Parque Nacional

One of the nicest of San José’s green spaces is the Parque Nacional, a shady spot where retirees arrive to read newspapers and young couples smooch coyly on concrete benches. At its center is the Monumento Nacional, a dramatic statue (erected in 1953) that depicts the Central American nations – with Costa Rica in the lead – driving out American filibuster William Walker. The park is studded with myriad monuments devoted to key figures in Latin American history, including Cuban poet, essayist and revolutionary José Martí, Mexican indepen-dence figure Miguel Hidalgo and 18th-century Venezuelan poet and thinker Andrés Bello.