Nuevo Laredo

Understand

Nuevo Laredo (along with Laredo, Texas) is the most important trade border crossing of Latin America (approximately 8500 trucks cross the border each day). Its geographical position has enabled this city to grow and specialize in the international trade business. Nuevo Laredo has a very developed logistics and transportation industry, complemented with a variety of hotel chains, restaurants and a cultural center where events such as the Tamaulipas International Festival take place.

Get around

By car, taxi, city buses, or on foot.

See

thumb|Presidencia Municipal There are plazas and monuments can be found throughout the city. Most visitors focus on shopping and strolling the streets of Vicente Guerrero and Ignacio Zaragoza. You may also see Los Tecolotes de Nuevo Laredo (Mexican Professional Baseball League) game. You may also see a play or a Broadway-style show in the Centro Cultural. Theaters: Nuevo Laredo has three main theaters the "Centro Cultural", "Teatro de la Ciudad", and "Casa de Cultura". The Centro Cultural, is Nuevo Laredo's main theater with a sitting capacity of 1,200 guests. The theater has presented high level shows high level, plays, concerts and dance recitals and one independent Art Gallery "Casa Black" that opens 2 times a year for a single weekend. The theater has a museum, library, and a cafeteria. The Teatro de la Ciudad is a theater which presents plays, dance recitals, concerts and musical shows and special events. The Casa de Cultura houses music, painting, dance and literature workshops and also presents major artistic and cultural events such as art exhibitions, concerts, film samples, dance recitals and plays, among others. Natural history museum. Its permanent museum exhibits human skeletons, dinosaur bones and fossils in general that allows to make a chronological history travel of the region, fauna, flora and geography, from the jurassic to our era. Jose Reyes Meza Museum. It has the name of a remarkable painter, designer and muralist from Tamaulipas, the museum displays va…

Do

Enjoy a show at the Centro Cultural Nuevo Laredo. Here there is a permanent history museum that walks you through the age of dinosaurs up to modern day Nuevo Laredo. There are also two rooms that host temporary art exhibitions and a sculpture walk outside. The Centro Cultural also hosts some really decent events, including an annual international music festival. The Plaza de Toros "Lauro Luis Longoria" in Nuevo Laredo attracts international bullfighting talent.Address: Ave. Monterrey No. 411, +52-867-712-7192 Doctor, dentist, pharmacy. Healthcare is far cheaper, and generally a higher quality (according to international rankings), than that in the United States. Are you due for a dental cleaning and check up? In Mexico, you can pay anywhere between US$10 and US$40 for a checkup and cleaning. Try to avoid the clinics closest to Bridge 1, where one will be approached by clinic promoters as soon as you clear customs. Many of the clinics accept US insurance (if you have it), Mastercard and Visa. If you have a prescription for medicine, you can have it filled in Mexico for less than it would be in the United States. Do not buy a prescription drug unless you have a prescription for it as crossing back into the United States with it will be a problem. La Zona de Tolerencia (Boys’ Town). La Zona is the infamous red light district on south Calle Monterrey near the corner of Calle Anáhuac. [https://www.google.com/maps/@27.4654955,-99.5290892,18z Largely in ruins today, it used to be a …

Buy

Mexican handmade arts, crafts, and pottery in Vicente Guerrero Ave located in downtown Nuevo Laredo. Markets. There are several markets in Nuevo Laredo. One of the best is open only a few days a week; it is close to Calle Los Dos Laredos (what Anahuac turns into after Calle Monterrey). If it is a market day, the roads will be packed and you will likely need to park several blocks away. If you GPS the address Sonora 6102, you will be led into the midst of it. Another really nice market is along Héroe de Nacataz close to the junction with Tamaulipas [State Road] 1. This market flanks the railway tracks and offers hours of stalls to browse. If you GPS Calle Héroe de Nacataz 7553, it should take you to the thick of it. Market Maclovio Herrera in the historic city center, here you can find many kinds of Mexican crafts from all the country, e.g. costumes, jewelry, traditional Mexican candies and piñatas.

Eat

When you cross on Bridge 1 and go straight, you will be on Av. Guerrero, which is a main artery of the city. Several blocks over to the left, there is a hospital called IMSS. In front of this hospital, there are several hawkers set up in front of the hospital. All of them are pretty good (as of 2013). At Guerrero and Heroe de Nacataz, at night, there is a popular and established taco stand set up. Known by locals as Tacos de Caballo. Regardless of the name, they do not serve horse meat. If you are on Blvd Colosio, there is a humble little restaurant very close to Parque Viveros. Take the exit for Parque Viveros, head up to the roundabout and take the 4th exit (Calle Carranza). A few blocks down you will see Tacos el Venado on the left just before the baseball fields. Parking is on the street wherever you can find it. A small and humble taco stand close to La Zona is a local favourite for barbacoa. From the entrance of La Zona, travel north along Calle Monterrey to Calle Guanajuato. There is another well established hawker at this corner across from Mariscos Los 7 Mares. This guy makes some awesome barbacoa on the weekends. If you are not into hole-in-the-wall restaurants or street food, you might consider El Rancho which is a well established restaurant serving a variety of Mexican favourites. El Nuevo Sol (Vegetarians): While meat is pretty hard to escape in Norteña Cuisine, El Nuevo Sol is an excellent chain of vegetarian restaurants. The main restaurant is on Peru, but the…

Drink

Day and nightlife is abundant in downtown Nuevo Laredo in Vicente Guerrero Ave. It is filled with bars, clubs and restaurants.

Stay safe

Like many other Mexican border cities, Nuevo Laredo has a high crime rate. Most crime in Nuevo Laredo is related to the drug trade across the American-Mexican border. Nuevo Laredo is the base of Los Zetas, who began as the armed wing of the Gulf Cartel; the two organizations separated in early 2010 and have been fighting for the control of the smuggling routes to the United States.

If you go to La Zona (Boy's Town), whether just to see it or for its various recreational activities: do not go there after dark, be extra cautious and alert to your surroundings, and be wary of those seeking to “help” you find anything. It might be prudent to bring a friend with you.