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The city is in the heart of a wide and fertile valley called the Meseta Central (Central Valley). San José's center is arranged in a grid with avenidas running east to west and calles running north to south. Avenida Central, a pedestrian mall between Calle 6 and Calle 9, is the nucleus of the city center. It becomes Paseo Colón west of Calle 14.
Street addresses are given by the nearest street intersection but most locals don't use street addresses, instead using landmarks to guide themselves.
The center has several barrios (districts), which are all loosely defined. Perhaps the most interesting neighborhood to visitors is Barrio Amón, northeast of Avenida 5 and Calle 1, which has a concentration of landmark mansions, largely converted into hotels and fine dining establishments. Just west of the city center is La Sabana, named after the park, and just north is the tiny neighborhood of Rohrmoser. Southeast of the downtown area are the lively student areas of Los Yoses and San Pedro.
Getting There
San José is the hub of all transportation around Costa Rica. Unfortunately, the transport system is rather bewildering to the first-time visitor.
Most people get around by bus, but there is no actual central bus terminal. Instead, there are dozens of bus stops and terminals scattered around the city, all serving different destinations. Efforts have been made to consolidate bus services and the use of the Atlántico Norte, Caribe and Musoc (aka Coca Cola) terminals have definitely helped the situation.
Aeropuerto Internacional Juan Santamaría (near Alajuela) handles international traffic from its sparkling new terminal while Sansa domestic flights operate from the diminutive blue building to the right of the main terminal. Aeropuerto Tobías Bolaños is for domestic flights by NatureAir.
Getting Around
Downtown San José is extremely congested - narrow streets, heavy traffic and a complicated one-way system often means it is quicker to walk than to take the bus. The same applies to driving: if you rent a car, don't drive downtown - it's a nightmare! If you're in a hurry to get somewhere that is more than 1km (0.6mi) away, take a taxi.
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