Most Costa Rican diversions are cosmopolitan rather than nationalistic in nature. The people attend films with great frequency, enjoying international cinema. They listen to an extraordinary mixture of music, particularly from the many radio stations in the nation. Residents of the Meseta Central attend the National Theatre, where the music played and the drama performed may come from any part of the world. Costa Ricans take a strong interest in their pre-Columbian art, which includes large statues from the Pacific northwest, smaller examples of carved relief in stone from other districts, and some fine work done in the form of small objects of gold. Samples of all these may be seen in the national museum. Guayabo National Park, near Turrialba, features the nation's only preserved pre-Columbian archaeological site. Genuine colonial architecture is rather scarce, the most famed example being a 17th-century mission in Orosí. Cartago's older buildings, destroyed by earthquakes, have in some cases been restored; new ones like them have also been built. Among the folk arts, Costa Rica is most famous for its highly decorative oxcarts.

Costa Ricans take a strong interest in their pre-Columbian art, which includes large statues from the Pacific northwest, smaller examples of carved relief in stone from other districts, and some fine work done in the form of small objects of gold. Samples of all these may be seen in the national museum. Guayabo National Park, near Turrialba, features the nation's only preserved pre-Columbian archaeological site. Genuine colonial architecture is rather scarce, the most famed example being a 17th-century mission in Orosí. Cartago's older buildings, destroyed by earthquakes, have in some cases been restored; new ones like them have also been built. Among the folk arts, Costa Rica is most famous for its highly decorative oxcarts.