San José on a rainy
day

How to use this guide

This is for a rainy afternoon in San José spent indoors. Much of it is downtown and can be done on foot. The first cluster is Plaza de la Cultura: beneath it is the Pre-Columbian Gold Museum and Numismatic Museum, and next door the National Theatre runs guided visits every hour. A few blocks away, opposite Plaza de la Democracia, are the Jade Museum and the National Museum of Costa Rica (Bellavista Barracks). The Central Post Office Building and Philatelic Museum, the Metropolitan Cathedral of San José and the Museum of Contemporary Art and Design (MADC), in the CENAC, round off the centre.

With one day, give the morning to Plaza de la Cultura, eat at a soda in the Central Market and spend the afternoon at Plaza de la Democracia, where the Jade Museum stays open until 17:00. If you have time left, Mercado Borbón shows how the city shops, and the Municipal Crafts Market is the place for souvenirs. With a second day, leave the centre: the Costa Rican Art Museum (MAC) and the La Salle Natural Science Museum are at La Sabana, and the Dr. Rafael Ángel Calderón Guardia Historical Museum fits before lunch and specialty coffee in Barrio Escalante.

With children, the Children’s Museum and National Gallery, La Salle and the University of Costa Rica Insect Museum work better than the art galleries. On a tight budget, the MAC, the MADC and the Calderón Guardia museum are free, and so is the National Museum on Saturdays and Sundays.

Tips

• On Mondays the National Museum, the Children’s Museum, La Salle, the MAC and the MADC are closed; that day, go to the Gold Museum, the Jade Museum, the Post Office Building or the Calderón Guardia museum.
• Gold Museum tickets are bought online, only through the museum’s official ticket office. At the Children’s Museum it is also worth buying online: daily capacity is limited.
• Bring your passport or ID to the Jade Museum, as staff ask for it to apply the rate. On Wednesdays there is 2-for-1 on the foreign adult ticket at the physical ticket office.
• The National Theatre advises against shorts and sandals, and there is a café inside. The Insect Museum takes cash only.
• In the narrow aisles of the Central Market, carry your bag in front. Visit Mercado Borbón in the morning and do not wander west towards the Coca-Cola terminal.