Nuevo León is the wealthiest state in Mexico and the least like the picture-postcard version of the country: industry, business schools, and mountains.
Monterrey is the third city and the richest, ringed by the Sierra Madre Oriental with the Cerro de la Silla — a saddle-shaped peak — as its emblem. The old foundry has been turned into Parque Fundidora, blast furnaces left standing in a public park, and the Macroplaza is among the largest city squares in the world. The MARCO contemporary art museum is the best in northern Mexico.
What makes the city unusual is what is twenty minutes from it. La Huasteca canyon is a world-class rock-climbing area inside the metropolitan area; Chipinque puts cloud forest on the skyline; and the Cola de Caballo waterfall and the Potrero Chico walls draw climbers from across the Americas.
Bustamante north of the city has a large cave system and a nut-paste sweet trade. General Zaragoza sits high in the south of the state near the Tamaulipas border.
Cabrito — kid goat roasted over coals — is the regional dish and is taken seriously.
