San Jose

San José, the capital of Costa Rica, is primarily a transit hub for one of the world's most ecologically diverse countries — a functional Central American city that rewards a day of exploration before venturing to the extraordinary national parks and wildlife destinations surrounding it. The downtown area (Barrio Amón, La Sabana Park) has a pleasant human scale. The Pre-Columbian Gold Museum beneath the Plaza de la Cultura is outstanding — 1,600 pre-Columbian gold objects from the cultures that flourished here before Spanish conquest. The National Theatre, built in 1897 to European specifications (financed by the coffee boom), is one of the most beautiful buildings in Central America. The Mercado Central is excellent for fresh tropical fruit, coffee and local sodas (restaurants). Costa Rican food (gallo pinto, casado plates, excellent coffee) is the real draw. The Poás and Irazú volcano national parks and the cloud forests of Monteverde are within 2 hours.