Liberia is the biggest town in northern Costa Rica, it is the capital of the province of Guanacaste and an important traffic hub. Guanacaste is the only province in Costa Rica that has its own flag.
Costa Rica's second international airport, Daniel Oduber Quiros International, is located in Liberia. More and more flights arrive directly in Guanacaste each year. In contrast to San Jose Liberia is closer to several vacation beaches and destinations on the Nicoya Peninsula. In the past a lot of traffic from San Jose went through Liberia to the beach region. Since the Puente de la Amistad has been finished a lot of traffic is taking that short cut.
The town is known under the name Ciudad Blanca because early adobe houses got a coating of the area's abundant lime.
Spanish architecture has survived in corner homes that have puertas del sol (sun doors), wooden doors on each side of the corner, one to let in the morning sun, one for the afternoon.
Liberia is the home of cattle ranchers and farmers, rodeos are held frequently in Liberia and its surroundings.
The town is located not too high above the sea level and temperatures reflect this. Especially at noon it gets very hot and cowboys and tourists prefer to spend these hours in a bar in the shade with a cool beer.