This butterfly garden is smaller and less elaborate than the Butterfly Farm , but it provides a good introduction to the life cycle of butterflies. It's also a calm and quiet oasis in a noisy and crowded city, quite close to downtown. Plan on a half-hour to several hours here, depending on whether they have lunch or refreshments at the small coffee shop and gallery. You'll be given a self-guided-tour booklet when you arrive, and an 18-minute video show runs continuously throughout the day. You'll find Spirogyra near El Pueblo, a short taxi ride from the center of San José. This is a convenient place to visit in combination with some shopping and a meal at El Pueblo.

Copyright: Excerpted from Frommer's Costa Rica 2009, (c) 2008, Wiley Publishing, Inc.

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