8 Sights in San José, Costa Rica (with Map and Images)

The 1,140-seat National Theatre of Costa Rica is Costa Rica's national theatre, located in the central section of San José. Construction began in 1891, and it opened to the public on 21 October 1897 with a performance of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's Faust.

Wikipedia: National Theatre of Costa Rica (EN)

The Pre-Columbian Gold Museum is a museum in San José, Costa Rica. It is located in a subterranean building underneath the "Plaza de la Cultura" and is owned and curated by the Banco Central de Costa Rica. The museum has an archaeological collection of 3,567 Pre-Columbian artifacts made up of 1,922 ceramic pieces, 1,586 gold objects, 46 stone objects, 4 jade, and 9 glass or bead objects. The gold collection dates from 300 to 400 BC to 1550 AD. The collection includes animal figurines, amulets, earrings, erotic statuettes and several dioramas including El Guerrero, a life sized gold warrior figure adorned with gold ornaments in a glass case and a detailed scale model of a Pre-Columbian village. There is also a replica of a pre-Columbian grave containing 88 gold objects which was unearthed on a banana plantation in southeastern Costa Rica in the 1950s. In Costa Rican history, gold was considered a symbol of authority and the items are testament to the craftmanship of the Pre-Columbian period.

Wikipedia: Pre-Columbian Gold Museum (EN)

The Centro Costarricense de la Ciencia y la Cultura is a science and culture museum complex in Costa Rica. Located in a fortress-like building that once served as the central penitentiary between 1910 and 1979, the center was inaugurated in 1994. It contains a number of important institutions including the National Auditorium, the Museo de los Niños, the National Gallery and a number of others.

Wikipedia: Costa Rican Center of Science and Culture (EN)

The Museum of Contemporary Art and Design, founded in 1994, is a Costa Rican museum, specialising in contemporary Central American art and design, but also representing international work in the field. To comply with this ambitious idea, we define and promote, in a permanent way, the most recent tendencies and dynamics in the world of contemporary art and design.

Wikipedia: Museum of Contemporary Art and Design (EN)

The Museo del Jade is an archaeological museum in San José, Costa Rica. Since 2014, it has been located in front of Plaza de la Democracia. It was founded in 1977 by Fidel Tristán Castro, the first president of the INS. The museum contains the world's largest collection of American jade.

Wikipedia: Museo del Jade (EN)

The Metropolitan Cathedral of San José Spanish: Catedral Metropolitana is a cathedral in San José, Costa Rica, located on Calle Central and Avenues 2 and 4. The original cathedral was built in 1802 but was destroyed by an earthquake.

Wikipedia: Metropolitan Cathedral of San José (EN)

The Plaza Cleto González Víquez is the largest of the squares in the city of San José, Costa Rica and is located in the Cathedral district. It was named in homage to the President of the Republic, Cleto González Víquez.

Wikipedia: Plaza Cleto González Víquez (ES)

La Sabana Metropolitan Park is located in downtown San José, Costa Rica. It is the country's largest and most significant urban park. La Sabana is considered "the lungs of San José" by Costa Ricans.

Wikipedia: La Sabana Metropolitan Park (EN)