Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
going digs, as well as artifacts from the colony and the early republic are all housed inside
the old Bellavista Fortress, which served historically as the army headquarters and saw
fierce fighting (hence the pockmarks) in the 1948 civil war.
It was here that President José Figueres Ferrer announced, in 1949, that he was abolish-
ing the country's military. Among the museum's many notable pieces is the fountain pen
that Figueres used to sign the 1949 constitution. Don't miss the period galleries in the
northeast corner, which feature turn-of-the-20th-century furnishings and decor from when
these rooms served as the private residences of the fort's various commanders.
Museo de Jade
MUSEUM
free; 8:30am-3:30pm Mon-Fri, 10am-2pm Sat)
Reopened in its brand-new home in mid-2014, this museum houses the world's largest col-
lection of American jade (pronounced '
ha
-day' in Spanish). The ample new exhibition
space allows the public greater access to the museum's varied collection of nearly 7000
finely crafted, well-conserved pieces, from translucent jade carvings depicting fertility
goddesses, shamans, frogs and snakes to incredible ceramics (some reflecting Mayan in-
fluences), including a highly unusual ceramic head displaying a row of serrated teeth.
Plaza de la Democracia
PLAZA
Between the national museum and the Museo de Jade is the stark Plaza de la Democracia,
which was constructed by President Oscar Arias in 1989 to commemorate 100 years of
Costa Rican democracy. The concrete plaza is architecturally dull, but some of its elevated
terraces provide decent views of the mountains surrounding San José (especially at sun-
Museo de Arte y Diseño Contemporáneo
MUSEUM
2257-7202;
www.madc.cr
; cnr Av 3 & Calle 15; admission US$3, Mon free;
9:30am-5pm Mon-Sat)
Commonly referred to as MADC, the Contemporary Art & Design Museum is housed in
the historic National Liquor Factory building, which dates from 1856. The largest and
