San José, Costa Rica Totally Explained

Everything about San Jos Costa Rica totally explained

San José (Spanish: San José; ) is the capital and largest city of Costa Rica, and is at the heart of the sprawling Gran Area Metropolitana or GAM, located in the Central Valley. San José is the seat of national government, the focal point of political and economic activity, and the major transportation hub of this Central American nation.
   Founded in 1738, San José is one of the youngest capitals of Latin America by its year of foundation, though it wasn't named capital until 1823. Nowadays it's a modern city with bustling commerce, brisk expressions of art and architecture, and spurred by the country's improved tourism industry, it's also a significant destination and stopover for foreign visitors.
   Officially, the city's current population is of 346,799, this population corresponds to the San José Canton, the first of the twenty administrative units in San José Province, though the metropolitan area stretches beyond the canton limits and comprises a third of the country's population. Besides, San José exerts a strong influence on a wider range because of its proximity to minor cities (Alajuela, Heredia and Cartago) and the country's demographic assemblage in the Central Valley.
   The city lies at a mean elevation of 1,161 m above sea level, and enjoys a stable climate throughout the year, with an average temperature of 23C and precipitation of 150 mm per month.
   The University of Costa Rica was established here in 1843, in that time with the name of "University of Santo Tomás". San José also serves as the headquarters of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. The city is served by Juan Santamaría International Airport, 23 km west of downtown, in the city of Alajuela.

History

See: History of Central America. The latter half of the 20th century was a period of rapid growth for the city, considering that in 1950 its population was a mere 8,900.
San José was a small village of little significance until 1824. In that year, Costa Rica's first elected head of state, Juan Mora Fernández, moved the government of Costa Rica from the old Spanish colonial capital city of Cartago. This was a time of much optimism in the newly independent nation of Central America, of which Costa Rica was at that time a state.

City Landmarks

The city's landmarks include the Banco Central de Costa Rica building; the Banco Nacional building, which is much taller than other buildings nearby, giving the city its particular skyline; La Sabana Metropolitan Park; and the Avenida Central, a pedestrian thoroughfare and one of the major commercial areas in the city. The Central Park and the Plaza de la Cultura are also visited by thousands of citizens and tourists every day. The Teatro Nacional de Costa Rica (National Theater of Costa Rica), the Melico Salazar Theatre, and the Cathedral are also other landmarks in the central area. Northward is a neighboorhood called Barrio Amon, with many older and historical buildings of architectural importance. The Clínica Bíblica (a private hospital) and the Pacific Train Station are located in the south of the city, both considered important edifices.

Climate

San José City lies in the Torrid Zone, like the rest of the country, but its elevation gives it a mild climate. The temperature ranges between 15 °C and 28.3 °C (59-83°F). The rainy season is from April to late November, but cloudiness and rainfall can occur during the dry season. The weather is also very windy, this may decrease temperatures even more. Relative humidity tends to range between 60% and 90%.

Tourist attractions

There are numerous touristic attractions around San José:

El Pueblo is a mix of more than 50 bars, clubs, restaurants, art galleries and shops. Lining the picturesque cobblestone streets within walking distance of several hotels and resorts, it's a lively place from 9 p.m. until dawn.
Calle de la Amargura in San Pedro near the University of Costa Rica has a wide selection of bars, restaurants and discos and caters to University students with food and drinks for relatively low prices. Pickpockets and low-level criminals are a cause of concern.
Pueblo Antiguo is a theme park with lots of fun and colors, it has many museums and is modeled after 19th century San José, it's located inside a massive complex called Parque de Diversiones de Costa Rica.
There are many red-light districts around the city and in the San José Metropolitan Area, where the adult entertainment business is growing.

Prostitution

Although prostitution among adults is legal in Costa Rica, child prostitution is illegal. Local media regularly report on child prostitution. It is also covered in the annual reports of the U. S. State Department regarding prostitution and the international trafficking of minors. Government statistics show that the problem is prevalently domestic in origin, but foreign governments have blacklisted Costa Rica as a haven for paedophiles. However the government deals harshly with those criminals they arrest. There are a large number of small establishments in San Jose catering to locals seeking prostitutes.
A small number of hotels might be tolerant of guests bringing in prostitutes, but most require that prostitutes show identification such as passports or national identification cards.

Attractions

Both The National Theater and The Melico Salazar Theatre offer hectic calendars of cultural activities, featuring acting and dance groups as well as orchestral musical presentations throughout the year.
There are some cafés in the downtown area, located in the Central Mail building, The National Theater and The Melico Salazar Theatre, where national coffee is prepared and served in typical Costa Rican ways.
There are also many museums and other attractions offering alternative ways of exploring the city. One of these is the Gold Museum, which offers an unusual view of various gold artifacts of the ancient Latin American civilizations. An interesting attraction for the less adventurous travelers are the Lankester Botanical Gardens at the outskirts of San José. Other attractions include various bars and clubs which concentrate their activity on holding musical shows and events. One of them, for example, is "Sand Live", which is a massive inside/outside bar and concert hall which usually holds rock and extreme metal concerts and shows.

Further Information

Get more info on 'San Jos Costa Rica'.

External Link Exchanges

Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:

<a href="http://san_jos____costa_rica.totallyexplained.com">San José, Costa Rica Totally Explained</a>

Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned.