Panama
Panama City is the only capital where you can watch a container ship climb a staircase of water before lunch and be among howler monkeys by mid-afternoon.
A glass skyline rises beside the bay, a UNESCO-listed colonial quarter of balconies and plazas, Casco Viejo, sits on its own peninsula, and the Panama Canal, which opened in 1914, runs just beyond the edge of town into the rainforest of Gatun Lake. This guide books the city properly: the Miraflores Locks for the live canal show, a partial transit through the locks themselves, a Casco Viejo food walk, the Biomuseo and the ruins of the first Panama City at Panama Viejo, plus day trips to the San Blas islands, a Gatun Lake wildlife cruise, an Embera village visit and the Atlantic-side Agua Clara locks and Fort San Lorenzo. It then matches you to the right hotel, from the Waldorf Astoria on the bay to boutique stays on Plaza Herrera in Casco Viejo, because in a spread-out tropical city where you sleep decides how much of your time goes to taxis.
Panama Canal Miraflores Locks
The easiest place on earth to watch a ship climb a staircase of water. The Miraflores Visitor Center sits beside the Pacific-side locks of the Panama Canal, with viewing terraces, a 3D film and canal exhibits, about twenty minutes from the city centre. It is the single most important half day in Panama City.
Biomuseo
Frank Gehry's colourful, jagged landmark at the start of the Amador Causeway tells the story of how Panama's rise from the sea joined two continents and reshaped life on Earth. Bright, hands-on and visually stunning, it is the city's most photographed museum.
Panama Viejo Ruins
The ruins of the first Spanish city on the Pacific, founded in 1519 and burned in 1671, sit on the eastern edge of Panama City. Walk among cathedral walls, convent ruins and the old bell tower, then climb it for a skyline view that links 500 years.
Metropolitan Natural Park
A tropical forest inside a capital city. This 230-hectare park has seven marked trails, a lookout over the skyline and the canal, and wildlife from squirrel monkeys to hundreds of bird species, all a short ride from downtown.
The easiest place on earth to watch a ship climb a staircase of water. The Miraflores Visitor Center sits beside the Pacific-side locks of the Panama Canal, with viewing terraces, a 3D film and canal exhibits, about twenty minutes from the city centre. It is the single most important half day in Panama City.
Panama City's UNESCO-listed old quarter is best met on foot with a local guide and a plate in hand. This two-hour evening walk through Casco Viejo threads colonial plazas, restored mansions and street corners with samples of coffee, chocolate, ceviche, beer and rum.
White-sand cays, turquoise water and a Guna-run island culture, reached on a long but rewarding day from Panama City. A typical trip drives to the coast, boards a small boat and hops between palm-fringed islands for swimming, snorkelling and lunch.
Panama's rainforest is a short drive from the city, and Gatun Lake is where to meet it. Small boats cruise among forested islands in the canal's great artificial lake to spot monkeys, sloths, birds and passing ocean-going ships.
Do not just watch the canal, go through it. A partial transit puts you on a boat that travels through a set of locks and part of the waterway, with lunch and commentary, then returns you to the city by road. It is the closest most visitors get to a full crossing.
A day of river, rainforest and culture. You travel upriver by canoe in Chagres National Park to an Embera community for a welcome, music, a traditional lunch and stories of life in the forest, a half-day journey from Panama City.
The canal's Caribbean side in a single day. This tour pairs the vast Agua Clara locks of the 2016 expansion with Spanish Fort San Lorenzo, a UNESCO-listed ruin on a cliff above the Chagres River mouth, plus a rainforest safari.
Frank Gehry's colourful, jagged landmark at the start of the Amador Causeway tells the story of how Panama's rise from the sea joined two continents and reshaped life on Earth. Bright, hands-on and visually stunning, it is the city's most photographed museum.
The ruins of the first Spanish city on the Pacific, founded in 1519 and burned in 1671, sit on the eastern edge of Panama City. Walk among cathedral walls, convent ruins and the old bell tower, then climb it for a skyline view that links 500 years.
A tropical forest inside a capital city. This 230-hectare park has seven marked trails, a lookout over the skyline and the canal, and wildlife from squirrel monkeys to hundreds of bird species, all a short ride from downtown.
Hotels we would book ourselves, from splurges to good-value bases.
$$$$Marbella / Bella Vista
The city's most polished luxury address, a short walk from the Cinta Costera bayfront and the financial district. A seventh-floor pool, an award-winning spa, a cocktail bar and a famously well-connected concierge make it the splurge pick for a special trip.
Rates on Expedia →
$$$Casco Viejo
A restored 1917 building on Plaza Herrera, in the middle of Casco Viejo. Luxury rooms and suites, a jazz club, fine dining and a coffee shop sit in a member of Small Luxury Hotels of the World, with every sight of the old quarter on the doorstep.
Rates on Expedia →
$$Casco Viejo
A nine-room art hotel in Casco Viejo with a famous rooftop bar, a restaurant and rooms each redesigned by a different artist. Small, social and stylish, it is the pick for travellers who want personality and nightlife steps from the plazas.
Rates on Expedia →
$$Financial District
A big, comfortable city hotel in the business and financial district, with an outdoor pool, a gym, several bars and restaurants and rooms that suit families and groups. Good value for the facilities and well placed for taxis to every sight.
Rates on Expedia →
$El Cangrejo / Bella Vista
A friendly, budget-conscious base in El Cangrejo and Bella Vista with a rooftop pool, a gym, free parking and 92 rooms. A short walk to dining and nightlife and an easy taxi ride to the canal and Casco Viejo.
Rates on Expedia →A first-timer's guide to Panama City: which tours to book ahead, how to get around, how many days to allow and where the Panama Canal, Casco Viejo, San Blas and Gatun Lake fit.
A neighborhood guide to where to stay in Panama City, from historic Casco Viejo to the bayfront and the financial district, tied to five hand-picked hotels.
