San Jose is the capital city of Costa Rica and is located in the centre of the country with a population of nearly 400,000 people. It is one of the safest latin american countries with a high quality of life. It has the main international airport for the country Juan Santamaria (SJO) however if you’re looking to explore just the northern part of the country then the airport of Liberia could be an option to fly into.
San Jose has a number of museums and theatres, many with European-inspired architecture and these buildings serve as the city’s main tourist attractions, not only because of their architecture, but because of the cultural, musical, and artistic presentations and activities, which include traditional and modern Costa Rican and San Josefinan culture.
Most popular of the theatres is the National Theatre of Costa Rica or the Teatro Nacional de Costa Rica. It hosts a number of spectacular performances and exhibitions and definitely worth a visit to experience the Costa Rican culture.
There are also a number of parks to visit including Okayama Park which is a japanese style garden with architectural elements, ornamental ponds and garden sculptures built as an everlasting symbol of friendship between San Jose and its sister city Okayama.
Also worth a visit is the Pre-Columbian Gold Museum which exhibits a collection dating from 300BC to 400BC to 1550AD with nearly 700 gold pieces as well as many ceramic and stone artefacts from around the country. Entry to the museum costs $14 and is open to the public seven days a week.
We chose not to spend long in San Jose as we wanted to dedicate our time to the amazing and unique natural wonders the country has to offer but San Jose is certainly the perfect place to start your Central American adventure.