Around 60 % of Costa Ricans live in the Central Valley for family and work reasons. Lots of immigrants also live here. Some are looking for better job opportunities, entrepreneurs come to invest and open their own businesses, others come as Company expats or Diplomats. All of this has developed the cities and has broadened the quantity and quality of the products and services available. The Central Valley became the best place for doing business, getting medical assistance, having kids at private schools, or enjoying cultural events.

For arts and culture, the online guide GAM Cultural ( www.gamcultural.com ) shows events happening every single day, from art exhibitions and trade shows to concerts of all kinds. Another way to be updated and fill your weekly calendar is to join, subscribe to, or follow the social media from the different Embassies, Chambers of Commerce and theaters. Art festivals happen many times per year, specially during the dry season, Transitarte is the biggest yearly event, Art City Tour goes on many times during the year in conjunction with most museums and galleries, and art exhibitions are opening almost every week at different galleries and museums.

The National Theatre, a totally European neo classical building with lots of art and history from the times when coffee exporters governed the country, has performances many times per week. The National Symphonic Orchestra plays often, mostly on Sundays. To be updated on these events visit www.teatronacional.go.cr

The other big theatre located in downtown San Jose is Teatro Popular Melico Salazar, where concerts and plays happen also every week, some events are even for free. Movie theaters are also available all around the GAM, most of them showing mainstream movies. But Cine Magaly (cinemagaly.com), my forever favorite, located in central San Jose, shows independent movies from all over the world, literally: Korean, Japanese, Iranian, Irish, French, Italian movie festivals happen often, and the biggest event is the European Film Festival, takes place each year with the best films from each participating country.

Apart from cultural events, San Jose offers a big selection of restaurants, from international specialties to local fusion with very skilled chefs. Starting on the East side, Curridabat has many good international restaurants located at nice shopping centers like Momentum Pinares, Ciudad del Este, Central Market, Al Este, and independent restaurants of all kinds, from Estacion Atocha for Spanish food, Andiamo-La or Sapore Tratoria for Italian, to Café Anka for Russian food.

Steps from Cine Magaly, still on the East side of San Jose, is Barrio Escalante, a traditional neighborhood from the 50’s where gastronomy has bloomed and old houses became original bars and restaurants with all types of food and original interior design. Just to mention my favorites: Casa Dominga by a talented Tico – Italian chef, Emiliano’s (French specialties), Doma (a design paradise), Samui Thai (with lovely interior design), Isolina (trendy fusion), Cafeoteca (a specialized coffee shop).

Barrios Amon and Otoya, the nice historical parts of downtown San Jose, where coffee producers and politicians used to live, now have interesting gourmet fusion restaurants like Silvestre, Casa Talentum (also featuring a fine art gallery), Café Mundo, Casa Protocolo (at a magnificent renovated historical house), Café Otoya and 11.47 Aranjuez.

Going West, Barrio Don Bosco has a delicious and elegant French restaurant called Grano de Oro. Also on that side, there’s a nice traditional Lebanese restaurant called Lub Nam, where a “Mesa” can feed many with savory specialties.

On a more modern area, Rohrmoser, also on the West side of San Jose, is a traditional neighborhood now populated with modern high-rises, where nice coffee shops, fancy restaurants, Embassies and parks meet to make it a nice trendy area to hang out and walk. The most popular restaurants there are Nunc (meats and seafood), Lofe (gourmet Italian) and other more casual coffee shops like Franco, Buena Vida and Saint Honore (French bakery).

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Out from the city center, Escazu is a very developed area, filled with specialized shops, boutiques and good restaurants like Jaguar Negro (with a very nice tropical design), Zona (international) or Chez Christophe (French bakery and bistrot).

Last but not least, taking route 27, Santa Ana has many good options, Gusto (Italian), Shibuya (Peruvian fusion), Tacobar (with a great choice for breakfast), and many more located at Momentum Lindora where my big favorite is Patisserie d’amour, a French bakery and pastry shop that makes you travel to Paris!