When people talk about Costa Rica they’re used to be fascinated by its nature and environment.
In fact there are lots of more things to discover like history, tradition and habits of the original people.
If you are interested in getting into that side of Costa Rica, you should probably visit the center of San Jose where you find lots of museums. That is if you dont have enough time to visit the indigenous communities in the rural side of the country.
Especially the following ones are very recommended:
- Museo Nacional de Costa Rica (National Museum of Costa Rica)
- Museo de Arte y Diseño contemporáneo (Museum of Modern Art)
- Museo de Oro (Museum of Gold)
- Museo de Jade (Jade Museum)
Are you particularly keen on learning something about the history of Costa Rica? Then the National Museum might be the right place for you.
Visit Costa Rica National Museum
It presents Costa Rican history in a unique, interesting and innovative way from the beginning on to our life today. Especially kids will love it, as there is a huge place where you can watch butterflies right next to the entrance of the museum.
The exhibition starts with the original life of native people from Costa Rica. Watching some ancient houses and implements you get to know about their daily habits and the esthetic art they integrated in it.
After that part, you are going to learn about the long history of colonization which started in 15th century and lasted until the 19th century. Different aspects as such as religion, wars and relations to Spain are shown in many different halls you are going to pass.
At the end of the exposition you will be introduced to politics of the last 100 years and the situation of the country nowadays.
If you are more into creative things, the Art Museum is a nice place to go even if you don’t have much time. As it is a small exhibition, the visit takes about 15-20 minutes.
You will watch different kind of art, for example old advertisements, comics and modern art of various artists.
Visit Costa Rica Art Museum
Upstairs you will be introduced to an exposition that changes from time to time. In August 2018 it was about football related to the World Cup.
Another commendable museum is “The museum of Gold” right next to the National Theatre.
That place shows the different types of coins Costa Rica had in the past years and how it changed by the independence of Spain. Did you know that the first coin was minted in 1825 in a professional mint called “Ingenia los Horcones”?
Visit Costa Rica Museum of Gold
If you feel like getting deeper into this matter, give it a chance and go visit that interesting museum!
Moreover, you’re going to see different jewelry and many pre-columbean goods made of gold at the end of your visit. You will be told which meaning the different figures and objects had for them and in which area they where found.
You’ll probably like “El Museo de Jade“ if you enjoyed “El Museo de Oro“.
This one is situated right next to the National Museum and offers a huge range of jade stones from the pre-Columbian period. They show how people carved the stones and how they used them in their daily life.
Visit Cost Rica Jade Museum
As the museum was built in 2014 it is very modern and possesses many different devices to explain and show the work with jade. Therefore, you can also bring your kids, as processes are described in a simple way, suitable for children and in an interactive manner.
Furthermore, they have an exposition of “La Isla De Coco”, which is a beautiful and protected island in the Pacific Ocean. In this part of the museum they show some videos about sea animals and how ecologists try to save them from plastic pollution.
Visit Cost Rica Jade Museum
Last but not least I suggest you to go to these beautiful places if you have got some time in the capital San Jose. It is a really nice experience besides the incredible nature Costa Rica offers, so you’ll probably miss something important if you don’t go there!
Enjoy your stay and Pura Vida! 😊
By Natalie Rosenau from Germany
Leave a Reply