8 Best Shopping in Downtown, San Jose

A nonprofit association assembles the works of 220 artisans from Costa Rica’s eight original indigenous communities in this attractively arranged setting on the pedestrian mall south of the Museo Nacional. While the place bills itself as “part museum,” all works are for sale at prices fair to the creators and fair to you. (The name translates as “fair deal” in Costa Rica's indigenous Boruca language.) You'll find a good selection of ceramics, jewelry, weavings, and paintings here.

Some 100 souvenir vendors congregate in the so-called "National Street of Artisanry and Painting," a block-long covered walkway on the west side of the Plaza de la Democracia. As you approach, the whole affair looks like a string of metal shacks, and the setup here doesn't live up to the grand name. Some of the sellers do offer bargains on hammocks, wood carvings, and clothing; others sell trinkets probably made in China. Look carefully.

This maze of passageways is where the average Costa Rican comes to stock up on day-to-day necessities, but a few stalls of interest to tourists congregate near the southeast entrance. Pickpockets frequent the crowded market; exercise care.

Several dozen souvenir vendors congregate in this one-square-block building on the south side of a small downtown plaza. It's a real mix here. Some of the sellers do offer bargains on hammocks, wood carvings, and clothing; others sell trinkets probably made in China. Look carefully.

The shop at the entrance of the Museo del Oro Precolombino (Gold Museum) offers a great selection of pre-Columbian-themed jewelry, art, exclusively designed T-shirts, coin key chains, notebooks, and mouse pads. You can access the shop without paying the museum admission.

In addition to selling everything else imaginable, downtown department store Universal stocks a good selection of Latin CDs in its first-floor music department.