Mexico Guide
The north
Getting Around
Though limited in scope, the best way to get around Monterrey – and certainly between downtown and the bus and train stations – is to take the clean and efficient metro, which runs on two lines: Line 1 is elevated and runs east– west above Colón (you see it as soon as you emerge from the bus station); and Line 2 runs underground from the north of the city to the Macroplaza (at the station General I. Zaragoza), connecting with Line 1 at the Cuauhtémoc stop, right by the bus station. It's simple to use: tickets cost about M$4 per journey and are available singly or as a multi-journey card (at a small saving) from the coin-operated ticket machines. The system runs from around 5am until midnight.
The streets of Monterrey are almost solid with buses, following routes that appear incomprehensible at first sight. The city authorities have taken steps to resolve the confusion by numbering all the stops (paradas), having the fares written on the windscreen and occasionally providing the tourist office with route plans, but it still takes a fair amount of confidence to plunge into the system. The old clangers are slowly being replaced by more modern versions known as panorámicos, found on useful routes like #1, #17 and #18, which run north– south through town and out to the northern sights.