San Jose on Foot: Market Food Delights and City Sights Tour
Description
Learn about local life in San Jose through its architecture, history and food. This 3-hour walking tour shows you the typical lifestyle of the capital as you stroll through the streets with a knowledgeable local guide. Get to know the city through its markets and coffee history, ending at Mercado Central (Central Market) where you’ll taste an ice cream and sample some tasty food. Numbers are limited to 12 people, ensuring an intimate experience with a small group.
Tour Options
Itinerary
We will meet in front of the National Theatre, one of the most beautiful buildings in Costa Rica with great importance to the cultural and historical aspect of the country.
Right in the heart of San José, you will hear all about a famous costarican tenor Manuel Salazar Zúñiga known as Melico Salazar.
Passing by and getting know the history of the Cathedral just can`t be missed.
From here, we’ll take a stroll through the vibrant market Mercado El Registro, tasting local fresh fruits while learning about the agricultural history of the area.
Your San Jose market tour continues along local roads towards the Central Market. Seeing the diverse sites of these markets will help you get to know the country and its rich history.
Central Post anSan José. This architectural gem has been an iconic part of our capital's urban landscape since its inauguration in October 1917. To this day, the Central Post and Telegraph Building has faithfully witnessed Costa Rica's evolution into a free, independent, and democratic nation.d Telegraph Building
We will pass by the Steinvorth Building that is considered one of the main architectural jewels of the Costa Rican capital, where the European aesthetic current of that time is combined with the nascent architectural modernity that prevailed in the cities of North America. It is considered an architectural heritage of the country since 1999. Here you will have a chance to sip a coffee or a beer.
We will end our tour at Plaza de la Cultura that is close to the main National Theater of Costa Rica.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- This is a child friendly Tour.
- This Tour can accommodate vegetarians and other dietary restrictions. Please notify us in advance if you have any dietary requests.
- Small Group or private option available.
Reviews(231)
Our tour guide and Viator worked hard to adapt to our needs. First she was able to wait for us because the traffic from our hotel was very bad in the morning. Then she was willing to change the tour order around . Mariana was very knowledgeable about the history of all the sites we visited. She also served us some typical foods from the market . The coffee was the final perfect touch ! We felt we had a complete and enjoyable introduction to San Jose and Costa Rica.
This tour was such a highlight of our trip! Not only was it incredibly fun, but it was also packed with fascinating insights about San Jose’s culture and cuisine. Our guide was amazing—he went above and beyond to tailor the experience for us, especially with my picky eaters. Thanks to their patience and encouragement, my kids actually tried everything (and both found things that the like—a huge win!). The information we learned was so valuable, and it really set the tone for the rest of our visit. If you’re coming to San Jose, do this tour early in your trip—you won’t regret it. I absolutely loved every minute and would do it again in a heartbeat!
Our guide was extremely intelligent, super kind, and very easy to be with. He explained many aspects of Costa Rica’s history and San Jose‘s development.
Excellent walking tour around San Jose Central and fun food stops at Mercado Central! Informative history about all of the historical buildings
This was a very informative and thorough tour of San Jose. We learned so much about the history of the city and country. Jorge was an excellent guide. We sampled coffee and pastries and very interesting fruits and candies.
The time in the market was the one I was looking forward to. I did 4 stars only because the tour guide is still learning the ropes. He is the nicest guy and ours was only his 8th tour so that’s understandable. It was really fun!
I wanted my family to experience San Jose taste and culture. This tour was a great cultural immersion. The tour guide was knowledgeable, friendly and eager to answer all questions. The highlight was a coffee and cacao experience at a local hideaway. Definitely would recommend.
Our guide picked us up on time and as agreed at the National Theater. The guide spoke fluent English and gave us a lively introduction to the history of San Jose and Costa Rica. We were in remote places and parks, and he had a lot to tell us about them. In the middle of the tour there was a short stop with a coffee of your choice and a traditional tortilla. The subsequent detour to the central market was also very informative and absolutely fantastic in terms of food. We tried various fruits and a kind of sorbet with cinnamon. It was great that we had booked our tour as a public tour. As "JOHN" didn't show up, we were alone with our guide. All in all, a worthwhile tour.
I did expect more food on the tour for somereason and there was a bit of walking and history before getting to any food which was maybe 45-1 hour in so keep that in mind. When you see other food items on the tour besides the free stuff you taste BUY it so you don't miss the opportunity. Very good host and overall good experience.i appreciated trying things I might not have tried otherwise.
The guide had such a grasp of the history and culture of Costa Rica. He spoke English clearly with a good delivery.
