#2 Explore Parque Vargas and around
Opened by the United Fruit Company in 1905, the soaring royal palms of Limon lush Parque Vargas offer a pleasant, shady respite from the chaotic streets. Look out for sloths lounging in the trees.
The park features several small monuments, notably its 1911 Neoclassical bandstand. This sculpted installation pays homage to the many cultures that built the railroad.
It also contains a shrine-like memorial to Christopher Columbus, who supposedly anchored his ship off Isla Uvita in 1502. Visible from the malecón viewpoint at the park's eastern end, the island is uninhabited, but features a reef break that's popular with local surfers.
The malecón end of the park also features the beautifully restored Centro Comunitario Expresión Artística cultural centre.
#3 Party during El Día de la Raza carnival
Though carnivals in the rest of Latin America are associated with Lent, the Limon carnival celebrates Columbus’s arrival in the New World on 12th October 1492. More specially, his alleged arrival in Limón in 1502.
Today, El Día de la Raza (Day of the People) sees throngs of highland Ticos descend upon Limon. Buses fill to bursting and hotels brim as partygoers hit the streets.
Expect everything from noontime displays of Afro-Caribbean dance to calypso music, bull-running, children’s theatre, parades and massive firework displays.
Most spectacular is the Grand Desfile, usually held on the Saturday before 12th October.
#4 Visit Catedral Limón
Only consecrated in 2010, the Catedral del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús is one of the most distinctive buildings in Limon
Don’t be put off by the dull, concrete exterior — inside there’s a bank of stunning stained-glass windows. And beyond the new building, an older section and bell tower from the 1890s has survived various hurricanes and the 1991 earthquake.