Downtown San Jose is not considered a major draw for tourism. The architecture of the city center is primarily that of a 20th Century business district, not a charming Spanish colonial town. That is because San Jose was not a major city during Spanish Colonial times.
The Spanish largely ignored Costa Rica after they determined that it lacked large deposits of gold or silver. They did not build major cities with architectural features that would draw tourists today.
Instead, the local population was almost wiped out by disease, leaving a country that developed through small farmers growing fruits, vegetables, coffee and, beginning in the late 1800's, large banana plantations.
On our first visit to Costa Rica in 2005, we took a tour of the country that started in San Jose. The tour company selected a hotel located in an affluent suburb and we visited places in the surrounding area, but downtown San Jose was not part of the itinerary. Since that first trip, we have always flown into the Liberia airport and did not return to San Jose until a trip about a year ago. We were pleased to find attractions worth visiting.
This week we are showing photos of the Sydney Opera House on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.
