Top choice in San José
Just when everyone thought it would be Imperial versus Pilsen forever, this artisanal brew pub paved the way for craft beer in Costa Rica. The brewery's newer location in Brasil, a suburb of San José, offers tours and tastings of its fine products, which include staple ales such as Libertas and Segua, along with more experimental barley wines and Russian Imperial stouts.
It's out of town; ask locally for directions.
10.52 MILES
On the southern side of the Plaza de la Cultura resides the Teatro Nacional, San José’s most revered building. Constructed in 1897, it features a columned…
19.41 MILES
This polished storybook garden complex just east of Volcán Poás offers the most easily digestible cultural experience in the Central Valley and is the…
10.83 MILES
This museum houses the world’s largest collection of American jade (pronounced ‘ha-day’ in Spanish), with an ample exhibition space of five floors…
Museo de Oro Precolombino y Numismática
10.54 MILES
This three-in-one museum houses an extensive collection of Costa Rica's most priceless pieces of pre-Columbian gold and other artifacts, including…
10.17 MILES
Though josefinos mainly do their shopping at chain supermarkets, San José’s crowded indoor markets retain an old-world, authentic feel. This main market,…
Catarata Manantial de Agua Viva
27.54 MILES
This 200m-high waterfall is claimed to be the highest in the country. From the entrance, it’s a steep 3km (45-minute) hike down into the valley (an hour…
Catarata del Toro & the Blue Falls
22.28 MILES
Find a beautiful 90m-tall waterfall that cascades into a volcanic crater (free for overnight guests) and two trail options through virgin forest (one 4…
20.48 MILES
In front of the Church of San Rafael, this park was a normal plaza until the 1960s, when a gardener named Evangelisto Blanco became inspired to shave the…
1. Refugio Herpetologico de Costa Rica
4.42 MILES
Costa Rica is full of wild reptiles, but for people who prefer meeting things with scales under controlled circumstances, there's the Refugio…
5.78 MILES
Two blocks south of Parque Central, this plaza features a statue of Juan Santamaría in action, flanked by cannons. Across the way, the Parque de los Niños…
5.88 MILES
The shady Parque Central is a pleasant place to relax beneath the mango trees or people-watch in the evenings.
4. Museo Histórico Cultural Juan Santamaría
5.9 MILES
In a century-old structure that has served as both jail and armory, this museum chronicles Costa Rican history from early European settlement through the…
5.91 MILES
East of Parque Central is this 19th-century Roman Catholic church, which suffered severe damage and was reconstructed after earthquakes in 1941 and 1991…
6.15 MILES
About 10km west of Alajuela is this well-designed animal park with more than 115 species of bird on colorful, squawking display. The tranquil 14-hectare…
7. Iglesia San Rafael de Escazú
6.54 MILES
A cathedral at the center of town in San Rafael de Escazú.
8. Museo de Ciencias Naturales La Salle
8.21 MILES
Ever wanted to see a spider-monkey skeleton or a herd of stuffed tapirs? This natural-history museum near Parque La Sabana's southwest corner has an…