Parque Nacional Park
Parque Nacional Park
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This tropical park is popular during the day but best avoided at night.
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
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4.0
309 reviews
Excellent
125
Very good
107
Average
61
Poor
8
Terrible
8
Clarice F
Auckland, New Zealand49 contributions
Oct 2022
On a city tour you learn the importance of this park to the people. It was a airport then the man who brought the airport turned it into a park for the poor. Prior to this only the rich had parks. Now it's enjoyed by all. Great place for a walk or ran plus meet the locals
Written 22 October 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
LolaGo1
Washington DC, DC6,632 contributions
Nov 2022 • Solo
I passed by this huge, beautiful park on my way to the Atlantic Train Station. Located near the National Museum and a small museum for modern arts, it is easy to locate this park. The huge trees and beautiful plants provide shades to those resting at the benches.
Stop by and enjoy its beauty if you’re in the area.
Stop by and enjoy its beauty if you’re in the area.
Written 29 November 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Goal100Countries
Cheltenham, UK598 contributions
Jan 2019 • Solo
This park is smack bang in the centre of San Jose and thus there is plenty to do in the immediate area. The park is aesthetic and clean and there is lots going on. It is a great place to enjoy lunch and rest weary legs.
Written 7 January 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
ut_jd
Ohio532 contributions
Oct 2014 • Couples
Many people have this park, which is a downtown city park, confused with the Poas Volcano National Park. This park has NOTHING to do with volcanoes. It is downtown at the intersection of Calle 15 and Eladio Prado Sanez. It is a beautiful park to sto pin, but please do not confuse this with the volcano park or you will be sorely mistaken.
Written 18 November 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
lunna
Costa Rica20 contributions
Nov 2014 • Family
When visitng San Jose I walked from the Parque Nacional through the Paseo de las Damas to the other two parks, Parque Espana and Parque Morazán. I love dto walk around. Beautiful gardens and very interesting architecture from different tomes in the Costa Rican history.
Written 5 November 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Vincent M
New Orleans, LA2,256 contributions
Jun 2015 • Solo
Costa Rica has some fabulous national parks, with volcanos, beaches, and wildlife; more than one enthusiastic TA reviewer of the Parque Nacional in San Jose obviously is mistaking this for where they saw the volcano or beach! This is simply a city park, on a nice hill, where you can sit on a bench in the shade of a tree enjoying the hilltop breeze (see photo), It is immediately north of the Asamblea Legislativa, between avenidas 1 and 3, and calles 15 and 19. It's a pleasant place to stop and rest if you're walking uphill from the national museum or artisanal market. But it doesn't actually have a very good view of either volcanos or seacoasts. Or glaciers.
Written 2 July 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
DeanMurphy2020
Orlando, FL7,757 contributions
Mar 2016 • Friends
Many TripAdvisor reviews feature National Park as Costa Rica’s many rainforest natural preserves, which are called national parks. This is a city park, not a rainforest, much as Ellis Island in New York City is a national park but not like Yellowstone. The name of this small, paved square is Parque Nacional, or National Park. The main feature in Parque Nacional is a monument in the center of this city-center park. It’s comprised of about seven figures, and represents the War of 1856, and is considered Costa Rica’s most important monument. It represents the triumph against foreign invaders (primarily America and European countries) between 1855 and 1857. This US War of 1812-like skirmish (when England invaded America and burned the White House and Capitol Building) is considered decisive for the formation of Costa Rica’s national identity. The Monument was sculpted in Paris in 1891 and unveiled in San José in 1895—three years before my grandmother’s birth. Costa Rica prior to America’s Civil War considered women as equals. The Monument depicts five female figures carrying weapons and urging on the male figures.
Costa Rica’s National Monument, depicted in the attached photo, is situated in, appropriately, National Park. That name caused much confusion for the OAT tour group. There is a difference between “a national park” and “National Park.” You can spell it Spice and call it Sugar, if each word is capitalized. It’s a proper noun, thus National Park is a national park. Perhaps a less confusing name would be Parque de Nacion (Park of the Nation). Unlike Costa Rica’s other national parks—like many in America—this city-center park isn’t a lush forest, but then, neither is the US national park known as Ellis Island. Many reviewer photos for this site show tropical jungles, not the paved park in the center of San José.
Costa Rica’s National Monument, depicted in the attached photo, is situated in, appropriately, National Park. That name caused much confusion for the OAT tour group. There is a difference between “a national park” and “National Park.” You can spell it Spice and call it Sugar, if each word is capitalized. It’s a proper noun, thus National Park is a national park. Perhaps a less confusing name would be Parque de Nacion (Park of the Nation). Unlike Costa Rica’s other national parks—like many in America—this city-center park isn’t a lush forest, but then, neither is the US national park known as Ellis Island. Many reviewer photos for this site show tropical jungles, not the paved park in the center of San José.
Written 2 May 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Star
Enderby, British Columbia, Canada188 contributions
Jan 2015 • Couples
My wife and I spent a month at Christmastime (2014) in San Jose and found this park early on (we walked on average 20 kms/day). We came to the park the first time from the NW corner and encountered a Costarican jewellery maker fabricating some creations at a picnic table - what a more perfect workplace I couldn't imagine (when the weather's nice anyway). I took some pictures of him working after talking with him for a bit - one of my favorite photos of SJ is one that I took of him. The lush trees and bushes are always inspiring in SJ - and they've been really well looked after in the National Park. The incredible statue in the center of the park is also amazing - has to be seen to be believed. I wished I'd had a way to ascend to about 15' high to take proper photos of it. One of our regular rest stops on our daily sojourns.
Written 16 January 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
rod45
San Jose, Costa Rica26 contributions
Mar 2012 • Solo
I've noticed several reviews and photos that mistake this park for Costa Rica's national nature parks. To be clear, THE national park is a two block long urban plaza in downtown San José. It has monuments, beautiful trees, grass areas, fountains, benches and tables. It's a pleasant square located between some of the city's most important buildings and attractions. To the east you can find the Atlantic Rail Station, to the south is the National Assembly (Congress), to the north the National Library and to the west the Supreme Elections Tribunal.
It's perfect to take a break from your city walk and sit at one of its tables and enjoy a quick snack while watching the trees and the city life. It's a lot calmer than most other squares which are filled with vendors, beggars, etc. You'll find locals walking their dogs, nearby employees taking a break, families, etc. It's constantly guarded by police and it recently became one of the city's first plazas with public free WI-FI.
It's perfect to take a break from your city walk and sit at one of its tables and enjoy a quick snack while watching the trees and the city life. It's a lot calmer than most other squares which are filled with vendors, beggars, etc. You'll find locals walking their dogs, nearby employees taking a break, families, etc. It's constantly guarded by police and it recently became one of the city's first plazas with public free WI-FI.
Written 12 March 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
VSPBI
Stuart, FL150 contributions
Jun 2013 • Couples
We visited the park with a guide scheduled through our hotel, Arenas del Mar Beachfront & Rainforest Resort; he was great. The walking path is an easy stroll through the park, and then a small boat ride at the end if the tide is high, back to the bus. If the boat guys try to charge you very much is supposed to be $1- $2 per person. You can walk through the water if you want the water is about a foot deep. We saw monkeys, sloths, iguanas, butterflies, spiders etc. I highly recommend a guide they can spot what we can't. If you walk through without a guide (drive past the guys trying to stop your vehicle before you get to the park, they just want you to hire them) look and listen to the other guides to see the critters they found. Also sign the book with an id # (driver's license) if you plan to come back that same day, to avoid paying another fee.
Written 5 August 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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