jokusue

We're just planning on spending one afternoon in San Jose at the end of our trip. Don't have time for museums, just want to see the highlights. Any suggestions of 'must see / do' ?

volcanogirl

There's the Gold, Jade, and National Museums, but since you're not interested in those, the National Theater is popular. My folks toured it and thought it was interesting. There's also a central market. If you had time, you could drive to the La Paz Waterfall Gardens or Poas, but it's an hour away, so you may not have time. Honestly we never spend much time in San Jose because it seems like the real beauty, adventure, and wildlife are outside the city. We've stayed at places where we hiked the grounds or spent time in the pool vs. spending time in the city. There are a lot of bars on the windows, razor wire, etc. A lot of the city isn't all that attractive. Not sure if you would have time to do a coffee tour either.

eliztravels2

I agree with volcanogirl; it's just not that interesting a city. The museums are quite small so could fit in an afternoon. I wouldn't recommend driving as the traffic is crazy but cabs are pretty cheap if you want to get outside the city. We took one to a zoo--can't remember exactly where--and the driver very reliably came back to pick us up at exactly the time we asked.

zootsi

San Jose is home to the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum, one of the most interesting and bizarre attractions in the area. Lots of ancient Egyptian statues, temples, gardens, etc. The whole place feels like a new agey take on a Hollywood Egyptian movie set.
http://www.egyptianmuseum.org/

zootsi

Yikes - I was thinking San Jose California!! Sorry.

volcanogirl

zootsi, I was wondering how I missed that!

eliz, are you thinking of Zoo Ave? I've heard that's a nice smaller zoo.