National Theatre
An Italian-style opera house built with coffee money, in the middle of the capital.
Duration
45 min – 1 hr 15 min
Best time
In the morning
Open
Every day
Entry price
To confirm
The theatre was paid for by a tax on coffee exports, voted by the planters themselves in 1890: they wanted a venue fit for European companies, after a famous singer skipped Costa Rica for want of a hall. It opened in 1897.
Everything came from Europe — Italian marble, gilding, ceiling paintings. The best-known canvas, Allegory of Coffee and Bananas, appeared on the five-colón note; it was painted by an Italian who had never set foot in Costa Rica, which explains the mistakes in the harvesting scene.
Getting there
Avenida 2, on the Plaza de la Cultura, in central San José. The historic centre is all walkable.
What the price covers
guided tour charged, rate to be confirmed; the café in the foyer is free to enter
Rules on site
Guided tours run at set times and the auditorium closes to visitors on rehearsal and performance days. Central San José is walked by day; in the evening, take a taxi.
Other places in San José
Poás VolcanoAn active crater a kilometre and a half wide, seen from a lookout fifty minutes' drive away.
- Mercado CentralCovered aisles since 1880, sodas — the local canteens — and the country's best coffee at the counter.
Pre-Columbian Gold MuseumSixteen hundred pieces of gold worked before the Spanish arrived, beneath the Plaza de la Cultura.
La Paz Waterfall GardensFive falls in succession on the volcano road, in cloud forest.