Plaza de la Cultura

For many Ticos, Costa Rica begins here. This architecturally unremarkable concrete plaza in the heart of downtown is usually packed with locals slurping ice-cream cones and admiring the wide gamut of San José street life: juggling clowns, punk-rock teenagers and pop-lite Christian bands. It is perhaps one of the safest spots in the city since the entire plaza serves as the ceiling of the Museo de Oro Precolombino y Numismática, which is located one level down, and is therefore considered private property (this gives security guards the right to shoo away ‘unsavory’ characters).