Most tourists go to Costa Rica for the beaches, rainforests and volcanoes but there are also many towns and cities full of history and folklore. One of these is the capital San José.
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Our first suggestion is visiting the city taking a walking tour, it’s the perfect way to get acquainted with a city in a short space of time:
- Plaza de la Cultura
- Museo de Oro Precolombiano
- Teatro Nacional
- Mercado Central
- This is our walking tour
- Tip: have lunch at the Central Market
- Where to spend the night
Plaza de la Cultura
The start of any visit to the capital of Costa Rica, San José, must be at the central Plaza de la Cultura, the main, largest square in the city.
Even if not astonishing by an architectural point of view, it’s the best place to get in touch with Costa Rican people and to see Josefinos, the inhabitants of San José, meet and have fun together with the street artists who gather in that square.
The Plaza is the safest place in the entire city, since it’s kept under watch day and night by the security guard of the Pre-Columbian Gold Museum (Museo de Oro Precolombiano), located exactly under the square.
Museo de Oro Precolombiano
The Pre-Columbian Gold Museum (Museo de Oro Precolombiano) is the largest and most important museum in the city and it’s worth a visit. In its magnificent rooms there is a treasure consistingof more than 1600 artifacts of Pre-Columbian inhabitants of Costa Rica, dated betwen 500 BC and 1500 AD.
The museum gives us the chance to learn about their history, their traditions and religion, paying specific attention to the Spanish conquest of the region.
The entrance to the museum includes a visit to the numismatic collections from the Spanish age and to any temporary exhibitions, which follow one another regularly.
Teatro Nacional
After the museum we continued our tour to the majestic Teatro National, which is also on Plaza de la Cultura, considered by many to be the most beautiful monument in San José.
Built during the 19th century, the theatre is a perfect model of the country’s neoclassical architecture.
Tickets for great shows and concerts can be bought in advance. If not, you can just have an excellent coffee or a dessert in the elegant coffee bar in the foyer. Be careful, it isn’t cheap at all.
Mercado Central
We then moved to Mercado Central di San José, which is the largest market in the city. Established in 1880, it occupies an entire block on Avenida Central, 250m northwest of the Parque Central.
Here we came into contact with the most authentic side of San Josè and its locals, where you can find all the typical Costa Rican products, together in an outburst of colours and scents. You’ll also have the chance to taste the delicious fried plantains of the local culinary tradition.
Address: Mercado Central Av. Central, San José, Costa Rica.
This is our walking tour
Tip: have lunch at the Central Market
What you will also find at the Central Market is a great selection of restaurants and cafés,. The market is where the locals go for lunch. You’ll find excellent home-style Costa Rican cuisine at a very reasonable price.
Where to spend the night
The hotel we chose for the first night was the Hotel Tryp San Jose Sabana 3rd Av, 38th And 40th Street, San José Province, Paseo Colon, 01000, Costa Rica. Email: info@trypsabana.com – Telephone: +506 2547 2323.
We have been really happy about this choice. The hotel was very beautiful and clean, the staff friendly and kind and everyone spoke fluently English, beyond Spanish, the local language.
Enjoy your stay!
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