MUSEUMS

National Museum

Costa Rica´s National Museum is housed in the imposing, bullet-ridden Bellavista Fortress built in 1870. The bullet holes on the south side of the imposing gray-brown fortress were left during the civil war of 1948. The museum surrounds a beautiful landscaped courtyard featuring colonial-era cannons. It hosts a large collection of pre-Columbian art (pottery, stone and gold) and an eclectic mix of colonial-era art, furniture, costumes and documents. Separate exhibition halls deal with history, archeology, geology, religion, and colonial life. With one of the country's most active research facilities and educational programs, the National Museum is one of those "little bit of everything" places. It really shines when it comes to Costa Rica's indigenous heritage and environmental exhibits.

www.museocostarica.go.cr