国家博物馆

Loved the archaeological section and learning about the indigenous peoples of Costa Rica. Next time I visit, I want to see the actual sites!

This historic museum is a must-visit stop for anyone interested in the history of Costa Rica, archaeology, and Costa Rican culture. The restorations of the buildings were done with much care and they hold many pleasant surprises, such as the colonial time rooms, rotating art exhibits, a gorgeous inner garden, and a spectacular archaeological collection on exhibit. The entrance through a fantastic and expansive butterfly garden is worth the visit alone. Prices are very comfortable, even for tourists, and there are days when entrance is free.The location is close to the downtown area, with many secure parking options, shipping and dining places to chose. It is within walking distance to the National Theater and other important landmarks.

Building has historical significance and is well maintained. The butterfly garden is a pleasant bonus but the actual exhibits are limited.

The museum offers a great display of general things related to the building and also Costa Rican's history. I really enjoyed it and the special exhibit area is a nice touch. My favorite part, by far, was the butter fly exhibit.

Rarely do we disagree with the majority of TA reviews. An rarely do we write negative reviews. This is one of those exceptions. Half the museum's exhibition space is empty. What displays there are, are of poor quality. English language signage is lacking. Most disappointing is that major segments of Costa Rican history and culture are missing, i.e. coffee, environmental protection, the history of earthquakes. There are some displays regarding pre-Columbian history and artifacts, but the nearby Gold Museum is far superior in this subject.

This museum covered everything we wanted to see - a great overview to Costa Rica's history. The entry is through a butterfly garden and leads into the main square. We got a great glimpse into Costa Rica's history in about 2 hrs. From stone age, pre-Colombian, gold jewelry, 1800's...leisurely and not crowded.

Real nice butterfly garden as you enter, then spacious and well displayed stone age and pre columbian exhibits. Real good stone work and gold ornaments. Bunch of native animal displays, nice interior courtyard gardens, good explanatory descriptions in English and Spanish.

As an introduction to the culture of Costa Rica this is a good start. The exhibits are clean and well laid out with information in Spanish and English. The entrance through the butterfly house is a bit of a scene stealer. I could see why our guide wanted us to leave this to last - or we would not have seen any of the pre-columbian artefacts. Not a big museum but worth a couple of hours visit.

We went here expecting to see some cool stuff and for the most part the tour goes like this: spend lots of time hanging with the butterflies and being weirded out by their rolling/un-rolling tongues. Spend a few minutes walking around the different exhibits, which there was ~5 when we were there. And then, afterwards, be somewhat unimpressed. The exhibits they do have are way spaced out and do not follow too much order. Some have English translation and then in the middle of the exhibit the English translation stops for no apparent reason. Some of the stuff you wonder where it came from. But you'll like the view from the top which has great views of the mountains, if you're lucky enough you'll find the part of the place that has the commanders quarters (from when it was a barracks) and that's neat. But overall, interesting but somewhat unimpressive.

The exhibits gave a good overview of pre-columbian art and culture. There was also a small gold display (a teaser for the gold museum, perhaps?) Some of the other displays, like the history of the museum building were probably of more interest to Costa Rican citizens than they were to us.

I've been visiting the National Museum ever since I was in school. There's a very small section dedicated to pre-columbian times and the settling of Costa Rica, followed by a slightly larger overview of colonial times. You will see how people used to live in Costa Rica in the XIX century and take a tour of late XIX and early XX history. There's also a section dedicated to religious art, spanning a couple of centuries. In recent years they added a live butterfly exhibition, which is nice given the museum's central location and ease of access. You will also get to see the famous stone spheres on display in the main patio. The building itself is of historical value, and it was witness to the end of Costa Rica's most recent armed conflict in 1948.

The museum is a little out of the way in a somewhat seedy neighborhood but just jump into a cab and they'll drop you off at the front door. I have attended a number of shows there and never been disappointed. The shows also attracted a young hip crowd that could have been found attending a show in larger more art centered cities elsewhere.

Interesting setting inside former fort with walls pockmarked with bulletholes. Displays of beautiful pre Columbian gold. Interesting dioramas of rural life. Pleasant spot to learn about this country's history.

The Museo Nacional is in a lovely series of old barracks and officers' residences. It offers a small collection of historical artifacts as well as some contemporary temporary exhibits, all well displayed. The highlight for me was in the butterfly atrium attached to the building. At the back, pinned to a small shelf were what seemed to be several old cocoons of differing sizes and colours ranging from ivory to green. I looked at them for a few minutes and then noticed one wiggle. At first I thought there was a breeze but then realized that the butterfly was emerging slowly from the cocoon. I was transfixed. All were real, inhabited cocoons! One butterfly was hanging upside down from the bottom of the cocoon drying its wings. This was one of the most memorable experiences of my trip! It is easy to miss these small shelves at the back of the atrium so ask about it.

We were lucky enough to be there on a free day. The museum is unique a former prison. It has a butterfly garden and many interesting exhibits.