In fact not much.
It serves as the country's capital ( formerly it was Cartago), counts roughly 300.000 inhabitants and sits tucked in the middle of the Central Valley at 1.150 m altitude.
Colonial architecture is quasi non-existent, overall its downtown area is a loud, dirty, rather ugly place that is in most parts better not walked by foot.
On almost every corner are Street-vendors shouting their best prices in the crowd of pedestrians passing by, always in fierce competition with their fellow vendors. You would find a wide variety of junkfood-snacks ( crisps, cookies, sweet pastries, ... ) but also all kinds of fruits and veggies - from A like aguacate for avocado over M for mango and over P for the palm fruit pejibaye to T for tomato ( I don't know any produce with Z as its inital ). Then there are people selling lotto coupons, newspapers, umbrellas, at the moment flags and triquots for the world cup and other random stuff.
There are streets and places in the downtown area that can be considered relatively safe to walk, but a simple turn around the corner can expose you to the reality of a whole different world - far away from the city-buzz.
However, there is one positive aspect: a stable, consistent climate with temperatures hovering around 20.5 degrees Celsius year-round.
The national bibliothek
A statue of a politition
Oh yes, I had to look twice too. Even here in Costa Rica exists a Chinatown.
Kitschy restaurant
The national museum
How streets look like
A public park
San José seen from a northern distance
View of the Valle Central
Traditional dance at a saturday morning's cultural event for the youth
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