Free
in San José

How to use this guide

If you want to see San José without paying admission, nearly everything here can be done on foot. The centre fits into a morning along the Avenida Central pedestrian boulevard: start at the Central Market, pass Plaza de la Cultura and finish at Plaza de la Democracia (Square of Democracy and the Abolition of the Army). On the way you pass the Metropolitan Cathedral of San José, Parque Central and its bandstand and La Merced Church. A few blocks south-east, La Soledad church marks the start of Chinatown and Paseo de los Estudiantes.

Give the afternoon to the north. Barrio Amón, Barrio Otoya and Parque Morazán and the Temple of Music sit side by side, and the Museum of Contemporary Art and Design (MADC), in the CENAC, is a short walk away. The Metal Building and Casa Amarilla work as a school and a ministry, so you see them from the street. With a second day, choose the west, with La Sabana Metropolitan Park and the Costa Rican Art Museum (MAC), or the east, with the Dr. Rafael Ángel Calderón Guardia Historical Museum and dinner in Barrio Escalante and Calle 33.

If you can pick the day, make it a Saturday: all three free museums are open, there is the Feria Verde in Aranjuez and the Plaza Víquez market, and the National Museum is free at weekends. Avoid Monday, when the MAC and the MADC are closed. The Cartago basilica, the Santiago Apóstol church ruins, the Orosi Valley lookout and the Zarcero topiary park lie outside the city: they are the first thing to drop.

Tips

• The boulevard and the Central Market aisles get crowded: keep your phone and wallet in front pockets and your bag in front of you.
• Go to Mercado Borbón in the morning and do not carry on west: the area around the Coca-Cola terminal, a few blocks away, is unsafe by day and by night.
• For the Saturday markets, bring small cash and reusable bags and arrive early: the Feria Verde runs from 7:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
• The Cathedral, La Merced and La Soledad are working churches, so go in between masses. If you are heading to the Basilica in Cartago, avoid 2 August, the day of the pilgrimage.
• At night, take a taxi or a ride-hailing app from Barrio Escalante, and on Calle de la Amargura go in a group and carry few valuables.