The Macroplaza or La Gran Plaza is a

town square A town square (or public square, urban square, city square or simply square), also called a plaza or piazza, is an open public space commonly found in the heart of a traditional town or city, and which is used for community gatherings. Relat ...

plaza A town square (or public square, urban square, city square or simply square), also called a plaza or piazza, is an open public space commonly found in the heart of a traditional town or city, and which is used for community gatherings. Rela ...

located in the heart of the city of

Monterrey Monterrey (, , abbreviated as MtY) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern Mexican state of Nuevo León. It is the ninth-largest city and the second largest metropolitan area, after Greater Mexico City. Located at the foothills of th ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. The Macroplaza is the fifth-largest plaza in the world and the largest Plaza in Mexico. It has an extension of 400,000 square metres consisting of various monuments, smaller plazas and gardens. The Macroplaza was built in the early 1980s during the governorship of Alfonso Martínez Domínguez. The construction of the Macroplaza required the demolition of several old buildings and houses including a famous movie theater. One of the most iconic monuments of the city is the

Faro del Comercio Faro del Comercio is a monument designed by the accomplished Mexican architect Luis Barragán and constructed in 1984 by architect Raúl Ferrera. It is a recognizable sight in Monterrey among many other modern manmade landmarks, such as Neptune ...

(Lighthouse of Commerce), a 70-meter-tall modern lighthouse located in the same plaza, equipped with a green laser, that shot its light around the city at nights.

Landmarks

The Macroplaza is very famous and its features are the following monuments, buildings and

pedestrian zone Pedestrian zones (also known as auto-free zones and car-free zones, as pedestrian precincts in British English, and as pedestrian malls in the United States and Australia) are areas of a city or town restricted to use by people on foot or ...

s: *'' Palacio de Gobierno'', a neoclassical construction where the office of the

governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

is located. *''

'', a modern monument designed by architect

Luis Barragán Luis Ramiro Barragán Morfín (March 9, 1902 – November 22, 1988) was a Mexican architect and engineer. His work has influenced contemporary architects visually and conceptually. Barragán's buildings are frequently visited by international ...

. At nights it shoots a green laser around the city. *'' Explanada de los Heroes'', a 19,400-square-meter esplanade located in front of the ''Palacio de Gobierno''. *''Jardín Hundido'' (aka ''Parque Hundido''), an almost hidden garden located in the heart of the Macroplaza featuring various monuments and a

fountain A fountain, from the Latin "fons" ( genitive "fontis"), meaning source or spring, is a decorative reservoir used for discharging water. It is also a structure that jets water into the air for a decorative or dramatic effect. Fountains were o ...

. A

Speakers' Corner A Speakers' Corner is an area where free speech public speaking, open-air public speaking, debate, and discussion are allowed. The original and best known is in the north-east corner of Hyde Park, London, Hyde Park in London, England. Histor ...

, similar to that located in London's Hyde Park, is located in the ''Jardín Hundido''. *'' Teatro de la Ciudad''. *'' Biblioteca Fray Servando Teresa de Mier'', a

public library A public library is a library, most often a lending library, that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil servic ...

. *'' Fuente de Neptuno'' (aka ''Fuente de la Vida''), a bronze fountain representing the Roman god

Neptune Neptune is the eighth and farthest known planet from the Sun. It is the List of Solar System objects by size, fourth-largest planet in the Solar System by diameter, the third-most-massive planet, and the densest giant planet. It is 17 t ...

. *''Capilla de los Dulces Nombres'', a 19th-century

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

chapel A chapel (from , a diminutive of ''cappa'', meaning "little cape") is a Christianity, Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. First, smaller spaces inside a church that have their o ...

. *''

Plaza Zaragoza The Plaza Zaragoza in Hermosillo is the main plaza. It is located in the historic centre and is surrounded by important buildings such as the Catedral de la Asunción (Hermosillo's main church), the Palacio de Gobierno (Sonora), Palacio de Gobierno ...

'', the old city plaza located between the Cathedral and the original

city hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...

building (now the ''Museo Metropolitano de Monterrey''). * Monterrey City Hall (aka el ''Palacio de Cristal''), the headquarters of the

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

of Monterrey. *'' Homenaje al Sol'', a monument designed by

Rufino Tamayo Rufino del Carmen Arellanes Tamayo (August 25, 1899 – June 24, 1991) was a Mexican painter of Zapotec peoples, Zapotec heritage, born in Oaxaca City, Oaxaca de Juárez, Mexico.Sullivan, 170-171Ades, 357 Tamayo was active in the mid-20th cen ...

located at the southernmost point of the Macroplaza. The Macroplaza is surrounded by many buildings such as the Cathedral of Monterrey, the Latino tower (''Edificio Latino''), the Museum of Contemporary Art of Monterrey (MARCO), the Acero tower (''Edificio Acero''), The Metropolitan Museum (''Museo Metropolitano de Monterrey''), the Museum of Mexican History and the Museum of the Northwest but none of them are part of the Macroplaza.

Other nearby attractions

Other attractions within walking distance of the Macroplaza include the Morelos

pedestrian street Pedestrian zones (also known as auto-free zones and car-free zones, as pedestrian precincts in British English, and as pedestrian malls in the United States and Australia) are areas of a city or town restricted to use by people on foot or ...

to the west, the ''Plaza de los 400 años'', the Santa Lucia Riverwalk to the east as well as the Barrio Antiguo.

Transportation

The Macroplaza is accessible via

Monterrey Metro Metrorrey, officially Sistema de Transporte Colectivo Metrorrey, is a rapid transit system that serves the metropolitan area of Monterrey. It is operated by the Sistema de Transporte Colectivo Metrorrey, which is part of the decentralized public ...

, with the Zaragoza station located in the centre of the Macroplaza, near the ''Fuente de Neptuno''. The Macroplaza also includes a parking lot area.

References

{{Monterrey Landmarks in Monterrey Plazas in Mexico Tourist attractions in Monterrey

Landmarks

Other nearby attractions

Transportation

See also

References