Entered via a beautiful glassed-in atrium housing an exotic butterfly garden, this museum provides a quick survey of Costa Rican history. Exhibits of pre-Columbian pieces from ongoing digs, as well as artifacts from the colony and the early republic, are all housed inside the old Bellavista Fortress, which historically served as the army headquarters and saw fierce fighting (hence the pockmarks) in the 1948 civil war.
It was here that President José Figueres Ferrer announced, in 1949, that he was abolishing the country’s military. Among the museum's many notable pieces is the fountain pen that Figueres used to sign the 1949 constitution.
Don’t miss the period galleries in the northeast corner, which feature turn-of-the-20th-century furnishings and decor from when these rooms served as the private residences of the fort’s various commanders.
A three-museum pass (US$33; covers this one, Museo de Jade and Museo de Oro Precolombino y Numismática) saves money if you plan to visit all – it has no expiration date.