Costa Rica Guide
San José
Few travellers come to San José for the sights, and going by first impressions it's easy to see why. San José certainly doesn't exude immediate appeal, with its nondescript buildings and aggressive street life full of umbrella-wielding pedestrians, narrow streets, noisy food stalls and homicidal drivers. Scratch the surface, though, and you'll find a civilized city, with museums and galleries and plenty of places to walk, meet people, enjoy a meal, and go dancing. It's also relatively manageable, with less of the chaos and crowds that plague most other Latin American cities. San José is a surprisingly green and open city: small, carefully landscaped parks and paved-over plazas punctuate the centre of town. All the attractions lie near each other, and you can cover everything of interest in a couple of days.
Highlights
1 Mercado Central Enormous, labyrinthine food market where crimson sides of beef and crispy chicharrones (deep-fried pork skins) share the aisles with teetering mounds of papaya and sacks of pungent coffee beans.
2 Teatro Nacional San José's most elegant building, and a little piece of Europe in the heart of the tropics.
3 Museo de Jade Visit this compelling exhibit of jade artefacts created by Costa Rica's indigenous peoples.
4 Grano de Oro San José's finest gourmet restaurant has a lovely, leafy patio and is the only place in town for piña colada cheesecake.
Salsa lessons in San José
One of the best ways to meet people and to prepare yourself for San José nightlife is to take a few salsa lessons at one of the city's many academias de baile. You don't necessarily need a partner, and you can go with a friend or in a group. The tuition is serious, but the atmosphere is usually relaxed. The best classes in San José are at Bailes Latinos, in the Costa Rican Institute of Language and Latin Dance, Av 0, C 25/27 ( 
233-8938, 
233-8670); at Malecón, C 17/19, Av 2 ( 222-3214); and at Merecumbé, which has various branches, the most central of which is in San Pedro ( 224-3531 or 234-1548).