San Jose, Costa Rica

Costa Rica Capital; San Jose

San José City Tour   www.graylinecostarica.com   $35 per person

Café Britt Coffee Tour    www.coffeetour.com    $26 per person

Kekoldi Indian Reserve & Waterfalls    www.graylinecostarica.com    $50 per person

Poás Volcano – Sarchí    www.crsuntours.com   $125 per person

San José is the capital and largest city of the nation of Costa Rica. It is also the capital of San José Province. The Republic of Costa Rica is a republic in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north and Panama to the south-southeast. ... San José is a province of Costa Rica. ...

San José is located in the center of the country at 10.0° N, 84.2° W; it is on a mountain plateau at an elevation of about 1,170 meters (some 4,000 feet) above sea level. In 1997 the city had an estimated population of 329,154 people: the latter half of the 20th century was a period of rapid growth for the city, considering that in 1950 its population was a mere 86,900. For considerations of sea level change, in particular rise associated with possible global warming, see sea level rise. ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999 in the...

History

San José was a small village of little significance until 1824. In that year, Costa Rica's first elected head of state, liberal Juan Mora Fernández, decided to move the government of Costa Rica from the old Spanish colonial capital of Cartago and make a fresh start with a new city. This was a time of much optimism in the newly independent nation of Central America, of which Costa Rica was at that time a state (see: History of Central America). The new capital of San José grew rapidly. Because of its late 18th century origin, San José has little of the Spanish colonial architecture common in most other Latin American capitals. 1824 was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Cartago is a city in Costa Rica, about 25 km (15 miles) east of the capital, San José. It is at an elevation of about 1435 m (some 4930 ft) above sea level on the Cartago River, at the base of the Irazú volcano. ... Before European Contact In pre-Columbian times, most of modern Central America was part of the Mesoamerican civilization. ... (17th century - 18th century - 19th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 18th century refers to the century that lasted from 1701 through 1800. ... Latin America consists of the countries of South America and some of North America (including Central America and some the islands of the Caribbean) whose inhabitants mostly speak Romance languages, although Native American languages are also spoken. ...

The University of Costa Rica was established here in 1843. San José also serves as the headquarters of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. Since then, it has grown rapidly and extended in the Central Valley. Along with Alajuela, Heredia, Cartago and other cities, the population reached 1.5 million in 2004. The cities of Heredia, Alajuela and San José are very close to each other. The Juan Santamaría International Airport and the Palacio de los Deportes are located in the metropolitan area, GAM San José. The University of Costa Rica (in Spanish, Universidad de Costa Rica, abbreviated UCR) is a public university in the Republic of Costa Rica, in Central America. ... 1843 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... The Inter-American Court of Human Rights is an autonomous judicial institution based in the city of San José, Costa Rica. ...

Important places in the city include the Banco Central de Costa Rica, La Sabana Metropolitan Park, Avenida Central (which is one of the major commercial areas in the city). The Central Park and la Plaza de la Cultura are visited by thousands of workers and tourists every day. The Melico Salazar Theater (National Theatre) and the Cathedral are landmarks in the central area. In the south, the Clínica Bíblica (a private hospital), la Estación al Pacífico (an old train station used for a cultural festival attended by over 100,000 in 2004) are important buildings.

Tourism

San José is Costa Rica's main transportation hub due to its central location, and tourist traveling around the country usually make stop-overs there. It is served by Juan Santa Maria International Airport. A tourist boat travels the River Seine in Paris, France Tourism can be defined as the act of travel for the purpose of recreation, and the provision of services for this act. ... Juan Santamaría International Airport (international code SJO) is located in 20 km from San Jose, Costa Rica was until recently the only international airport in Costa Rica.

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Frommer's View of San Jose

At first blush, San José might seem little more than a chaotic jumble of cars, buses, buildings, and people. The central downtown section of San José is an urban planner's nightmare, where once-quiet streets are now burdened by traffic in a near-constant state of gridlock. Antiquated buses spewing diesel fumes and a lack of emission controls have created a brown cloud over the San José sky. Below the cloud, the city bustles, but it's not particularly hospitable to travelers. Sidewalks are poorly maintained and claustrophobic, and street crime is a problem. Most visitors quickly seek the sanctuary of their hotel room and the first chance to escape the city.

Still, San José is the most cosmopolitan city in Central America. Costa Rica's stable government and the Central Valley's climate have, over the years, attracted people from all over the world. There's a large diplomatic and international business presence here. As a result, there has been a proliferation of small, elegant hotels in renovated historic buildings, as well as innovative new restaurants serving a wide range of international cuisines. Moreover, things have been improving in recent years. Mayor Johnny Araya has led ambitious and controversial campaigns to rid the narrow sidewalks of impromptu and illegal vendors, to reduce the clutter of billboards and overhead signs, and to bury a good share of the city's electrical and phone cables. There's even a move to more intelligently regulate bus and commuter traffic.

San José will invariably serve as a default hub or transfer point for most visitors to Costa Rica, unless you are flying in and out of Liberia. This chapter helps you plan your time in the capital and helps ease your way through the pitfalls inherent in such a rough-and-tumble little city.