San José, Costa Rica
Top places to visit in San José
6 places worth your time in San José, with what each is actually like and when to go.
Last updated 2026-08-11
1. Museo del Oro Precolombino
Photo: Catedrales e Iglesias · CC BY 2.0 · source
Pre-Columbian goldwork held underground beneath the Plaza de la Cultura.
2. Teatro Nacional
Photo: CRL_CB · CC BY 2.0 · source
The 1897 opera house built with coffee money, with guided tours and a café in the lobby.
3. Mercado Central
Photo: Catedrales e Iglesias · CC BY 2.0 · source
An 1880 covered market of sodas, spice stalls and butchers, still working rather than curated.
Watch outPickpocketing in the narrow aisles; the market itself is safe, the crowding is the opportunity.
4. Barrio Escalante
Photo: ltdan · CC BY 2.0 · source
The restaurant and café district, and where the city eats in the evening.
5. Museo Nacional
Photo: jacilluch · CC BY SA 2.0 · source
In the old Bellavista barracks, with the bullet holes from 1948 still in the walls.
6. Poás and Irazú volcanoes
Photo: wallygrom · CC BY SA 2.0 · source
Both are within a couple of hours, with craters you can drive almost to.
- Map: Open in Maps
- Best time: Early morning, before cloud closes in
Watch outPoás closes at short notice on volcanic activity; tours sold the night before are sometimes not refunded when it does.
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