1. In San Jose you can find a lot of restaurants of all sorts. There are some Costa Rican style food courts, very good, in the “Galerias” or in the Central Market. The “galerías” are small shopping centers (You can find two in the Central Avenue boulevard on 3rd to 5th Streets, and 5th to 7th, next to El Patio). They are cheap and good.
2. In San José, right now there are dozens of policemen in the main and most crowded streets. However, watch your belongings,especially if you don’t really know the city (Or which are the main streets).
3. In San José you will find dozens of fruits and vegetables stands and stores, all over the place. Don’t eat anything peeled or without washing it.
4. In Costa Rica, in general, pedestrians are survivors. Even though the law is in favor of the pedestrian, San Jose behaves like a jungle and the biggest rules. And pedestrians are not the biggest.
5. If you stand with a map or a guide book for more than two minutes, people will approach to help. Not all have transparent but mostly all are there simply to help.
6. At the gold museum, no purses or cameras are allowed.
7. The best place to simply sit and see Costa Rica’s life is the Plaza de la Cultura.
8. The Second Avenue closes every now and then, for strikes and parades. Always find an alternative route in if you opted for a car rental and a hotel downtown.
9. There are several sculptures all over the city… and fruit markets. For a photographer is a good chance to take some good shots.
10. In Plaza de La Cultura and right in front of the Apple store (Icon) there is a big board where you can see all the cultural activities monthly calendar. If there are concerts, dances, operas, etc. This is a good place to find the dates and times.
11. Every three months, on the second Wednesday there is an “Art City Tour” which means that all museums and galleries in the city are open and the entrance is free from 5 to 9 p.m. And there are microbuses in between them, so you can see them all. Everything is for free that night.
12. Every equinox and solistice there is another activity called the “Lost Books” and it consists on people “loosing books” at open places… and people finding them. All you have to do to participate is to know about it. If you have a book with you, write something in front (Saying it is “lost book”) and join the quest for the “Lost Books”.