Spanish newspaper El Mundo published an article n which they listed San Jose, the capital city of Costa Rica as one of the 10 ugliest destinations in the world.

Costa Rica continues to attract millions of tourists every year, but it is no secret that the capital city has little to do with the attractions the country has to offer, the beaches and the volcanoes as well as the rain forests take all the credit for this, while the cities don’t have much to offer in this country.

“The Costa Rican capital does not have it ease: it competes with spectacular natural surroundings, and therefore the city offers very little attractions for travelers who immediately take towards the beaches and national parks as they land”, describes the article written by Virgina Nesi.

The report also emphasizes the fact that the city has no colonial heritage to show, which is indeed true; other than the National Theater, the Melico Salazar theater, the Central Bank Museums and perhaps the Central Market, there is not much else to see or enjoy in San José, sadly, also, the contamination, excessive traffic and what is left behind by those living and working in its streets makes for a very unpleasant scene.

Nicer neighborhoods such as Barrio Amón or Escalante a bit further from downtown San Jose, are also hardly ever promoted by tourism brochures.

Other cities listed among the “Top 10 Ugly Destinations that Should be Avoided” are the capital of Moldavia, the capital of North Korea, Tijuana (border city between Mexico and the USA), the capital of Turkey, the capital of Albania, Ulan Bator in Mongolia, Sao Paulo in Brazil, the capital of Jordania and finally Volgrado a port city of Russia.