One of the most lively towns in Costa Rica is the city of Heredia. The city has enough attractions worth a visit for those who are looking to have a glance at the everyday common folk lifestyle. Let’s take a look at what this place has to offer.

Basic information and brief history of the city of Heredia

Heredia City is the main town of the canton of Heredia and the capital of the province of Heredia. According to the last census, more than 138000 people live inside the canton borders, according to a census done in 2017.

The city was founded as Cubujuqui, the name local indigenous peoples gave to the area, around the century XVIII.

The city grew around the parish until it got the title of “Village” in 1763 and changed the name to Heredia, as we know it now.

In the third decade of the XIX century, the city was briefly the capital “de facto” of the whole country of Costa Rica. This was during a period of turbulence in which many cities were engaged in a civil war.
Then, in 1848, the area around the city was proclaimed as the canton of Heredia, with the town as its head.

Transition to modernity

During the first part of the XX century, thanks to the presidency of Alfredo Flores, who happened to be from Heredia, the city grew more with the construction of many respectable schools and other educational institutions.
Many of this heritage remains in the city as many of these buildings are still present and being used, surviving many earthquakes and the inclemency of the years. Because of this, Heredia has still this early XX century feeling, making it worth visiting.

What to visit in Heredia City

Parks

Let’s start with the parks. Parks are the meeting place of folks. These meetings happen for many reasons; practicing sports, chatting, kids playing, and some casual readers wanting to breathe fresh air. Downtown Heredia has four parks, Alfredo Gonzales Flores Park, El Carmen, Jose Flores, and the Central Park.
The Alfredo Gonzales Park has a nice view of the capital city of San Jose at night. For practicing sports or eating an ice cream while sitting, Jose Flores Park’s very good. El Carmen is a lovely small park with a fountain, best suited for couples. Central Park is the biggest and the most attractive, with plenty of space to sit, next to one of the oldest churches in the country and it is surrounded by centennial buildings, like the El Fortin.

Historical Buildings

As previously mentioned, Heredia has plenty of buildings from previous centuries. The church of Inmaculada Concepcion has almost 220 years of existence. It has been restored many times since then.
While the facade remains from the XVIII century, its inside has a modern era look, with stained glass made in France.
Near there, El Fortin, a tower constructed in 1876, is now the official icon of the canton.
Other buildings worth visiting are the High School named Liceo de Heredia, the municipal building, the school Escuela Republica de Argentina, and the post office, among others.

The Market

To finish this article, let’s speak about the Municipal Market. People can obtain groceries and other goods from there. Not looking attractive to visit for you yet? Food! You can buy meals with local recipes at very affordable prices there. Even seafood is present in an array of obtainable dishes. As with every other market around Costa Rica, you can find the typical “casado”, the traditional lunch of the Costa Ricans.
You can buy some souvenirs if you feel in the mood. For example, a few stores sell home decorations and hats, including the “chonete”, the typical hat from our farmers.

Epilogue

There are more things I would like to talk about Heredia, but I leave those for a second part. For instance, I would like to check into the nightlife of the city and see what options fit most for those looking for fun and security at the same time. Stay tuned to my blog. If you want to know about other places in Costa Rica, visit my article section.

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I visited the smallest canton of Costa Rica with just 7 kilometers of area. While the territory is not impressive in terms of extension, the economic and social development of this canton is very enviable.
Streets are fully paved, nice neighborhoods with old but well-maintained houses, good restaurants and stores, and a low crime rate.

Do not expect big malls or fancy buildings, Flores is like a time machine. Most of the canton is an urban area, with some houses still using an early 20th-century style. Meanwhile, other houses are made of wood and retain a middle 20th-century look.
Quiet streets, small cafeterias, the busy San Joaquin downtown, people doing sports activities on the soccer fields. This canton is where the old meets the new.

A glimpse of Flores Geography

The geography of the canton is quite even, very flat. Hence, some slopes here and there. This makes the place very attractive for joggers and cyclists.
The canton has lost almost all the coffee farms that used to be the economic engine of the zone, replaced by highly valued residential areas. The canton is close to everything, the capital city, the most important industrial area in Costa Rica, and plenty of commercial areas to choose from.

Only three districts make up the canton of Flores, San Joaquin, Barrantes, and Llorente. San Joaquin is the most important city, while Llorente and San Lorenzo remain locations with their schools, convenience stores, and parks.

San Joaquin contains some of the oldest buildings still in use in Costa Rica: The Catholic church, made completely of stone, from 1865 and the Public School “Estados Unidos de America” which building is being used since 1943. The church of San Joaquin is the only one in the country to still celebrate the mass in Latin often.

Visit Flores and its towns

The canton is the right destination for a Sunday afternoon family trip.
Take the kids to a nice restaurant in San Joaquin downtown. Then after flying a kite or kicking the ball for a while in the soccer field, get a coffee cup or an ice cream in any of the cafeterias in Llorente, San Joaquin, or San Lorenzo.
All these towns have places for these kinds of mild physical activities with kids.
If you look for culture, Flores possesses many old buildings including houses and public buildings.
If you are a jogger, runner, or cyclist looking for nice and safe places to develop these activities, I highly recommend San Lorenzo.
A bibliophile? A book lover? San Lorenzo and San Joaquin have quiet places where you can sit and read. Including public places or cafeterias where you will be barely disturbed if not at all.

How to get there?

Both Alajuela and Heredia has bus services to San Joaquin every 20 minutes. Once there you can go to San Lorenzo or Llorente on foot or get a taxi. You can explore the canton by bicycle in just one day easily.

Visit the official website of the Municipality of Flores by clicking here for more info.

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