San José · Centre · 8 to 10am
Mercado Central
A city block of narrow lanes packed with sodas, herb sellers, coffee roasters and leather stalls, feeding San José since 1880.
Since 1880Mon–SatCash only1–2 hours
Photo: Pexels
A city block of narrow lanes packed with sodas, herb sellers, coffee roasters and leather stalls, feeding San José since 1880.
The Mercado Central has traded on the same block since 1880. Under its low roof, a maze of lanes holds hundreds of small stalls.
There are butchers and fishmongers, sacks of beans and rice, bundles of medicinal herbs, coffee ground to order, hammocks, leather saddles and souvenirs.
Scattered through it are sodas, counter restaurants serving Costa Rican home cooking: gallo pinto for breakfast, hearty soups and casados at lunch.
Don't leave without a cup of the market's famous ice cream, a cinnamon-and-clove sorbete made here since 1901.
Early is best.
Pull up a stool at a busy soda counter for gallo pinto, eggs and coffee.
Wander the herb stalls, with remedies for everything, and the spice sellers.
Buy freshly roasted beans or ground coffee from a market roaster.
Browse leather goods, hammocks and wooden souvenirs.
Finish with a cup of the market's spiced ice cream before you leave.
In the centre, a few blocks west of the Plaza de la Cultura along Avenida Central.
Open Monday to Saturday from early morning to late afternoon; closed Sunday.
The smaller Mercado Borbón, a block away, is more local and less touristy.
San José practical notes →Photographs from Wikimedia Commons and Pexels under their licences.
