Heredia is the capital of Costa Rica’s province with the same name and has around 65,000 inhabitants. Just 10 km away from the nation’s capitol San José, Heredia is a city with a distinguished colonial atmosphere and many traditional style adobe houses with their red clay roof tiles can still be found. The more than 8,000 students of the National University attribute to the lively spirit of Heredia. Settlers came to Heredia a decade after the first Costa Rican settlement in Cartago was founded. The church of Heredia dates back to 1796 and has beautiful stained glass windows. The bells were brought to Heredia all the way from Cuzco in Peru. The church of La Immaculate Concepcion is located in a beautiful park. In another famous park, the Central Park of Heredia, numerous cultural events, such as weekly concerts take place. The surrounding countryside is a lust for the eye thanks to an abundance of flowers, which nicknamed Heredia as the city of flowers: la ciudad de las flores. One of Heredia’s landmarks is the fortified tower ‘El Fortin’ and is the official symbol of the city. Designed and built under the supervision of Fadrique Gutierrez (1844 – 1897), the governor and military commander of the Province of Heredia, who happened to be a gifted sculptor. His statues of ‘Neptune’ and ‘Venus’ can still be admired in the city of Heredia, respectively the Town Hall and the gardens of the National University. After shifting his interest to photography he started his army career and was appointed governor of Heredia and finally able to combine all his talents while designing and constructing ‘El Fortin’. Nowadays ‘El Fortin’ still dominates the city and offers an impressive view over Heredia and its surroundings. There are many small villages hidden in the green hills that are covered by pastures, forests and coffee plantations around Heredia. Coffee plays an important role in the history of Costa Rica and in Heredia you find extensive plantations that are certainly worth a visit. The Coffee Tour of Café Britt in Heredia is one of the most popular ones in Costa Rica. Offering transportation from San Jose to Heredia this tour covers the entire process of coffee making, from the plant, through harvesting and processing, till the moment you drink it. A perfect way to learn the secret of Costa Rica’s famous black gold. Located just 15 minutes from Costa Rica’s International Juan Santamaria Airport the city of Heredia offers a wide range of hotels in a more tranquil environment than San Jose and has all the connections needed to provide a good base camp to explore the rest of Costa Rica.