Sights in west-central San José are big on culture. Fans of architecture and history buffs won’t want to miss spending an afternoon here, and those looking for true cultural immersion should definitely hit up the market scene.
The warren-like Mercado Central (Central Market, 6am-8pm Mon.-Sat.) between Avenidas Central and 1 and Calles 6 and 8 is San José’s most colorful market and heady on atmosphere. There are flower stalls, saddle shops, and booths selling medicinal herbs purported to cure everything from sterility to common colds. The annex has booths selling octopus and seafood, plus butchers’ booths with oxtails and pigs’ heads. Pickpockets thrive in crowded places like this—watch your valuables.
Mercado Central: explore this tightly packed warren of stalls and stores selling everything from pig’s heads to saddles. This is a great place to eat for pennies in true Tico fashion. Photo © Christopher P. Baker.
Tiny Parque Braulio Carrillo, between Avenidas 2 and 4 and Calles 12 and 14, is also known as La Merced Park. The park is pinned by a monument honoring the astronomer Copernicus and a statue of the namesake former president of Costa Rica. Rising over the park’s east side is Iglesia Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes, completed in 1907 in Gothic style. The interior is intriguing for its slender columns painted with floral motifs.
Iglesia Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes was completed in 1907 and is noted for its slender columns painted with floral motifs. Photo © Christopher P. Baker.
Excerpted from the Tenth Edition of Moon Costa Rica.
