Parque Fundidora

Monterrey was built on steel, and when the Fundidora Monterrey works closed in 1986 the city did something unusual with 140 hectares of industrial ruin: it kept the machinery and planted a park around it. Blast furnace number 3 stands as a preserved monument, climbable in parts and floodlit at night; the old foundry sheds became the Nave Lirica and Nave Generadores exhibition halls, the Cineteca and the Horno3 steel museum, and the rest of the grounds hold lakes, lawns, cycle paths, an ice rink, a baseball field, an amusement area and the arena and convention centres that host the city's big events, including the Festival Santa Lucia and Monterrey's international film and book fairs. The Paseo Santa Lucia links it all to downtown: a two-and-a-half-kilometre artificial canal, walkable and lined with fountains and sculpture, along which flat-bottomed riverboats carry passengers between the park and the Macroplaza in about twenty minutes. Together they make the best day in the city that does not involve mountains.

History

The park stands on the grounds of Fundidora Monterrey, the first steel and iron foundry in Latin America, which went bankrupt in 1986. A trust took over the land in 1988, work began in 1989 by preserving the important buildings, and the park opened on 24 February 2001 with 114 hectares; the 2.35-kilometre Paseo Santa Lucía river walk joined it in 2010, bringing it to 144 hectares (Wikipedia, Fundidora Park).

The main sights

• Blast furnace 3 - the preserved works and its museum.
• The industrial halls - foundry sheds as galleries and cinema.
• The Paseo Santa Lucia - canal walk and riverboats to downtown.
• The park grounds - lakes, cycle paths and event venues.

When to go

October to April - Monterrey's summers are brutally hot. Evenings are the pleasant hours, with the furnace lit and the canal cool.

Before you go

The park is huge; bikes or the internal train save legs. Individual attractions charge separately and add up. Big event days fill the parking and the canal.

Nearby

The Macroplaza, MARCO museum and the cathedral sit at the canal's far end; the Chipinque and Huasteca mountain parks ring the city.

Key facts