San José is Costa Rica's seat of national government, focal point of political and economic activity, and major transportation hub.

[5] Together with several other cantons of the central valley, including Alajuela, Heredia and Cartago, it forms the country's Greater Metropolitan Area, with an estimated population of over 2 million in 2017.

Founded in 1736 by order of Cabildo de León, the population of San José rose during the 18th century through the use of colonial planning.

San José is notable among Latin American cities for its high quality of life,[7] security, level of globalization, environmental performance, public service,[8] and recognized institutions.

[10] De León thus ordered the construction of a chapel near the area known as La Boca del Monte which was completed a year later.

[11] Unlike neighboring Cartago, San José was not founded by formal decree and thus lacked a city government.

On 18 October 1813, the area was first defined as a city by presbyter Florencio del Castillo, on behalf of the Spanish government, a title which was then lost in 1814 when Ferdinand VII of Spain annulled the proceedings of the courts.

[13] The first modern urban neighborhood carries the name of its founder, the French coffee entrepreneur Monsieur Amon, and was created in the late 19th century, in line with Belle Époque contemporary architecture.

Barrio Amon, as well as the National Theatre, remain symbols of the so-called Costa Rican coffee golden age.

Today San José is a modern city with bustling commerce and brisk expressions of art and architecture.

[14] San José exerts a strong influence because of its proximity to other cities (Alajuela, Heredia and Cartago) and the country's demographic assemblage in the Central Valley.

This is especially true for San José, the nation's educational hub home to a large number of public and private universities.

The schools of law, agronomy, fine arts, and pharmacy continued to operate independently, but Costa Rica had no university proper until 1940, when those four schools were re-united to establish the modern University of Costa Rica (UCR), during the reformist administration of President Rafael Ángel Calderón Guardia.

[36] The city's greater metropolitan area (in Los Yoses, San Pedro) also serves as the headquarters of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.

Some of the city's main museums are: San José is home to many parks and squares (plazas in Spanish); where one can find gazebos, open green areas, recreational areas, lakes, fountains, statues and sculptures by Costa Rican artists and many different bird, tree and plant species.

The city's primary parks include: Plazas, or town squares, are very prominent across San José's districts.

In February of 2011, the former mayor, Johnny Araya, along with then Costa Rican President, Laura Chinchilla, announced the establishment of an urban tramway system that will, in its first phase, cover the central core of the city going from west to east.

It is estimated that the lack of proper street names for directions causes the loss of $720 million a year by the Inter-American Development Bank in 2008, due to undelivered, returned or re-sent mail.

The car-sharing company Uber is active in Costa Rica and, despite repeated clashes with and strikes by taxi drivers protesting unfair competition, continues to operate in the country.[when?]

Throughout San José, the most popular food is the national dish of gallo pinto ("painted chicken"), which is black beans served with white rice.

Costa Rican restaurants serving traditional food at an affordable price are called sodas and usually offer substantial casados for lunch and dinner.

San José hosted the 2015 FIBA COCABA Championship, where the Costa Rica national basketball team finished 2nd.