Addresses

Addresses

San José and other towns in Costa Rica use a rectilinear roadway grid. The roads going north and south are called calles (streets) while the ones going east and west are called avenidas (avenues). Let's pretend that Calle Central is number 0. From there, calles count up by odd numbers to the east and even numbers west. Avenidas have odd numbers north of the pedestrian Avenida Central and even going south. Parque Central and Mercado Central (Central park and market) are usually at the centre of town. Many addresses will be written down as Calle 4, Avenidas 4 & 6 — somewhere on the north-south street 4 between avenues 4 and 6. However, many businesses will describe their location in relation to major landmarks. For example, Dulce Junio Café's address is "200 m Este De la Iglesia Santa Teresita y 25 norte, contiguo a Saúl Bistro, Barrio Escalante, San José" — that's 200 m from the Santa Teresita church and 25 m north, next to Saúl Bistro, Escalante neighbourhood.