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.

I love this place so much! Every major city should have one. It is open to the public on the weekends, so you can "visit" many different countries and learn about their culture. In addition, each house provides an amazing cultural hub for their community with additional programs. And it's all run by volunteers. If you get a chance, try to visit during December Nights or the International foodfair Ps, for those who are questioning why certain houses are missing: HPR was founded almost 100 years ago. They have been adding new cottages since then. There is an application process to get in, but all nations who's willing to commit have a fair chance to get in.

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.

I visited the international cottages for the second time on January 26th, and I truly appreciate the effort you put into promoting diversity, inclusion, peace, and acceptance of different cultures, especially in a world that feels so fragile right now. However, I must express serious concern and give a low rating for the fact that the House of Israel is being allowed to "promote" their views on the war in the Middle East. I fear this could foster division and hatred towards a specific ethnicity, which is deeply troubling. Isn't the whole purpose of the international houses to unite people, to bring us together regardless of culture, skin color, or where we come from? I firmly believe this undermines the goal of what you are trying to promote with the cottages. On a positive note, House of Korea and House of Puerto Rico were my favorite!

Cute place in bimbos Park, but when we went a lot of the houses were closed, but we still walked around and the houses that were open were cute. Free to walk around, no tickets required

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.

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