Where the Stores Are: Tio Gringo's Guide to Shopping in Monterrey
Written: Dec 17 '01
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Lots of bargains and variety
Cons: I wouldn't con you
The Bottom Line: Granted, shopping is better in Mexico City or Guadalajara, but if you're in northern Mexico, it's hard to beat the huge variety in Monterrey.
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| mrkstvns's Full Review: Mexico |
Monterrey is a pretty good place to shop. Not great, but good. It doesn't have the huge range of European and New York boutiques that you find in Mexico City, nor does it have as many artesania shops for picking up souvenirs as you'd find in major resort cities, but it does have a little bit of everything, and because it doesn't cater to tourists, when you find things you like, you can often strike better deals than you can in more tourist-oriented places.
It should come as no surprise that Monterrey is a good place for shopping: it certainly has the population to support a huge range of shops (Monterrey is about the same size in both population and area as Houston or Dallas in the U.S.) There are a gazillion places to buy stuff in the city, and a gazillion deals to be had if you know where to look. Here are my recommendations on places to go to find those deals...
Avenida Morelos:
My favorite place to shop in Monterrey is Avenida Morelos -- the long pedestrian shopping mall that extends from the Calle Zaragoza at the Macroplaza up to the Rio Doubletree Hotel -- a distance of about a half mile.
Walk Morelos on a weekend and you'll see people from all walks of life out enjoying the sunshine and strolling along looking in shop windows. There are tons of vendors selling balloons, toys, and chicharrones drenched in salsa. A few of my favorite places on Morelos area:
Union de Artesanias This is a big open-air market where arts and crafts are sold. It's very tourist oriented, but the prices are not bad at all -- about comparable to what you'll find along the Carreterra Nacional. There are places here selling ceramics, silver, leather, plus a popular candy stand right at the entrance where they also roast fresh nuts. There's also another artesania location on Hidalgo near the Rio Doubletree Hotel -- but half the stalls there are empty.
UPS is the official souvenir store of Monterrey. Stock up on T-shirts, tacky bumper stickers, and all things local, including candies and carne seca.
Sanborns is a fixture in every Mexican city, and the chain's premier location in Monterrey is on Morelos. Stop in and you'll find good food at the coffee shop and everything from books and videos to upscale gifts for the busy executive.
Nuevo Mundo is a block from Morelos, on Padre Meir, but it's one of my favorite downtown places to shop. It's a big urban department store that sells everything -- often at exceptional prices, although evaluate the quality carefully -- some "deals" aren't as good as they seem.
Aldo Conti has two locations on Morelos, both with very upscale, high quality men's business attire at reasonable prices. I've gotten in the habit of buying all my suits, oxford shirts, and slacks at Aldo Conti. I figure that I save 1/3 to 1/2 off the best prices find in Houston. The only caveat is to tell them to calculate your chest sizes loosely. Latinos seem to have adopted the latina preference for tight clothes -- if the guy fitting you starts squeezing the breath out of you, just tell him "mas flojo".
Plaza Fiestas San Agustin:
If you like big indoor shopping malls like you find in every city and suburb of the U.S., then head over to Plaza las Fiestas San Agustin in the San Pedro/Garza Garcia area -- about 3-4 miles from downtown. The mall includes big department stores, including U.S. chains like Sears and JCPenney, alongside big Mexican chains like Fabricas de Francia, as well as hundreds of small shops (including some nice folk art stores). The mall has a large food court on the lower level and another, somewhat smaller one on the upper level. There's also a Carlos N Charlies restaurant here, though it's not as lively as their locations in beach resorts like Cancun.
The first time you visit the mall, you might be surprised at the number of new cars displayed in the mall. The cars aren't there to advertise the dealers -- they're put there by the finance companies, of which there are at least 3 in the mall, all ready to take your credit application if one of the cars catches your eye.
Weekends are the best time to the visit mall, unless you hate crowds. I like people watching and I like the festive atmosphere. Every weekend at San Agustin feels like the weekend before Christmas at a U.S. shopping mall (except that the latinas dress far sexier in Mexico). Although the locals park on the sidewalks, the grass, in front of fire hydrants, etc., I head for the upper levels of the garage near J.C. Penney. The regiomontanos hate that parking area and avoid it all costs, so it's really the only sane place to be.
Galerias Monterrey:
This is another big indoor U.S.-style shopping mall with some U.S. department stores and some big Mexican department stores (especially Liverpool, which is about equivalent to a Foleys or Hechts in the U.S.) It's similar to Plaza las Fiestas San Agustin with similar stores. What I like about Galerias Monterrey is its convenient, central location on Avenida Vasconcelos, just off Constitucion -- 1 minute by taxi from downtown.
Mercados
Mercado Colon and Mercado Juarez are the two main traditional markets in Monterrey, although both are a bit seedy in my opinion and smaller, more expensive, and less interesting than central mercados in many other cities. In Monterrey, it seems to me that there is more action in the streetside vendors in the blocks around the market than in the markets themselves. These aren't tourist markets though -- those are the artesania markets downtown (see "Morelos" above).
Pulgas:
There are various flea markets around town, the biggest of which is in the dry riverbed of the Rio Santa Catarina right next to Avenida Constitucion. That flea market covers many square blocks worth of territory and is impossible to miss with its patchwork of colorful tarpaulins comprising a makeshift roof, mostly to keep out the hot sun. Everything in the world is for sale in the pulga at giveaway prices, but the place is extremely Mexican -- and lower class Mexican at that. It is not generally considered a safe place for tourists to be, but if you're an adventurous sort and you have some friends with you, you'll probably not get your a** kicked.
There are some other flea markets that are less transient and quite a bit safer for tourists. Ask a local for advice about these. One is just off Constitucion near where the fire station and movie theatres are located (not sure of the exact cross street offhand).
La Carretera:
The Carreterra Nacional is a highway leading out of town. The markets are located near the town of Santiago. I wrote a long epinion review about this place some time ago because it's a fascinating place in its own right. It's also a shopper's dream come true, although we yank the third seat out of our van before going because there are so many things to buy, including hand made rustic pine furniture, home furnishings, rugs, plus lots of souvenirs, kitchen junk, and food.
Getting Around in Monterrey:
Except for the market area around Santiago on the Carretera, all of these areas are easily explored from the downtown area by taxi. Taxis are cheap, plentiful, and reliable in Monterrey. There's basically nowhere in the city you can't get to for $5.
Buses are cheap too, but I don't think most of my fellow gringos like them too much -- most are hot and dirty. They're also hard to use. Even though the buses have major destinations scrawled on a window near the door, I've never quite figured out how to do connections. On the plus side, you can get anywhere in town for less than 50 cents.
Monterrey does have a subway system, predictably known as the Metro, however it's fairly small and geared towards getting people from population centers to the downtown areas -- it doesn't really go to the areas where a shopper or tourist is likely to want to go -- though it is a very clean, modern system. There is a stop at the Macroplaza at the corner of Padre Meir and Zaragoza.
Related Reviews:
Shopping on the Carreterra Nacional
http://www.epinions.com/trvl-review-23D1-AD4DFEB-392089C5-prod3
Things to See and Do in Monterrey
http://www.epinions.com/trvl-review-15B7-554D4FC-37EAD86D-bd1
Shopping in Mexico City
http://www.epinions.com/trvl-review-7E1F-1ED0DD84-39E79D4D-prod4
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Recommended:
Yes
Best Suited For: Friends
Best Time to Travel Here: Anytime
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