We spent three days sightseeing in San Jose. In reality, the three days weren’t consecutive as we did a side trip to Panama in the middle. San Jose isn’t the most exciting city in the world and Costa Rica has so many amazing things to see. So I’d recommend spending no more than a few days exploring the city, either at the start or the end of a visit to Costa Rica. Here is my pick of the top 10 things to do in San Jose. Bear in mind that, like most of the city’s museums and galleries, items number 2, 9 and 10 are closed on Mondays.
How to get to San Jose
Most people start and finish their visit to Costa Rica at the main airport; Juan Santamaría International Airport in Alajuela. This is 11 miles from downtown San Jose. We opted to stay near the airport the night we arrived, pick up a hire car (you won’t want one of those in San Jose), do a Costa Rica Road Trip and finish with a few days in San Jose. There is public transport from the airport into town; you can walk to the main road and pick up a local bus. This will get you to the Atlantic Railroad Station in around 50 minutes and costs CRC 665 (around £1). There are also a number of shuttle bus options, however we found that Ubers were so quick and cheap that we didn’t bother with public transport.
Getting Around San Jose
As mentioned above, we opted to stick to Ubers. They are prolific (we never waited more than a few minutes) and cheap.
Where to stay in San Jose
We had initially booked a hotel room in central San Jose, however when I contracted COVID, we decided to change and book an apartment, so we could be self contained while I isolated. We ended up at Casa Conde Hotel & Apartamentos. It’s a couple of miles outside the city centre, but a lovely, quirky place offering large apartments, interesting architecture and a great pool.
I fall in love with it immediately. It’s a rambling, colonial style complex like something out of a film set. It’s a bit shabby chic but iset in beautiful gardens, there are murals on the walls (and who doesn’t love a mural) and it has a good size pool in a tranquil courtyard. It’s just what the doctor ordered! The suites have 2 bedrooms, a kitchen and a living/dining area and there’s even, joy of joys, a washing machine.
For proximity to the airport, we spent our first night at Hotel Your House, which offers airport pick up and complimentary breakfast in the garden. And we rounded our trip off with a night at Hampton By Hilton San Jose Airport Costa Rica, which has an airport shuttle and a decent pool.
San José: Top 10 Things to do
| 1 | Stroll round Parque La Sabana |
| 2 | Admire the art at Museo de Arte Costarricense |
| 3 | Soak up the atmosphere and search for street art in Barrio Amón |
| 4 | Take a stroll through Parque Morazán |
| 5 | Relax in the Jardín de Paz |
| 6 | Take a walk through Parque España |
| 7 | See the Plaza de la Libertad Electoral |
| 8 | Take a selfie in Parque Nacional |
| 9 | Learn about the country’s history at the Museo Nacional de Costa Rica |
| 10 | See some contemporary art at MADC |
No 1 – Stroll round Parque La Sabana
Parque La Sabana is situated on what was San Jose’s original airport, but it is now a park and home to the National Stadium. You can follow a path round the lake, which is lined with vendors selling food and toys. The former terminal building has become an art gallery.
No 2 – Admire the art at Museo de Arte Costarricense
After a stroll round the park, round off with a visit to the gallery; Museum of Costa Rican Art.
My favourite pieces were the sculptures of Leda Astorga; I’m sure there’s a much more artistic way to interpret her work, but basically it depicts fat people having a good time!
The Golden Room
In addition to picture galleries, the walls of what was once the VIP lounge (the Golden Room), are covered with a 150 square metre bronze mural depicting the history of Costa Rica. Apparently it was supposed to ‘offer travellers a private and inviting space whose walls informed them, in an artistic and educational way, of events in the history of Costa Rica‘.
Sculpture Garden
Outside is a sculpture garden (who doesn’t love a sculpture garden?) with some interesting pieces.
The Museum is open daily except Monday between 9 am and 4 pm. Entry is free.
No 3 – Soak up the atmosphere and search for street art in Barrio Amón
To the north of the city centre in Barrio Amón, which Lonely Planet informs me is a ‘pleasant, historical neighbourhood, home to a cluster of 19th-century coffee grower mansions. Recently many of the area’s historical buildings have been converted into hotels, cafes, bars, and offices, making this a popular district for an architectural stroll.’
When we booked an Uber to this neighbourhood, the driver looked a little worried and checked that we really do want to be left here! We did, so off we set on our architectural stroll. First, we headed in the opposite direction as the old man has spotted a fire station with some fireman sculptures outside. A real fireman sitting outside told us; ‘This way is dangerous, go the other way!’
So we turned round and walk through Barrio Amón taking pictures of buildings and and the neighbourhood’s prolific street art, finally reaching the more touristy centre of town without incident, despite the driver and fireman’s misgivings.
No 4 – Take a stroll through Parque Morazán
There’s not a huge amount to do in San José on a Monday other than wander aimlessly through the city. We walked through a string of parks taking photographs for a couple of hours, starting at Parque Morazán.
Templo de Música
As well as pair of Instaworthy wings, Parque Morazán is home to the Templo de Música; a 1920s replica of the Temple of Love in Versailles, which doubles as a bandstand.
No 5 – Relax in the Jardín de Paz
The Jardín de Paz is a tree lined park, which runs between the Parque Morazán and the Parque España.
No 6 – Take a walk through Parque España
The Parque España is home to a statue of Christopher Columbus and a lot of birds.
No 7 – See the Plaza de la Libertad Electoral
On the edge of the Parque Nacional is the Plaza de la Libertad Electoral, which commemorates the abolition of the Costa Rican army.
No 8 – Take a selfie in Parque Nacional
The Parque Nacional has an interesting collection of sculptures, apparently of Latin American historical figures, like this naked man emerging from the earth.
No 9 – Learn about the country’s history at the Museo Nacional de Costa Rica
The National Museum of Costa Rica is housed in the former Bellavista Fort, HQ of the Costa Rican army until 1948, when the army was abolished. It is peppered with bullet holes from the Civil War, also in 1948.
You enter through a glass atrium which is a butterfly house. When we visited thee weren’t many butterflies flying around, however there was a rack full of chrysalises from which a couple of butterflies were emerging.
The museum details the history of Costa Rica. Some parts (the auditorium, jail cells) remain closed. This leaves the Pre Colombian History room, the History of Costa Rica room and space for temporary exhibitions.
My favourite part of the museum (because I’m a big kid) is at the end where a series of time lapsed screens allow you, if you run from side to side, to appear on several screens simultaneously. The old man was not impressed…
The museum is open daily except Mondays, from 8.30 am (9 am on Sundays) until 4.30 pm. Entry costs $11 for foreign visitors.
No 10 – See some contemporary art at MADC
Our final stop in San José was the MADC (Museum of Contemporary Art and Design). It’s always risky taking the old man to an art gallery, especially if it contains the word ‘Contemporary’ in the title. He tends to walk round muttering; ‘Call that art?’ a lot. To be honest, this time he had a point. It costs $4 entry – cash only, no change given. So we ended up having to pay $10 to get in.
The first exhibit we saw upon entering was literally a bowl of rotting fruit. Seriously? We paid $10 for someone to shove some rotten fruit in a recess and call it art!
Much of the rest of the space it taken up with chairs hanging from the ceiling. There’s also a map with some stickers on and a room where everything appears to be made of cotton wool, which is somehow indicative of Covid. I can think of better ways of spending $10. The best bit about the museum is the building (a 19th century former liquor factory).
The museum is open from Tuesday to Saturday between 10 am and 4.50 pm. Entry is now free.
- Trip Taken: February 2022
- Updated: March 2025
I hope you found the above information useful. For more top picks from other destinations in the 50+ countries we have visited, check out my full Top 10 Things To Do list here.
Jane's Midlife Journey 
Leave a comment