House of Pacific Relations - Hall of Nations

The house of pacific relations international cottages is a must visit if you are there on a weekend that they are having an open house event. It is incredibly cool to see all these “countries” coming together in a model-UN sort of way. Many have exhibits of cultural items, some sell food and some have free tea or coffee. Almost everyone is a volunteer and they will be happy to talk as much (or as little) as you want about their country. It’s such a cool experience and you will learn something and have fun doing it!

Although the houses were closed it was still a great experience getting to walk around the area and learn from the outside displays about each country and their cultures! 🙌🏾 Love showing our children what the 🌍 has to offer beyond our little bubble.

Great performance @the Spooktackular Halloween concert on The 25th Sat. Phantom of the Opera and the Thriller Zombies. It was free to all.

International houses in Balboa are awesome! Tips: Go on the weekend when houses are open. Every weekend a different house hosts something in the main lawn area. Bring a stack of $1s. Sample food from open houses are donation only (dumplings from China house, cakes from German house, tea from British house, etc). The volunteers are so friendly. You will be inspired to visit these countries...plan your next trip with help from the volunteers who will tell you the Must Sees. Also- The annual Ethnic food fair is a MUST. So many small affordable samples of food, I was sadly limited by my appetite. Also Germany house is the best. :-) Go there for cakes and coffee...danke to the nice German volunteers.

These are houses decorated with things of every country and I loved every single one of them. My favorites were the Turkish house, the Korean house, the American house, the UK house (they have a Harry Potter section and you can take a photo in a newspaper that says “Have you seen this wizard”), the Swedish house (they sell some beautiful postcards), the Korean house (they show you how to write your name in Korean and have some beautiful postcards and stamps) and the Mexican house. They had some amazing singers they day I went, ambience is amazing. The gift store was nice, not that expensive compared to all the touristic places visited. I don’t know but I think it’s better to buy things in every house rather than in the gift store because that way you support each house (most of the things they give you are free and you can decide if you want to donate or not). Also some houses give you stickers, you can ask for them.

Open twice a week on weekends. It is a quick walk though. Fun venue for parties. This was the House of Denmark Christmas party.

What a wonderful experience! These little cottages give you a cultural glimpse of many countries. Most have hosts to answer questions and a few had snacks, like dumplings. Look for their calendar of lawn shows/festivals; these are extremely fun. They have a tent set up for the country's cuisine. Plan to bring a blanket/chairs to attend. The park shuttle stops not far away.

It was like a mini village - very cute to walk by. Everything was closed - not sure if it was supposed to have more animation.