The thriving state capital of Sonora, Hermosillo is a smart, affluent home to one of the largest Ford manufacturing plants outside the US. It’s surrounded by strange rock formations and presided over, right in the centre, by the Cerro de la Campana, a tall outcrop crowned by radio masts and surreally illuminated at night to resemble a giant, spiral snail-shell. The city has a turbulent history, and some of the earliest presidents of revolutionary Mexico were Sonorenses: Adolfo de la Huerta, born here in 1881, Álvaro Obregón, who was born in the southern part of the state, and Plutarco Elías Calles and Abelardo Rodríguez (both born in nearby Guaymas). Though their many monuments and the streets named after them reflect pride in this glorious past. While there’s little to see in the way of traditional sights, Hermosillo’s laurel-lined avenues, overflowing meat markets, shops full of cowboy paraphernalia and tasty snack food make for an engaging stopover on the route south. Note that summers here are fierce, with temperatures often exceeding 47 °C (117 °F).

Although the city itself sprawls, downtown Hermosillo is relatively compact. Hwy-15 from Nogales (270km to the north) comes into town as Bulevar Eusebio Kino, known as Bulevar Rosales as it runs north–south through the centre of town. Crossing it, Bulevar Luis Encinas passes the Central Camionera, 3km east of the centre, then leaves town to the west, past the airport towards Bahía de Kino, Virtually everything you might want to see lies to the south near Plaza Zaragoza or Serdán, the main commercial street downtown. To get downtown from the rather isolated Central Camionera, take a “Ruta 1” microbus, or a “Multirutas” town bus across the main road. To get back, catch a bus marked “Central Camionera” from Juárez (on east side of Jardín Juárez). Taxis are a fixed. The busy international airport, an important Aeroméxico hub (with flights to Los Angeles, Phoenix and Las Vegas), is 10km out at Carretera Bahía de Kino km 9.5. You can pick up fixed-fare taxis here; for anywhere within the city or to Nogales. Colectivos are into the centre. The spacious Plaza Zaragoza is the venerable, shaded heart of the city and a good place to begin any wanderings around the centre. The plaza is framed by the stately Palacio de Gobierno, completed in 1906 and boasting a series of florid murals highlighting the history of Sonora (painted in the 1980s), and the striking Catedral de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción, a grand edifice completed in 1908 but added to throughout the twentieth century. On the east side of the Cerro de la Campana you’ll find the Museo Regional de Sonora, Jesús García Final, which houses exhibits charting the historical development of Sonora from the conception of the Earth to the construction of maquiladora plants. Alternatively, check out the Centro Ecológico de Sonora, a 220 acres ecological preserve that is home to exotic fauna including lions, tigers and panthers. It’s about 5km south on Bulevar Rosales; take the “Luis Orcí” bus from Jardín Juárez. If you visit between October and December, catch the local baseball team in action: Los Naranjeros de Hermosillo is one of the best teams in Mexico. They play at the Estadio De Beisbol Héctor Espino on Luís Encinas and Solidaridad.

As the city is located on a plain in the Sonoran Desert, surrounded by flat areas with grass, behind which are greener hills that are then framed by serrated peaks in the background, the city is a common stopover for North Americans traveling by car toward the coast, and the only city in Mexico that purifies all drinking water before it goes to homes. The city is the major economic center for the state, with about thirty percent of the state's population living in the city. The center of the city is Plaza Zaragoza, built in 1865, in which there is a Moorish-style kiosk, which was brought from Florence, Italy, in the early 20th century. The plaza also has a flower garden and statues of General Ignacio Pesqueira and General García Morales. The plaza is framed by the State Government Palace and the Cathedral. The Palacio de Gobierno, Spanish for "Government Palace," was constructed in 1881, using stone from the nearby Cerro de la Campana mountain, has a white Neoclassical façade, with a central body that extends slightly more in front than the rest. This central body is flanked by Ionic columns and is topped by a semicircular pediment and a clock tower. The side wings have an aligned series of windows on the first level and balconies on the second, which the corners having thick pilasters. The interior has one patio with a main staircase, decorated with murals done between 1982 and 1984 by Teresa Moran, Enrique Estrada and Héctor Martínez Arteche, depicting scenes from Sonora's history. The building was officially inaugurated in 1906 and reflects elements of French style, which was popular at the time.

Catedral de la Asunción, Hermosillo: The cathedral, named the Catedral de la Asunción, is located next to Plaza Zaragoza. It was begun in the 18th century but was not finished until the beginning of the 20th. However, the first chapels associated with the cathedral were begun in the 18th century. Construction of the cathedral began in 1861 and is a mix of predominantly Neoclassical architecture with Neogothic decorative elements. The main entrance is flanked by paired columns on pedestals and the smaller side doors are topped with semicircular pediments. Above the main doors are two ogival or pointed windows, over which is a crest with a balustrade. The church's towers have three levels with a dome-like top and are decorated with crosses from Caravaca de la Cruz. The interior of the church is of very austere Neoclassical design. The Regional Museum was opened in 1960 with only one small hall, which exhibited archeological finds from the region. Today, there are two large halls, one dedicated to anthropology and the other to history. The anthropology hall display archeological finds such as tools, utensils, textiles, stone objects and more from both the pre-Hispanic and colonial periods. The second focuses on the colonial period and contains items such as documents, maps, tools, coins and more. Downtown Hermosillo places to eat: Serdán and the surrounding streets are lined with plenty of juice bars, places selling tortas and Chinese restaurants. Locals in search of fancier food tend to get in their cars and head for the restaurants situated on the main boulevards (such as Morelos) and the Zona Hotelera, now flooded with all the major US chains. Nevertheless, you shouldn’t leave the city without trying some of the local specialties: hot dogs are fabulously over-the-top here, wrapped in bacon and piled with all sorts of toppings some of the best stalls are around the entrance to the Universidad de Sonora, at Luís Encinas and Rosales. Also try some of the carne asada and the coyotas, sweet cookies made from flour, brown sugar, molasses and milk (best sampled on the stalls along Obregón). The student population also drives the local nightlife, with plenty of bars and clubs near the university.

The Museo de Sonora (Museum of Sonora) is housed in a building that originally functioned as a prison. It was completed in 1907 and built by the mostly indigenous prisoners themselves. The prison closed in 1979. In the 1980s, the building was reconditioned to open as the current museum in 1985. This museum has eighteen rooms covering various aspects of the state including its paleontology, history, archeology and ethnography. It has also conserved some of the cells of the original prison. Some of its more important items in the collection include a serpent's head from the Teotihuacan period, a collection of coins from the 16th century and various antique weapons. The Museo de Culturas Populares e Indígenas de Sonora (Museum of Popular and Indigenous Cultures of Sonora) was the former residence of Dr. Alberto Hoeffer. It was constructed in 1904 and restored in 1997, conserving it original French-inspired style. Today, it houses a museum mostly dedicated to the indigenous cultures of the state, including crafts, clothing, customs and ways of life.

The Plaza Hidalgo area of the city was a very fashionable area during the first half of the 20th century when a number of the wealthy and influential of the city built homes here. Today, many of these constructions now house institutions such as the Instituto Sonorense de Cultura, the Colegio de Sonora, Radio Sonora, the Colegio Library and the Colegio de Notarios. Each weekend, the plaza becomes a cultural center, hosting various activities and events such as concerts, exhibitions, theatrical works and more. The Cerro de la Campana mountain is one of the symbols of Hermosillo. Its summit is 350 metres (1,150 ft) above the valley floor and contains a lookout called El Caracol, which was inaugurated in 1909. There are two theories as to the origin of the mountain's name. One states that it is from a peculiar metallic sound that is made when the mountain's rocks fall against each other. The other is based on the bell-like shape of the elevation.

Just outside the city proper on the highway to Guaymas is the Centro Ecológico de Sonora (Ecological Center of Sonora). The Center has more than 300 species of plants and 200 species of animals from both Sonora and other parts of the world. All of the animals live in recreated natural habitats. The Sonoran collection is part of one of CES's main functions, which is to preserve the flora and fauna of the state. The collection contains representations of animals and plants from the four main habitats of the state: mountains, grassland, desert and sea. Some of the species are in danger of extinction such as the bighorn sheep, the white-tailed deer as well as a number of bird and reptile species. The Dr. Alfonso Ortiz Tirado Festival has been an annual event since 1985 and is the most important cultural event in northwest Mexico. It takes place in Hermosillo and a number of other municipalities in the state. Representatives from various Mexican states and countries such as Spain, the United States, Brazil, Germany and others send artists to perform and exhibit their work. The event is organized by the Sonoran state government and the Instituto Sonorense de Cultura. In the Coloso neighborhood of Hermosillo, and other locations in Sonora, the Yaqui people are known for their celebrations of Holy Week, which mix Catholic and indigenous religious practices. In Hermosillo, the main brotherhood that sponsors this event is called the Fariseos. Rites performed during this week are intended to combat evil and sickness, calling upon both saints and "temastians" or medicine men to use magic to expel evil spirits. During this time participants dress in traditional Yaqui clothing and perform native dances such as El Coyote (The Coyote), Matachines, Los Pascolas and especially the Danza del Venado (Deer Dance), animal sacred to the Yaqui as a symbol of good. Two other major festivals there include the Fiesta de la Vendimia (Grape Harvest Festival) in July and the Feria Exposición Ganadera e Industrial (Livestock and Industry Exposition and Fair) in May.