A church in Barrio del Carmen.
Parroquia Nuestra Senora de la Soledad
San José
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
0.19 MILES
On the southern side of the Plaza de la Cultura resides the Teatro Nacional, San José’s most revered building. Constructed in 1897, it features a columned…
19.88 MILES
This polished storybook garden complex just east of Volcán Poás offers the most easily digestible cultural experience in the Central Valley and is the…
0.16 MILES
This museum houses the world’s largest collection of American jade (pronounced ‘ha-day’ in Spanish), with an ample exhibition space of five floors…
Museo de Oro Precolombino y Numismática
0.19 MILES
This three-in-one museum houses an extensive collection of Costa Rica's most priceless pieces of pre-Columbian gold and other artifacts, including…
0.56 MILES
Though josefinos mainly do their shopping at chain supermarkets, San José’s crowded indoor markets retain an old-world, authentic feel. This main market,…
Catarata del Toro & the Blue Falls
25.92 MILES
Find a beautiful 90m-tall waterfall that cascades into a volcanic crater (free for overnight guests) and two trail options through virgin forest (one 4…
27.74 MILES
In front of the Church of San Rafael, this park was a normal plaza until the 1960s, when a gardener named Evangelisto Blanco became inspired to shave the…
0.2 MILES
Entered via a beautiful glassed-in atrium housing an exotic butterfly garden, this museum provides a quick survey of Costa Rican history. Exhibits of pre…
Nearby San José attractions
0.16 MILES
This museum houses the world’s largest collection of American jade (pronounced ‘ha-day’ in Spanish), with an ample exhibition space of five floors…
0.17 MILES
Between the Museo Nacional and the Museo de Jade is the stark Plaza de la Democracia, which was constructed by President Oscar Arias in 1989 to…
0.19 MILES
On the southern side of the Plaza de la Cultura resides the Teatro Nacional, San José’s most revered building. Constructed in 1897, it features a columned…
4. Museo de Oro Precolombino y Numismática
0.19 MILES
This three-in-one museum houses an extensive collection of Costa Rica's most priceless pieces of pre-Columbian gold and other artifacts, including…
5. Museo Nacional de Costa Rica
0.2 MILES
Entered via a beautiful glassed-in atrium housing an exotic butterfly garden, this museum provides a quick survey of Costa Rican history. Exhibits of pre…
0.2 MILES
This architecturally unremarkable concrete plaza in the heart of downtown is usually packed with locals slurping ice-cream cones and admiring the wide…
0.25 MILES
Costa Rica's congress meets in this grand structure – known as the 'blue castle' – in the center of San José. It's scheduled to be replaced by a…
0.27 MILES
Since the 1920s, this large metallic dome perched atop columns in Parque Morazán has sheltered concerts, dance parties and political rallies.