San Jose — tijd en weer

Bezienswaardigheden en historische plekken

• National Theatre of Costa Rica (Teatro Nacional) — an elegant late-19th-century building with a marble staircase and frescoes, the symbol of the capital.
• Plaza de la Cultura — the city's main meeting square, with the Pre-Columbian Gold Museum located beneath it.
• Barrio Amón — a neighbourhood of late-19th and early-20th-century colonial mansions, many now turned into cafés, boutique hotels and galleries.
• Morazán Park and the Metallic School (Edificio Metálico) — a green respite in the city centre beside the historic building made of Belgian cast iron.

Musea

• Pre-Columbian Gold Museum (Museo del Oro Precolombino) — thousands of gold ornaments and ritual objects of indigenous peoples.
• National Museum of Costa Rica (Museo Nacional) in the former Bellavista barracks — telling the country's history, nature and the abolition of the army.
• Jade Museum (Museo del Jade) — the largest collection of pre-Columbian jade in Latin America, in a modern building beside Democracy Square.

Waar je tijd doorbrengen

• A morning coffee in Escazú or Barrio Escalante, home to the capital's best specialty cafés.
• A stroll along Avenida Central pedestrian boulevard and lunch at the Mercado Central — a maze of stalls selling fruit, fish and home-style food at the counter.
• A day trip from the city to Poás or Irazú volcano: both are less than a two-hour drive from the centre.

Lokale keuken

Drop into a typical «soda» — a small family-run diner — for a casado or gallo pinto: it is the most honest way to taste tico home cooking.