Panama City

Why Panama City works

Panama City's skyline — dense with glass towers that would look at home in Miami or Dubai — sits directly across the bay from Casco Viejo, the restored 17th-century old town built after pirates burned the original settlement in 1671. Casco Viejo's balconied plazas, French and Spanish colonial facades, and rooftop bars overlooking the water have made it the city's most atmospheric quarter, its restoration from near-ruin over the past two decades now largely complete. The Panama Canal, still one of the engineering marvels of the modern era, is best seen at the Miraflores Locks visitor centre, where massive ships rise and fall through the lock system just metres from an observation deck — a process unchanged in principle since the canal opened in 1914. Panama's position as a genuine crossroads shows in its population, a mix of Afro-Caribbean, Indigenous Guna and Embera communities, Chinese-Panamanian merchants, and a large expatriate and banking community drawn by the country's dollarised economy and free-trade status. The Biomuseo, designed by Frank Gehry, tells the story of the Isthmus of Panama's formation and its effect on global biodiversity in a building as visually striking as its subject. Fish market stalls at Mercado de Mariscos serve ceviche within sight of the boats that caught it that morning, and a short flight or drive reaches the San Blas Islands for a complete change of pace. Panama City works well as a one- or two-night stop bridging Central and South America, with enough depth to reward a longer stay.

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