We will begin by a visit to the Art Museum located at the end of Paseo Colón in Parque La Sabana, this small museum was formerly the country's principal airport terminal. From here, we will visit the most important San Jose´s cultural and historic sites:

Central Market: You can find baskets, vegetables, meat and souvenirs at this market. The market also has separate stalls selling fish such as Dorado, shrimp and octopus; saddle shops; flower shops and booths that sell medicinal herbs. Prices are quite good and the visitors can easily wander through the market and get the best bargains.

Main Post Office: Constructed in 1917, the main post office is still functioning today. On the first floor is the Museum of Stamps with free admission. A small park parallels the building across the Calle 2 pedestrian mall. Open 7 am to 9 pm weekdays, Sat. from 8 am to noon.

Culture Plaza: The attractive square provides benches, a fountain, several small shade trees and one magnificent towering Royal Palm. There is also a monument to the Juan Mora Fernandez, the first President of Costa Rica. This is the main square for San Jose and is visited by thousands of both locals and visitors every day. The Plaza often hosts celebrations, demonstrations, performances, etc.

Pre Columbian Gold Museum: An architectural beauty, a long spiral staircase, is the connection between the three levels. One of the most valuable collections in the world is housed here. Animals of gold appear to be floating through the air. This is because they are hanging by transparent strings. The effect is an awesome sense of being surrounded by frogs, snakes, sharks, insects and birds all floating around in the air. Two levels of the Gold Museum pertain to the gradual social development of Pre-Columbian art. The Coin Museum is a part of this same building.

National Theater: Costa Rica's National Theater has been the nation's architectural show showpiece and cultural temple for more than a century. The theater had it's beginnings in 1890, when a European opera company featuring the prima donna Adelina Patti toured Central America but was unable to perform in Costa Rica because there was no suitable venue.
Wealthy coffee barons voted a tax on coffee exports to fund construction of a theater. Craftsmen were brought in from Europe were imported to build the magnificent structure with a classical Renaissance facade. The Theater was inaugurated in October 1897, with a performance of Faust by the Paris Opera and its famous Corps de Ballet.

National Museum: The National Museum is in an old military fort, symbolizing Costa Rica's peaceful tradition. The museum features pre-Columbian art with displays of gold, jade, stone and pottery. There are other pre-Columbian artifacts from indigenous cultures dating back more than 12,000 years.

Jade Museum: The exhibit is the largest American jade collection in the world (over 6,000 works of pre-Columbian art and jewelry). Open Monday through Friday, 8 am-4:30 pm.

Amón, Otoya and La California neighborhoods: These three neighborhoods are the site of the greatest concentration of historic buildings in San Jose.