3 Best Sights in San Jose, Costa Rica

Spending an hour at this magical butterfly garden is entertaining and educational for nature lovers of all ages. Self-guided tours enlighten you on butterfly ecology and let you see the winged creatures close up. After an 18-minute video introduction, you're free to wander screened-in gardens along a numbered trail. Some 30 species of colorful butterflies flutter about, accompanied by six types of hummingbirds. Try to come when it's sunny, as butterflies are most active then. A small, moderately priced café borders the garden and serves sandwiches and tico fare. The place is difficult to find if you're driving, so keep your eyes peeled.

Three halls of this museum are filled with eye-catching seasonal exhibits for kids, ranging in subjects from local ecology to outer space. The exhibits are labeled in Spanish only, but most are interactive, so language shouldn't be much of a problem. The museum's most popular resident is the Egyptian exhibit's sarcophagus; the mummy draws oohs and aahs. Located in a former prison, big kids may want to check it out just to marvel at the castlelike architecture and the old cells that have been preserved in an admittedly gruesome exhibit about life behind bars. The complex that houses the museum is called the Centro Costarricense de Ciencia y Cultura (Costa Rican Center of Science and Culture), and that will be the sign that greets you on the front of the building. Though just a short distance from downtown, a walk here takes you through a dodgy neighborhood; always take a taxi to and from.

Though it isn't centrally located, the 180-acre La Sabana ("the savannah") comes the closest of San José's green spaces to achieving the same function and spirit as New York's Central Park. La Sabana was once San José's airport, and the whitewashed Museo de Arte Costarricense, just south of the Cortes statue, served as its terminal and control tower.

The round Gimnasio Nacional (National Gymnasium) sits at the park's southeast corner and hosts sporting events and the occasional concert. The Estadio Nacional, a sleek, futuristic-looking 40,000-seat stadium—a controversial gift from the government of China, which decided to use its own construction workers rather than employ locals—looms over the park's northwest corner. It hosts soccer matches primarily, but Paul McCartney, Elton John, Shakira, and Lady Gaga have all performed in the stadium. In between are acres of space for soccer, basketball, tennis, swimming, jogging, picnicking, and kite flying. The park hums with activity on weekends. The stadium grounds are fine, but avoid walking through the rest of the park after the sun goes down.