Things to Do in Panama City, Panama
I did not love Panama City at first glance. The first one was all glass towers, traffic, and humidity that sat on my shoulders like a wet coat. But give it a day and the city starts talking back. It is a city of two faces, the gleaming skyline and the old colonial quarter, and once I figured out how to move between them I could not stop. These are the things I would do again without a second thought.
Wander Casco Viejo Without a Map
Start in Casco Viejo. This is the old town, a UNESCO site of narrow streets, pastel facades, and balconies that lean toward each other like old friends. I left my phone in my pocket and just walked. Plaza Herrera has a fountain and a parade of cafes. Plaza de la Catedral holds the Metropolitan Cathedral with its mother of pearl inlay. I climbed the tower of the church on Plaza de Francia for a view over the bay, and I will not pretend the stairs were easy. They were worth it.
Eat at the Anafres farmhouse chain for locro and stuffed arepas. Try fresh coconut ceviche from a street stall near the produce market. And stay for the evening, because the quarter changes once the sun drops, when the lights come up and the bars fill with a mix of travelers and office workers who wandered downhill after work.
Watch the Ships Cross at the Miraflores Locks
No trip to Panama City makes sense without the canal. Take the metro or a taxi to Miraflores Locks, the set closest to town. The visitor center has four floors of exhibits and a viewing deck that sits right over the chambers. I arrived late morning and watched a container ship squeeze through in under an hour, riding a rising column of water. It looked like slow magic.
The live narration walks you through each step. A single transit uses millions of liters of water, and seeing the scale of it in person rearranges how you think about the place. The center has a decent restaurant upstairs, but I skipped it and grabbed a sausage toward the causeway instead.
Climb Ancon Hill for the View
Cerro Ancon is a green lump of jungle rising from the middle of the city, and it is free. I went at seven in the morning, before the heat got serious. The paved road climbs a few hundred meters and opens onto a view that does both sides of town at once, the skyline on one horizon and the canal on the other. You will share the trail with toucans and often a lazily grazing family of coatis. Give them space.
Carry water and go early. There is no shade stop near the top, and the Panamanian sun does not negotiate.
Walk the Amador Causeway at Sunset
The causeway is a long finger of landfill that joins three small islands to the mainland. I rented a bike and rode the whole loop. On one side is the city skyline, lit up like a switchboard. On the other, freighters queue off the canal entrance. Sunset here is a crowd favorite, and for good reason. Eat at one of the waterfront restaurants at the far end, or just sit on a bench with a cold Balboa. Bring a sweater for the way back, because the wind over the water turns cool fast.
Browse the Bio Museum and the Old Town Market
The Biomuseo, designed by Frank Gehry, sits right at the entrance to the causeway. The building is a stack of bright, tilted roof panels, and even if you skip the exhibits it photographs like nothing else in the city. The exhibits trace how the rise of the isthmus split oceans and reshaped life on two continents. Plan about two hours.
For something scrappier, take the metro to the Mercado Publico in the western district and push through the fruit and fish stalls. You will find mangoes the size of your head, deep purple corn, and vendors who will hack open a coconut for you on the spot.
Base Yourself Around Convenience
Stay in Casco Viejo for charm or in the financial district for easy access to the metro. The line-adjacent station at San Miguelito is rougher, so pick stations in the center. English is spoken in the tourist zones, but a few words of Spanish go a long way with cab drivers. Use official yellow taxis or an app, and agree on the fare before you ride.
Panama City rewarded me precisely when I stopped trying to list it off. Walk the old town, watch the canal work, climb the hill, and let the rest fill itself in. Give it three days and you will leave wishing you had booked four.
