This magnificent building, modelled after the Paris Opera, was opened in 1897 and was to serve as a suitably sophisticated location to experience European culture. Even today, the theatre is considered one of the most beautiful buildings in the country, and outside of show times, it can be viewed on guided tours. Also recommended is a visit to the Belle Époque café, which has an extensive speciality menu.

The National Museum moved into the former Bellavista barracks after the dissolution of the Costa Rican military in 1949. Today, the exhibitions rooms are accessed via a butterfly garden. The thematically arranged exhibition documents the history of the country in several rooms, ranging from the pre-Columbian era and colonial times to the present.

The Banco Central museum complex is located on multiple floors below the bustling Plaza de la Cultura. This includes the modernly designed exhibitions of the Pre-Columbian Gold Museum. The museum displays cult objects and jewellery from pre-Columbian times, as well as coins up to 500 years old and bank notes, the oldest specimens of which originate in the 19th century.

The National Park must be the most beautiful green space in San José and is home to a wide variety of plant and bird species. Locals enjoy using the wooden pavilions and picnic tables. There are several memorials in the park in honour of historic events and individuals from Latin America, including the large Monumento Nacional in memory of the battles for independence at Santa Rosa and Rivas in 1856.

The most important art museum in Costa Rica has been housed in this former airport building at the entrance to the Parque La Sabana since 1978. The permanent exhibition displays paintings and sculptures by Costa Rican artists from the 20th and 21st centuries; there is also a changing programme of temporary exhibitions to see.

The Amón district is located north-west of the Parque Morazan, roughly between Avenidas 7 and 11. Before the houses became derelict, the area was once inhabited by coffee barons, bankers and politicians. Thanks to a revitalisation and traffic calming project, the district was restored into a desirable area to live.Many beautiful boutique hotels have opened in the renovated historical buildings.

The Children’s Museum, housed in the former central prison, was the first interactive museum in Latin America at the time of its opening in 1994. Today there are 40 rooms with cultural, scientific and technical topics to playfully explore. The building is also home to the National Gallery.

This market hall and the stalls in front and behind are where Josefinos, the locals, go to shop. You can buy everyday necessities like fruit, vegetables, meat and fish, but also saddles and snakeskin boots. In the centre of the market hall, there are several small snack vendors who offer cheap and fresh local specialities.

The national park is located around 20 kilometres north of San José. It is divided into two areas: On the western side are the volcanoes Cacho Negro and Barva, whose main crater lies at an altitude of almost 3000 metres. On the eastern side is the aerial tram, which takes visitors on a one-hour ride through the evergreen jungle canopy – an unforgettable experience.

At Río Pacuare, around 120 kilometres west of San José on the road to Puerto Limón, there are several jungle lodges and rafting stations, where you can travel through the luscious landscape of the rainforest over white-water rapids. Good fitness and a little practice are prerequisites for these adventure tours.

From among the nearly 400 locally grown coffee varieties, César Madriz picked just 14 for the café he recently opened in the trendy gastronomic district Escalante. He personally roasts the beans once a week. The 27-year-old barista learned his trade from his coffee producer father and runs the Franco alongside his business partner, Brandon Mais, who hails from San Francisco. The café has a pleasantly loungy atmosphere with a modern jazz soundtrack, laurel-wood tables and an exquisite little flower shop in the middle. It also offers tasty confections from its own bakery to accompany your cafecito, which comes in the form of espresso, cappuccino or macchiato from the  machine or classic black from the Chemex, a special glass carafe for a slow-pour and drip method that coaxes more flavor from the beans. If you like the sound of a one-hour coffee workshop, drop a line to info@franco.cr.

While on a visit to Germany two years ago, one thing in particular struck Vera Rojas Morales: “The Germans drink so much coffee!” Because it usually tastes “bitter and strong,” they often sweeten it, although “good coffee needs no sugar,” says the Espíritu Santo manager. Good coffee is what you get when, as in Costa Rica – and therefore also on her coffee plantation – the coffee ripens on volcanic soil, where it can develop a balanced acidity and fruity notes. Rojas Morales took over the more than100-year-old estate in the hills of the tiny village of Naranjo from her father. It encompasses 2300 small farms, often run by women, who bring their harvests to a cooperative. There, the beans are only fermented and then sold “green” to countries all over the world, where they will later be freshly roasted – at Starbucks, for example. Every step, from cultivation to sale (shop!) is described and illustrated on the coffee tour, which includes tastings. Visitors also learn that the estate has already met the official national target for 2021, which is to ensure 100-percent climate-neutral operation.

All of them –  , from “Ike” Eisenhower, Che Guevara and Fidel Castro to Helmut Kohl and the Dalai Lama – wanted to experience it, the “soul of coffee” at the National Theater of Costa Rica, a building funded by the coffee aristocracy. Sitting at a Viennese-style coffeehouse table beneath a magnificent ceiling fresco, you will be served the country’s most famous beverage – from one of seven provinces, according to your preference. But first, it’s worth taking a look around the building and especially at a large mural dating from 1897, which is considered part of the nation’s identity even though it contains three errors: a banana plant growing the wrong way up and a white-skinned coffee picker on a plantation that’s right beside the ocean.

Coffee isn’t just an enlivening beverage, it perks us up on the outside, too. In the tasteful, tranquil surroundings of the Kuö Spa in the grounds of the Marriott Hotel, hotel guests and other visitors (please arrange an appointment) can let themselves be cocooned in the aromatic powder (body wrap) or treat themselves to a coffee body scrub. The coffee grounds come straight from the neighboring coffee plantation and are supposed to cleanse the skin (kuö in the indigenous language Cabécar) and nourish it with vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. For a fresh, lively look rather than a caffeine-induced flush, maybe after a long flight.

Virtually everything colones (the local currency) can buy has been on sale at the central market in San José since 1880 – even livestock in the early days. For decades now, Costa Rican coffee has been on sale at the corner stand of the Café Central, right across from the entrance to Avenida 1. Just follow your nose and the promising rattle of the roaster as it constantly turns out freshly browned beans. Barista Patricia and the rest of the staff know all the nuances of the different varieties: What’s it to be? A mild, aromatic café negro from the Tarrazu highlands, or an intense caracolillo brewed from small, snail-shaped beans? Patricia first pours the coffee into a small pot of hot water and then lets it trickle through the traditional chorreador, a kind of cotton sock suspended from a wooden stand. Chorreadors can be purchased at the café as well as from market stalls selling household goods.

Café Rica (rich coffee) is to the Ticos, as Costa Ricans call themselves, what Kahlúa is to the Mexicans: a sweet, highly potent coffee liqueur made with genuine Arabica. Café Rica has been around since 1978, when it was first created by Edward Drew, a Jamaican and a keen cook who had relocated to his mother’s native country. The success of his company, Salicsa, and of its Golden Cream is founded on this very palatable beverage. The cream liqueur contains plenty of Café Rica, but unlike its Irish counterpart, Baileys, no chocolate extract. Café Rica makes a fine last-minute souvenir from the Duty Free Shop at Juan Santamaría International Airport in San José.

To escape the hubbub and the congested streets of San José and enjoy the rich natural countryside close to the capital, check in at this country inn at the heart of an over 120 000-square-meter organic coffee plantation, where the coffee “cherries” are left to ripen at their leisure in the shade. From the infinity pool, which is fed by the hotel’s own spring, you can look across to volcanoes and down into Central Valley and San José. The 13 suites with their whitewashed walls, intricate Gaudí-style arts and crafts and ample terraces amid lush greenery invite you to linger longer. And there’s more: The fusion dishes made from ingredients grown in the hotel’s own organic gardens and served at the El Tigre Vestido restaurant as well as a guided tour of the plantation are sure to give you a lasting “coffee baron” feeling.

A gourmet mile has developed along the Avenida Escazú, west of the city centre. The most elegant of the many restaurants there is the Saga, which serves Mediterranean-inspired dishes.

The Gran Hotel’s in-house restaurant also welcomes guests from outside the hotel. The menu features fresh and beautifully prepared international cuisine with local flair. The terrace offers a beautiful view over the city.

The interior of this inner city restaurant is reminiscent of Latin America in the 1930s, with a lot of dark wood, elegant accessories and waiters in classic uniforms. This is accompanied by a menu featuring all kinds of steaks as well as pasta dishes and a large selection of wines.

The dining rooms of this restaurant are themed by region – for example, there is a Chinese and an Indonesian room. Guests can order Asian dishes throughout the restaurant, and even vegetarians will not be disappointed.

This café near the Parque Morazán has established itself as a meeting point for creative people from around the globe. It offers sandwiches, salads and burgers, including many vegetarian and vegan dishes. Readings and concerts often take place in the evening.

The Steinvorth house, built in 1907, is one of the classic locations in San José nightlife. For many years it was occupied by a music club; nowadays, it operates as an art gallery. However, concerts still take place regularly and the café bar still serves as a meeting point for night-time revellers.

This club is a meeting point for the LGBTQ+ community. There the party never stops and you can often find concerts or themed parties mid-week.

This bar is home to jazz, blues, R&B and Latin American folk, played mostly live on its small stage. Although the club has a capacity of only 220 people, it still attracts famous musicians. A second jazz café is located in San Rafael de Escazú.

The top address for techno and house is located in the Centro Colón office block. The club has space for more than 800 guests on two dance floors.

Students and other young people have congregated in this bar since the 1980s. On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, there is usually a live band playing, and events often take place on other days too.