Parque Central

San José


The city’s central park is more of a run-down plaza than a park. At its center is a grandiose bandstand that looks as if it was designed by Mussolini: massive concrete arches support a florid roof capped with a ball-shaped decorative knob.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby San José attractions

1. Teatro Melico Salazar

0.05 MILES

On the north side of Parque Central is this theatre, which was built in 1928 in a beaux-arts style. It is named after the well-known Costa Rican tenor…

2. Catedral Metropolitana

0.06 MILES

East of Parque Central, the Renaissance-style Catedral Metropolitana was built in 1871 after the previous cathedral was destroyed in an earthquake. The…

3. Teatro Nacional

0.18 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. Plaza de la Cultura

0.19 MILES

This architecturally unremarkable concrete plaza in the heart of downtown is usually packed with locals slurping ice-cream cones and admiring the wide…

6. Mercado Central

0.22 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,…

8. Mercado Borbón

0.34 MILES

The Mercado Borbón is a true sensory experience of sights and smells, and you might catch the daily hand-truck race among the workers. The focus is on…

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