The third-largest city in Mexico, and capital of Nuevo León, Monterrey is a dynamic, hard-partying showcase for contemporary Mexico. While the vast network of factories, the traffic, urban sprawl and ostentatious wealth that characterize the city are relatively recent developments, the older parts retain an air of colonial elegance. The city’s setting, too, is one of great natural beauty ringed by jagged mountain peaks, the Cerro de la Silla, or “Saddle Mountain” dominates the landscape. But what makes Monterrey really outstanding is the abundance of modern architecture and the bold statuary sprouting everywhere, expressions of Mexico at its most confident.

Monterrey local festivals. Festival Internacional de Titeres (mid-July). This puppet festival is particularly appealing to kids, with Mexican and international puppeteers holding shows in the city. Festival Internacional de Cine de Monterrey (end of Aug) The Monterrey film festival is one of Latin America’s largest, showcasing the best Mexican, Latin American and international films, as well as organizing lectures and other free events. Festival Internacional de Santa Lucía (Sept/Oct) Massive celebration of performing arts, with international dance, music and theatre (this replaced the former Festival Cultural Barrio Antiguo). Festival Internacional de Danza Extremadura-Lenguaje Contemporáneo (end of Oct). Scintillating dance festival with a heavy emphasis on local and Mexican troupes (contemporary), as well as some international guests.

Here, colonial relics are overshadowed by the office buildings and expensive shopping streets of the Zona Rosa, and by some extraordinary modern architecture the local penchant for planting buildings in the ground at bizarre angles is exemplified above all by the Planetario Alfa and the Instituto Tecnológico. There are three places specifically worth going out of your way to visit: the old Obispado (bishop’s palace), on a hill overlooking the centre, the giant Cervecería Cuauhtémoc to the north and the magnificent Museo de Arte Contemporáneo (MARCO).Of Monterrey’s two main markets Juárez and Colón. The latter, on Avenida de la Constitución, south of the Macroplaza, is more tourist-oriented, specializing in local artesanía.

At the heart of Monterrey, if not the physical centre, is the Macroplaza (officially the Plaza Zaragoza, and sometimes known as the “Gran Plaza”). It links the intensely Modernist Palacio Municipal, built on stilts at the southern end of the square in 1973, to the beautiful red-stone Palacio de Gobierno on what used to be Plaza 5 de Mayo. With numerous lovely fountains, an abundance of striking statuary, quiet parks and shady patios, edged by the Catedral Metropolitana, museums including the impressive Museo de Arte Contemporáneo and state administration buildings and you’ll see plenty of squawking red-crowned Amazon parrots in the gardens here, the thriving descendants of escaped pet birds. Admire the laser beam that flashes out from the top of the 70m-tall, graceful slab of orange concrete known as the Faro del Comercio, designed by the lauded Mexican architect Luis Barragán in 1984. In between Plaza Hidalgo and the Macroplaza, in the old City Hall, you’ll find the Museo Metropolitano (Tues–Sun 10am–6pm; free) with a small exhibit introducing the city’s history, beginning with its foundation in 1596 by Diego de Montemayor – labels are in Spanish only, but the lovely inner courtyard is worth a look in any case.

The elegant and beautifully renovated Obispado, the old bishop’s palace, tops Chepe Vera hill to the west of the centre like a golden temple, but lies well within the bounds of the city. Its commanding position – affording magnificent views when haze and smog allow – has made it an essential target for Monterrey’s many invaders. Completed in 1787, it has served as a barracks, a military hospital and a fortress: among its more dramatic exploits, the Obispado managed to hold out for two days after the rest of the city had fallen to US general Zachary Taylor in 1846. After so much history elsewhere in the city, you might baulk at the Museo Regional de Nuevo León inside (Tues–Sun 10am–7pm; M$41; T81/8123-0644) – essentially another journey through the past of Nuevo León, with an emphasis on religious and secular art, arms from the War of Independence, revolutionary pamphlets and old carriages – but the collection has an oddly appealing charm and is evocatively set in the original stone chambers with timber ceilings. Labels are in Spanish only. You get to the Obispado along Padre Mier, passing on the way the monumental modern church of La Purísima. Take the R4 bus, alighting where it turns off Padre Mier, then continue to the top of the steps at the end of Padre Mier and turn left; it’s a ten-minute walk in all. Return to the centre using any bus heading east on Hidalgo.

Cervecería Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma (Cuauhtémoc Brewery), established in 1890. This is where they make the wonderful Bohemia, Indio and Tecate beers you’ll find throughout Mexico (as well as the rather bland Carta Blanca and export Sol), and somehow it seems much more representative of Monterrey than any of the city’s prouder buildings. Free guided tours of the brewery run almost hourly throughout the day from the office next to the Jardín Cerveza (beer garden; daily 10am–6pm), at Alfonso Reyes 2202 Nte. The comprehensive tours (Mon–Fri 9am–5pm, Sat 9am–2pm; free) are usually given in Spanish, and you need to make a reservation if you require an English-speaking guide reservations are recommended in any case. Founded by the brewery in 1973 just behind the beer garden, the Salón de la Fama (Mon–Fri 9.30am–6pm, Sat & Sun 10.30am–6pm; free), the Sporting Hall of Fame, commemorates the heroes of Mexican baseball. To get to the site take Line 2 to General Anaya station, and walk 300m south. For decades, glass production has been one of Monterrey’s industrial strengths (for one thing, it has to provide all the beer bottles to the brewery), and to tap into the long history of Mexican glassware, Museo del Vidrio, at the corner of Zaragoza and Magallanes 517 (Tues–Sun 10am–7pm). A small but select display of pieces over the centuries and a mock-up of a nineteenth-century apothecary’s only act as a prelude to the attic, where modern, mostly cold-worked glass sculpture is shown to advantage; Raquel Stolarski’s Homage to Marilyn is particularly fine. To get there, take Line 1 to Del Golfo station, walk two blocks west and then two blocks north up Zaragoza.

Monterrey is known throughout Mexico for having fanatical sports supporters, and watching a home game of the Club de Fútbol Monterrey is a good introduction to the frenetic world of Mexican football (soccer). For a real spectacle attend any match against UNAL Tigres, Monterrey’s fierce rivals known as the Clásico Regiomontano, this is the second most important derby in Mexico (behind the Superclásico between Guadalajara and América). Until 2011 the team (known as Rayados or “the striped ones” because of their uniform) will play at the Estadio Tecnológico on Junco de la Vega, 2km southeast of downtown, before moving to the new Estadio de Fútbol Monterrey at the Parque La Pastora in Guadelupe, an eastern suburb of the city. Buy tickets at the stadium or via online vendors such as Ticketmaster. You can also see bullfights at the Plaza de Toros Monumental, Alfonso Reyes 2401 and lucha libre at the Arena Coliseo near the bus station at Colón 1050 (Mon, Tues, Fri and Sun). Planetario Alfa, Roberto Garza Sada 1000, 8km south of the city centre (Tues–Fri 3.30–8pm, Sat & Sun 11.30am–8pm), rises out of the ground at a rakish angle, providing an unusual venue for Omnimax films (hourly). Super-wide-vision movies. Also don’t miss Rufino Tamayo’s stained-glass opus, outside the main complex, in the Universe Pavilion. After dark, the place to head is the Barrio Antiguo, five square blocks of cobbled streets bounded by Dr. Coss, Matamoros and Constitución. On Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings (9pm–2am), the police block off the junctions, leaving the streets especially Padre Mier and Madero to hordes of bright young things surging back and forth in search of the best vibe. Alternatively, take a taxi to the Zona Valle and San Pedro Garza García where the latest mega clubs and bars play host to a smart, affluent set and real-ale drinkers.