Monterrey

Macroplaza, Fundidora park and the history museum over two days

Monterrey's best introduction is the Museo de Historia Mexicana at the north end of the Macroplaza, which tells the country's story from pre-Hispanic times through the Revolution. From there, walk south past the Palacio de Gobierno, the Faro del Comercio and the cathedral, then lunch in the old adobe and stone houses of Barrio Antiguo, a few blocks east.

Afternoon. Pick up the Paseo Santa Lucía, the canal that leaves the Macroplaza and runs east. Walk it or take a boat to Parque Fundidora, then spend the late afternoon at Horno 3, the old blast furnace, where the elevated walkway gives a clear view of Cerro de la Silla. Stay for dinner back in Barrio Antiguo when the bars start filling.

Day two. Go early to the Cervecería Cuauhtémoc complex north of the centre for the brewery tour and a glass in the garden. Spend midday at MARCO, the contemporary art museum by the cathedral, or climb Cerro del Obispado for the old bishop's palace and the view west. Finish in San Pedro: cross the Puente Atirantado around sunset, then eat along Calzada del Valle.

Cabrito, machacado and the Sunday carne asada

Monterrey eats northern ranch food: meat, mesquite smoke and flour tortillas. The dish everyone asks about is cabrito, young goat splayed on a stake and roasted slowly beside hot coals, served with tortillas, raw onion and house salsa; old-style restaurants around the centre keep the carcasses turning in their front windows.

Breakfast is where the city is most itself. Machacado con huevo is dried, salted beef shredded and braised, then scrambled with eggs; locals eat it with salsa and a mug of café de olla, coffee brewed in a clay pot with cinnamon and piloncillo sugar. Early-morning stalls sell tacos mañaneros, small tacos of stewed meats that are usually gone by mid-morning. Atropellado, dried meat cooked down with tomato, onion and chillies, is another breakfast staple worth ordering.

On Sundays, families fire up the grill for carne asada at home and in the parks. Beer is the other local pillar: the city brews Carta Blanca, Bohemia and Dos Equis, and a growing number of bars pour craft beer from the region. Barrio Antiguo is the easiest place to try both in one evening, while San Pedro has the more polished restaurants.

Huasteca walls, García caves and the Cola de Caballo falls

The Sierra Madre is why many visitors to Monterrey stay an extra day. Cumbres de Monterrey, the largest park in Mexico's national park system, wraps around the western and southern edge of the metro area, and La Huasteca canyon, the García caves and the Cola de Caballo falls are all within roughly an hour's drive.

La Huasteca, in Santa Catarina on the western side, is a deep limestone canyon with walls that draw climbers from across the region. The road in is paved, and even a short walk along the dry riverbed gives a sense of scale. Go early: by noon in summer the rock throws back serious heat.

Grutas de García, a cave system high on a mountainside northwest of the city, pairs well with Huasteca on the same day. The caverns are lit and walkable, and they stay cool year-round.

South along the highway toward Linares, the town of Santiago has a colonial plaza and a church that make a gentle lunch stop. Above it, the Cola de Caballo waterfall drops through a wooded gorge; it is busiest on Sunday afternoons, so a weekday morning is better. Closer to the city, Chipinque park above San Pedro has trails through pine and oak with views back over the towers. Hiring a car makes these trips far easier, and in September check for road closures after heavy rain.