2 days in San José

Day by day

1. Day 1: Teatro Nacional and Museo Nacional de Costa Rica

   Teatro Nacional, Museo Nacional de Costa Rica, Pre-Columbian Gold Museum and Museo del Jade, then Barrio Escalante food street in the evening.

   1. Morning

      Teatro Nacional

      The foyer ceiling painting of coffee and banana harvests is one of the country's best-known images. The building still hosts concerts, theatre and dance.

   2. Late morning

      Museo Nacional de Costa Rica

      Exhibits cover pre-Columbian cultures, including the stone spheres of the south, and colonial and modern history, and a butterfly garden fills the entrance.

   3. Lunch

      Lunch: Gallo pinto

      Any soda or hotel breakfast; the sodas in the Mercado Central serve it from early morning.

   4. Afternoon

      Pre-Columbian Gold Museum

      Beneath the Plaza de la Cultura, the Central Bank's museums display a large collection of pre-Columbian gold pieces — frogs, jaguars, eagles and shamanic figures cast by Indigenous goldsmiths — alongside a coin and banknote museum and temporary art exhibitions.

   5. Late afternoon

      Museo del Jade

      It holds a large collection of pre-Columbian jade from the Americas, along with ceramics and stone carvings, with clear displays on how the pieces were made and used.

   6. Evening

      Barrio Escalante food street

      Walk the area early in the evening, choose a restaurant, and finish with a local craft beer in one of the taprooms.

2. Day 2: Mercado Central and Avenida Central

   Mercado Central, Avenida Central, Plaza de la Democracia and Edificio de Correos, then Barrio Escalante in the evening.

   1. Morning

      Mercado Central

      Founded in the 1880s, the central market is a covered maze of narrow alleys selling coffee, herbs, spices, leather goods, flowers and souvenirs, with dozens of small sodas serving casados, sopa negra and ice cream at counter seats.

   2. Late morning

      Avenida Central

      It is the simplest route through downtown and a good way to see everyday city life.

   3. Lunch

      Lunch: Casado

      Sodas throughout the city, especially the counters of the Mercado Central at lunchtime.

   4. Afternoon

      Plaza de la Democracia

      Craft stalls along its side sell hammocks, wooden bowls and souvenirs, and the Jade Museum faces it.

   5. Late afternoon

      Edificio de Correos

      Inside, a small philatelic museum displays stamps and telegraph equipment.

   6. Evening

      Barrio Escalante

      Craft breweries, cocktail bars and late restaurants along Calle 33 and nearby streets.

Before you go

If it rains

• Swap in Centro Nacional de la Cultura (CENAC) (Barrio Amón): Check what is on at the contemporary art museum, and look into the courtyards of the old factory buildings.
• Swap in Museo de los Niños (Barrio Amón): Allow a few hours with younger children, and take a taxi or ride-hailing car from the centre rather than walking.

Where to stay for this itinerary

Pace and daylight

The sights in this plan add up to roughly 10–12 hours of visiting over 2 days, before meals and getting between them. Daylight runs from about 11.5 hours in December to 12.7 hours in June.

Getting between stops: Walking. The Teatro Nacional, Gold Museum, Mercado Central, Museo Nacional and Barrio Amón are all within about 20 minutes' walk of each other.

More or fewer days

• One day in San José
• 3 days in San José

Questions travellers ask