Alpha Cultural Centre: Inaugurated in 1978, its installations house the Science and Art Museum, the Onmimax multi theatre, the aviary with more than 200 birds of 15 different species, the Garden of Science (with scientific games for children) The Universe Pavilion, which contains the only stained glass window designed by Rufino Tamayo, the famous muralist and painter born in Oaxaca.
The renowned artist imprinted his peculiar vision of the cosmos in this glasswork called The Universe, creating a piece of great value. It has 50 square metres and the pavilion bearing its name was built in order to protect it.
The seat of the Cultural Centre, administered by the Alpha Group, a conglomerate of private companies, is an impressive building with a cylindrical shape and tilted northwards that was built by architects Fernando Garza Trevino, Samuel Weiffberger and Efrain Aleman Cuello.
There is an imposing mural of Manuel Felguerez (Zacatecas 1928) called The Mirror on the ground floor; also on this floor one should visit the area of itinerant exhibitions and the variegated aquarium; there are objects related to the arts, the sciences and technology on the first floor.
There are permanent collections of the centre on the second and third floors, besides an area called Illusion and Knowledge where the children take part in experiments related to diverse scientific and astronomic phenomena through interactive games. There is a collection of archaeological samples of Maya and Olmeca objects on the fourth floor.
Another space of much interest is the planetarium or multi theatre, which has a 24-metre long screen and an enfolding sound that transports spectators to another reality.
Address: 1000 Garza Sada Avenue, Carrizalejo, Monterrey
Website: www.planetarioalfa.org.mx
Phone numbers: (52-81) 8303-0002 / 8303-0003 / 8303-0004
Working hours: Tuesdays through Fridays from 15:00 to 19:00 hours; and from 12:30 to 20:00 hours on Saturdays and Sundays.

Metropolitan Museum of Monterrey: It exhibits objects and cultural vestiges that date from prehistory up to our days. Its main exhibition is named Monterrey's Past / Land of Enterprising People, which synthesises the development and transformation of the "City of the Mountains", that great city that nowadays fills locals with pride, through an elaborated museum script.
The exhibition is divided in five themes: the first settlers of the XX century, customs and habits, the moving city, educational, social and religious institutions, and current Monterrey.
The Metropolitan Museum of Monterrey occupies a beautiful building since 1995, built more than 150 years ago to be seat of the city's government. This colossus of Mexican architecture is regarded as a Historic National Monument by the National Institute of Archaeology and History (INAH) since 1974.
Address: Ignacio Zaragoza Street South unnumbered, Centre Zone, Monterrey
Website: www.museometropolitano.org
Phone numbers: (52-81) 8344-2503 / (52-81) 8344-1971
Working hours: Tuesdays through Sundays from 10:00 hours up till 20:00 hours
Entrance: free

Glass Museum (The Home of Mexican Glass): Inaugurated in 1992, its concept and proposal is unique in Latin America, and its objective is to rescue, preserve and spread the history of glass in Mexico. The halls of the museum are the former ambiences of the Monterrey Glassworks, the first industrial glass factory in Mexico, and visitors will learn about the history, the development and the production processes involved in this activity while touring its rooms.
The traditional European glass from the XVI to the XIX centuries and the pulquero glass, of Mexican origin, are displayed on the ground floor. Popular and industrial glass are exhibited on the first floor, besides a sample of handworks and a recreation of Claudio Pellandini's and Victor Marco's workshops, as a homage to the pioneers on stained glass art in the late XIX and early XX centuries.
The tour ends in the attic, where a permanent exhibition of contemporary glassworks is on exhibition, with works made by local, national and foreign artists.
Address: 517 Magallanes Street, corner with Zaragoza, Colony Treviño, Monterrey
Website: www.museovidrio.vto.com
Phone numbers: (52-81) 8863-1000 extension 1119 / 8863-1070 extension 1219
Working hours: Tuesdays to Sundays from 9:00 hours up till 18:00 hours

Museum of Mexican History (Monterrey): It exhibits the most important historic collection in the north of Mexico, and its rooms represent the four periods or stages in the country's history: ancient Mexico, colonial Mexico, modern Mexico and the XIX century.
But this is not all; the museum has also a space destined to expand consciousness regarding the ecosystems and biological richness existing in these ancient Aztec lands. The importance of conserving water as a fundamental element in the development of man is highlighted in this room.
It is located in the Plaza of the Four Hundred Years, built by architects Oscar Bulnes and Augusto Alvarez.
Address: 445 Dr. Jose Maria Coss Street South, Centre Zone, Monterrey
Website: www.museohistoriamexicana.org.mx
Phone numbers: (52-81) 8345-9898 / 8345-8684
Working hours: Tuesdays through Fridays from 10:00 to 19:00 hours; and from 10:00 to 20:00 hours on Saturdays and Sundays
Entrance: free on Tuesdays and 12 pesos Wednesday through Sundays, except for children under 12 accompanied by an adult

Museum of Contemporary Art of Monterrey (MARCO): It is one of the most important cultural institutions in Latin America, and its 11 amazing halls exhibit both, temporarily and permanently, diverse artistic expressions (paintings, sculptures, photographs, graphic arts, architecture, electronic art and installations) that reflect contemporary sensibilities and tendencies.
But the MARCO is much more than a simple museum, it is an open and unlimited space for creative flashes in their more diverse forms; there is always room for sublime expressions of human culture, such as music, dance, literature, and video and cinema as well, in it. The museum was inaugurated in 1991, and its seat, located in the heart of the city, was built by renowned Mexican architect Ricardo Legorreta, who managed to make an artwork per se out of every corner of the building.
Right after entering this temple of contemporary creativity, you will be amazed by a magnificent bronze sculpture representing a dove, 6 metres high and with a weigh of 4 tons, made by Mexican fine artist Juan Soriano.
Address: Padre Raymundo Jardon Street unnumbered, Centre Zone, Monterrey
Website: www.marco.org.mx
Phone number: (52-81) 8262-4500
Working hours: Tuesdays through Sundays from 10:00 hours up till 18:00 hours; and from 10:00 hours up till 20:00 hours on Wednesdays

Regional Museum of Nuevo Leon (The Bishopric): It houses a collection of 3 thousand original objects that are testimony of most of the historic development of the state. Several objects from the year 1000 BC stand out, along with oil paintings and others from the XVI century, a christening font from the Franciscan Convent of San Andres, and a printing machine from the time of the independence.
There are also military uniforms on display, documents of great historic transcendence and a diversity of objects of incalculable value, all of them donated to the museum by institutions and outstanding sons of Nuevo Leon.
The museum was founded on September the 20th of 1956 and its seat is the beautiful Palace of Our Lady of Guadalupe, built between 1787 and 1788, on top of the Hill of the Bishopric, to serve as the residence of Bishop Fray Rafael Jose Verger, who died before he could see his project finished.
The museum offers travellers excellent vistas of the city thanks to its location; an additional attraction that turns it into one of the corners of choice for travellers arriving in Monterrey.
Address: Rafael Vergel Street unnumbered, Colony Obispado, Monterrey
Phone number: (52-81) 8346-0404
Working hours: Tuesdays through Sundays from 10:00 up till 17:00 hours