My free walking tour takes you to all the main places of interest, and then some, in San José, Costa Rica, one of my favourite capitals.
I rarely take organised walking tours, free or otherwise. I think I have done only 4 or 5 of them, no more.
The sights listed here are based on my wanderings during my 13-night stay in San Jose which have been collated to give you an idea of some of the top things to see and do in San José in one day or even just a few hours.
San José officially unveiled its brand “SJO¡VIVE!” in 2018 to attract Ticos and foreigners to Costa Rica’s capital, instead of just being a place to change buses.
Here are the SJO ¡VIVE! signs in San José:
Was it successful? No idea. My hostel has a high turnover of guests, arriving and the next morning, gone.
I was based in the eastern part of the city at the TripOn Open House Hostel in the upmarket Barrio Escalante.
The TripOn hostel is one of the 3 hostels I stayed in. The Finca Escalante and the ChillOut hostel are the other 2.
I can recommend all 3 as being great places to stay. Their popularity speaks for itself. Whilst I slept, my bed was reserved on booking, so I had to move. Twice.
Walking Tour taking you to these sights in San José
Estación Atlántico
So heading west, into town, first up is the Estación Atlántico, one of the oldest stations here in Costa Rica, which dates from 1908.
A few days later, I took the train from this station in San Jose to Cartago:
It was the terminus station of the line that ran to Limón on the Caribbean coast.
And whilst its importance might be lost on most of you, San José has 3 operational lines. Compare that to El Salvador, Guatemala and Nicaragua, whose railway networks have been disbanded. Panama has 2 metro lines and a tourist train, and Honduras has an unconfirmed freight line.
Travelling by train is a great way to see the country. A different point of view than just another highway. And of course, I rode one of the lines from Estación Atlántico to Cartago.
Parque Nacional
Then there is the Parque Nacional with the Monumento Nacional and the Nuevo Paradigma.
Morazán Park
After that, head to Morazán Park with the Templo de la Musico and the Alas de México San José:
The “Wings of Mexico”, which were presented to the public on August 1, 2017, at Parque Morazán in San José, is a joint donation from Jorge Marin, the artist himself and the Government of Mexico City.
San José is the first city in Latin American (after Mexico City) to receive these emblematic wings, which are already on display in seven other cities in the world: Tel Aviv (Israel), Berlin (Germany), Singapore, San Antonio (United States), Quebec (Canada), Nagoya (Japan) and Los Angeles (United States).
National Museum of Costa Rica
The Museo Nacional de Costa Rica was established in 1897 but moved to its present location in 1950. It overlooks the Plaza de la Democracia y de la Abolición del Ejército – Costa Rica disbanded its military on 1 December 1948.
Iglesia de la Soledad
The Church of Our Lady of Solitude was built at the request of the first Archbishop of Costa Rica, Anselmo Llorente y la Fuente, in 1851. It took 30 years before it was completed. And was restored in 2012.
Estatua de John Lennon
”Imagina a toda la Gente viviendo la Vida en Paz”, unveiled on November 25 2011
National Theatre of Costa Rica
Work began on the Teatro Nacional in the latter part of the 19th century and was finally completed in 1897. It’s no longer free to go and take a look inside.
Parque Central de San José
Iglesia Nuestra Señora de la Merced
With its neo-Gothic architecture, the original church was destroyed by a series of earthquakes and was rebuilt in an altogether different location.
Correos de Costa Rica
The San José Post Office. Sadly, the interior does not match the wonderful exterior
Bomberos Costa Rica
Statue of the firefighters at the Estación Metropolitana
The last stop on my Free Walking Tour, San José, Costa Rica:
Estacio del Pacifico
Old steam locomotive from Costa Rica:
