Mercado Central
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- The Best of Costa Rica
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The Central Market (6 a.m.–8 p.m. Mon.–Sat.) between Avenidas Central/1 and Calles 6/8 is San José’s most colorful market and heady on atmosphere.
There are booths selling octopus, dorado, and shrimp; butchers’ booths with oxtails and pigs’ heads; flower stalls; saddle shops; and booths selling medicinal herbs guaranteed to cure everything from sterility to common colds.
Pickpockets thrive in crowded places like this—watch your valuables.
Two nearby monuments worth noting are the Monumento Los Presentes (Calle 4, Avenida Central), a grouping of seven patinated statues of Costa Rican folk; and the bronze statue dedicated to Guanacastecan women, one block farther east.
© Christopher P. Baker from Moon Costa Rica, 8th Edition
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Moon Travel Guides make independent travel and outdoor exploration fun and accessible. With expert and adventurous travel writers delivering a mix of honest insight, first-rate strategic travel advice, insider travel tips and an essential dose of humor, Moon Travel Guides ensure that travelers have an uncommon and entirely satisfying experience. Each travel book is filled with unique trip ideas, easy-to-use maps, and detailed information on sights, restaurants, and accommodations. Moon Travel Guides not only point you in the right direction, they inspire new ideas and adventure. Whether you are seeking a relaxing beach trip to Hawaii, or an adventure travel trip to the rainforests of Costa Rica, Moon guidebooks—and Moon.com—are with you every step of the way. Founded in 1973, the Moon Travel Guides series includes Moon Handbooks, Moon Outdoors, Moon Metro, Moon Living Abroad and Moon Spotlight travel books. Moon is based in Berkeley, California and is a proud member of the Perseus Books Group.