Museo Nacional de Costa Rica, San Jose (must see)

The Museo Nacional de Costa Rica is the national museum of Costa Rica, located at Calle 17, between Central and Second Avenue, Cuesta de Moras, in the Bellavista Fortress – a crenelated, ocher-colored building opposite the Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica. The fortress was built in 1917 and was originally a military barracks: the exterior walls still have many bullets lodged in them from the country's 1948 civil war. It became the site of the museum in 1950.

The entrance on the east side leads to a courtyard displaying pre-Columbian artifacts and cannons from the colonial period. The museum is organized thematically in a counterclockwise direction from the entrance with artifacts related to Costa Rica's geological, colonial, archaeological, religious and modern history. The museum had a notable collection of pre-Columbian stone tables (metates), ceramics and a gold room ("Sala de Oro") in the northeast tower. The colonial room has a notable collection of furniture and is designed to emulate that of actual quarters in the 18th century. The museum also has an exhibit of the 1987 Nobel Peace Prize awarded to Óscar Arias, and a bust of José Figueres and butterfly garden in the outside "Plaza de la Democracia".

Why You Should Visit:
Traces Costa Rica's development from its prehistoric roots the present day, and does so in an informative and visually appealing manner.
Good history of how the country lived through Central America's civil wars and quite an elaborate history of its most prominent Presidents, including the one female elected in 2010.
The entrance is unique, leading you to the main exhibits through a butterfly sanctuary and the museum setting itself is very pleasant with good views and nice gardens.

Tip:
If you haven't got time to check out the Jade and Gold museums, there are displays of each here. If you do have time to do all three, then buy the combined ticket, as you won't have to visit them all on the same day.