León is also an important industrial, agricultural, and commercial center for Nicaragua, exporting sugar cane, cattle, peanut, plantain, and sorghum.

The city has been home to many of Nicaragua's most noteworthy poets including Rubén Darío, Alfonso Cortés and Salomón de la Selva.

The first city named León in Nicaragua was founded in 1524 by Francisco Hernández de Córdoba about 30 kilometres (20 mi) east of the present site.

Some architectural monuments include: Other remarkable buildings and places include: the walls of Guadalupe Cemetery, Guadalupe Bridge, the Debayle Museum, the Diocesan Archives, the Mena Theater, the Posada Colonial (a baroque structure in business since 1823), the old Train Station, the San Vicente Hospital, and the Subtiava Rural House.

Leon sits in the coastal lowlands of northwestern Nicaragua with volcanoes and hills of the central highlands in view to the east.