San José de Costa Rica

Top 3 places to see and top 3 things to do in San José de Costa Rica (Costa Rica)

  • By Alex S
  • Travel Tips
  • 01.05.2016

If you go on a trip to San Jose de Costa Rico, then you surely won’t want to miss seeing or doing the following things:

Galería Namu
This is a fair-trade gallery operated by Aisling French where you can buy things like artwork, Boruca masks, Wounaan baskets, Bribri canoes, Guaymi dolls, Chorotega ceramics, Huetar carvings, and modern urban and Afro-Caribbean crafts.
Teatro Nacional
One of the country’s most respected places, it is located in the southern section of the Plaza de la Cultura. Built in 1897, its posh marble lobby and its auditorium are filled with various paintings on 19th century life. One famous one shows a banana planation harvest. There is also statues of Beethoven and Calderon de la Barca, who was a 17th century Spanish dramatist, as well as a beautiful columned neoclassical façade.
Parque Nacional
Parque Nacional is a nice shady park where you can rest and sit on concrete benches, or walk around to admire the various memories devoted to key people in Latin American history such as the Monumento Nacional, and statues of  José Martí, Miguel Hidalgo and Andrés Bello.
Museo Nacional
The Museo Nacional is in the old Bellavista Fortress, which was once the army’s headquarters during the civil war in 1948. It has exhibits on local history such as the pen used to sing the 1949 constitution and other artifacts.
Catedral Metropolitana
Built in 1871 in the Renaissance-style, the Catedral Metropolitana was constructed when the preceding church was destroyed by an earthquake. Inside, there are beautiful Spanish tile floors, stained glass windows, and a 17th century figure of Christ.
Costa Rican Butterfly Garden
Head for the Spirogyra Butterfly Farm to watch lots of kinds of local butterflies in this shaded area in a corner park.