Panama City, Where the Worlds Meet

Our country is known as the place where worlds meet. Its capital, Panama City, is a living proof of this. Experience high-contrast cultural encounters in every corner of the city and discover how the modern world and its historical past converge to create a destination like no other.

To learn about its history, you should start with the Panamá Viejo archeological site: the first capital. The city was founded by the Spaniards, specifically, by soldier and administrator Pedro Arias Dávila on August 15, 1519, over 500 years ago. This is a city that, on January 28, 1671, a century and a half later, was destroyed and sacked by more than 400 men, under the command of Pirate Henry Morgan.

During your visit, you will be able to walk through its ruins and visit its archaeological museum. You will travel back in time when you stand on its 30-meter (98-foot) stone tower and see the modern city through its windows.

After pirate Morgan's attack, the colonial authorities of the time decide not to rebuild the city.

Instead, they moved part of the structure to a new city, what is now known as Casco Antiguo. Both cities form a historic circuit, declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

Get ready for a day of walking full of culture, aromas, flavors and landscapes. Explore the town squares, visit the monasteries and churches, museums, restaurants and hotels. Visit the National Theater, take selfies on the Huertas promenade and admire the architecture of Las Bóvedas. Wait for sunset and go up to some of its famous rooftops, where the Panamanian night comes alive.

The culture of Casco, as we like to call it, is so rich that in a few miles you can find more than 5 museums. Visit the Palacio de las Garzas, headquarters of the Panamanian Government, the Museo de la Historia and the Museo de la Mola, where you can learn about the art of our ancestors and the stories they tell in their complex stitching. Go to the Interoceanic Canal Museum and get the necessary background to visit, in another part of the city, the Miraflores Visitors Center. There you will be able to see up close the workings of one of the most important engineering works of the modern world: the Panama Canal.

casco antiguo panama

Learn About the History of the Panama Canal

In addition to visiting and transiting the Panama Canal itself, you can take a canal tour visiting the areas that were under U.S. administration for 100 years, which today we call reverted areas. Visit the Panama Canal Railway facilities, the imposing building of the Canal Administration and, by the way, climb the Cerro Ancon, where you will have an incredible view of the logistics center that rises at your feet.

Pass by the Amador Causeway, 4 islands joined by the rocks excavated for the construction of the Canal and visit the Liberty Museum and the Biomuseo. The latter will tell you how the emergence of Panamá changed the ocean currents and united the American continents, affecting the entire world. The contents of the museum are as iconic as the building itself, designed by the great Frank Ghery.

Be sure to walk along the Cinta Costera to enjoy the Bay of Panama and the impressive skyline of the city.

You will be amazed by its huge towers, but also by its excellent restaurants, a reflection of the cultural exchange that is lived here every day and that gave Panama City the title of Creative City in Gastronomy in 2017.

Discover the cultural encounter also visiting the Chinese, Hindu and Bahai temples. Visit the Afro Antillean Museum and Mi Pueblito to get to know who is part of our DNA.

We are proud to represent so many cultures, so there is no shortage of festivities. Throughout the year, music, theater and dance activities abound in this city, where worlds meet. What are you waiting for to discover it?

Plaza de la Catedral

Panama City is a unique capital city. Throughout its history it has welcomed people from all over the world, who have integrated and are now an indispensable part of its DNA. Visit museums and cultural centers to soak up this mosaic of ethnicities and identities, and learn about our history and who forged it. Visit the historic circuit formed by Panama Vieja and Casco Antiguo -declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO- and also learn about the religions that coexist here in peace.