San Jose Museum Guide

San Jose Costa Rica offers the visitor a wide variety of Museums that are of interest. Luckily many of the museums in San Jose are centrally located, making it very easy to visit several in one day. So if you are looking to see gold, jade, art, bugs or even strange criminology displays – San Jose offers a wide variety of Museums to choose from.

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Costa Rican Art Museum

This museum is located in the Sabana park and is a must for art lovers. The Sabana park was the original airport in San Jose and the museum is located in a beautiful building that was the center of the airport's operations. Here you'll find some of Costa Rica's finest art and sculptures in their impressive collection. Take a stroll through the park and visit the Art Museum - a perfect day in San Jose Costa Rica!

Location:
Calle 42, Sabana Este. (Behind the Leon Cortes-Castro Sculpture)
San Jose, Costa Rica

Telephone:
+(506) 2222-7155

Hours:
Open every day except Mondays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Costa Rican National Museum

This museum is located in an old fort in front of the "Plaza de Democracia" and is riddled by bullet hotels from the 1948 Civil War. The museum is home to several interesting exhibits including an impressive archeological section where you can learn more about Costa Rica's indigenous past. There is also an ongoing exhibit on Costa Rica's Colonial period - a visit to this museum is truly a must for history buffs!

Location:
Antiguo Cuartel Bella Vista
San Jose, Costa Rica

Telephone:
+(506)-2257-1433

Hours:
Open Tuesday to Saturday, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Sundays from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Closed on Mondays.

Dr. Rafael Angel Calderon Guardia Museum

Avenida 11 between Calle 25 and Calle 27
Barrio Escalante, San Jose, Costa Rica
Tel: 506-2-255-1218

Hours: Monday through Friday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Costa Rica Gold Museum

This museum is one of Costa Rica’s most popular, located right below the Plaza de la Cultura in downtown San Jose. This impressive underground museum is home to an extremely large collection of gold artefacts highlighting Costa Rica’s Indigenous past. This dark, underground building is illuminated by the shining gold pieces. Another interesting exhibit found here is the Coin Museum, which features the history and evolution of Costa Rica’s currency.

Location:
Plaza de la Cultura
Calle 5, between Avenida Central and Avenida Segunda
San Jose, Costa Rica

Telephone:
506-2-223-0528

Hours:
10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Closed Mondays.

Jade Museum

This museum houses one of the world’s largest collections of Jade – kind of strange since there are NO Jade mines in Costa Rica. So most of the artefacts found here came through trade and private collections. This museum is located in the INS building (The National Insurance Institute) in downtown San Jose. This exhibit is extremely valuable due to the rarity of Jade and the fact that most of the artefacts here have historical and religious importance. The Jade Museum in San Jose Costa Rica is definitely worth a visit!

Avenida 7 between Calle 9 and Calle 13
INS Building, Second Floor
San Jose, Costa Rica
Tel: 506-2-223-5800, Extension 2584

Hours: Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Entomological Museum of University of Costa Rica

If you are interested in bugs, than this is the place for you! At this museum you'll find an impressive collection of some of Costa Rica's critters. This museum is located in the School of Music on the University of Costa Rica's campus in San Pedro. Entrance is free, but they have pretty irregular hours so you may want to call before showing up.

Location:
Faculty of Music of the University of Costa Rica
San Pedro, San Jose

Telephone:
+(506)-2225-5555 Ext. 318

Hours:
Monday through Friday, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

La Salle Natural Science Museum

This small museum features a collection of stuffed animals (ok, taxidermy), reptiles and fish. It is also located in the Sabana park so a visit here can be combined with a stop at the Art Museum.

Location:
Southwest corner of La Sabana
Colegio La Salle
San Jose, Costa Rica

Telephone:
+(506)-2232-1306

Hours:
Monday through Friday 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.; Sundays 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Museum of Criminology

Now this museum is truly bizarre and definitely not for the squeamish! Here you’ll find a history of some of Costa Rica’s famous crimes and exhibits range from photographs to even miscellaneous body parts! Definitely not for the faint of heart!

Location:
Organismo de Investigacion Judicial
Corte Suprema de Justicia
San Jose, Costa Rica

Telephone:
+(506) 2223-0666 Ext. 2378

Hours:
Mondays, Wednesday and Fridays 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Museo de Niños (Children’s Museum)

This museum proves that learning can be fun! Here you’ll find a wide variety of hands-on exhibits that teach children (and adults) about various topics such as health, science, culture and art. A great place for families!

Location:
Calle 4 and Avenida 9
San Jose, Costa Rica

Telephone:
506-2-223-7003

Hours:
Wednesday through Friday 10 a.m. until noon; 2 to 5 p.m.; Weekends 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 2 to 5 p.m.