nuevo León, Mexico, and the second largest city in Mexico behind Mexico City. Located at the foothills of the Sierra Madre Oriental, the city is anchor to the Monterrey metropolitan area, the second-largest in Mexico with an estimated population of 5,341,171 people as of 2020 and the second most productive metropolitan area in Mexico with a GDP (PPP) of US$140 billion in 2015. According to the 2020 census, the city itself has a population of 1,142,194.Monterrey is one of the most livable cities in Mexico, and a 2018 study found that suburb San Pedro Garza García is the city with the best quality of life in Mexico. It serves as a commercial center of northern Mexico and is the base of many significant international corporations. Its purchasing power parity-adjusted GDP per capita is considerably higher than the rest of Mexico's at around US$35,500, compared to the country's US$18,800. It is considered a Beta World City, cosmopolitan and competitive. Rich in history and culture, it is one of the most developed cities in Mexico.As an important industrial and business center, the city is also home to many Mexican companies, including Arca Continental, Grupo Avante, Lanix Electronics, Ocresa, Cemex, Vitro, OXXO, FEMSA, DINA S.A., Gamesa, Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma Brewery, and Grupo ALFA. Multiple international companies, including Cognizant, Siemens, Accenture, MSCI, Ternium, Sony, Toshiba, Carrier, Whirlpool, Samsung, Toyota, Babcock & Wilcox, Daewoo, British American Tobacco, Nokia, Dell, Boeing, HTC, General Electric, Johnson Controls, LG, SAS Institute, Grundfos, Danfoss, Qualfon and Teleperformance, also have regional offices in Monterrey.The uninterrupted settlement of Monterrey was founded by Diego de Montemayor in 1596. In the years after the Mexican War of Independence, Monterrey became an important business center. With the establishment of Fundidora Monterrey, the city has experienced great industrial growth. -Wikipedia