San José
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Another San José photo below

But first, a quick glance at where you probably WON'T want to spend much time...Parque Central in San José - the country's charmless capital.

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Unless you're planning to spend your time in the northwest Guanacaste area - in which case you should fly to Liberia's airport - you will almost certainly need to overnight in San José and pick up domestic transportation in the morning. So, welcome to San José where the coffee is great, the climate is good, the cuisine is terrible [unless pizzas, beans or burgers are your staple diet] and indigenous culture is close to nonexistent.
On a more positive note there is a reasonable selection of dining and drinking places, a couple of museums and theatres offer some intellectual stimulus, the ATMs work, the city has a lively night scene and the people are pleasant.

However, if you've efficiently pre-booked accommodation in one of the delightful hotels north of San José in the Central Valley then don't hesitate to head straight there, you won't be missing much, you'll be in a much nicer location and you'll be nearer to the country's main sights and action core.

A Costa Rican architectural guide: If it's new, build it with the all the style of a Stalinist barracks. If it's old, paint it technicolour, like this one in San Jose. And don't forget the wire drapes! But that's enough about the urbs, let's head for the hills. Smokin!

South America in general has an attitude problem with construction, not just Costa Rica. Firstly, new buildings are designed by engineers, not architects. Secondly, they are built as large as possible for as little money as possible. Thirdly, the fat cats who finance new projects couldn't care less about the style, they have several very nice villas of their own thank you very much, mostly in Miami.
That being said, it is still possible to find some spectacularly attractive structures in the country - mainly upmarket, out-of-town tourist hotels and fat cat villas.