Must see attractions in Panama City

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Celebrating Panama as the land bridge that has permitted astonishing biodiversity in the region, this world-class museum is a visual feast. Exhibits tell…

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This wonderful privately owned museum features the best collection of Panamanian art anywhere, an excellent collection of works on paper by Latin American…

Founded on August 15, 1519, by Spanish conquistador Pedro Arias de Ávila, the city of Panamá was the first European settlement along the Pacific. For 150…

At the tip of the southern point of Casco Viejo, this beautiful plaza pays homage to the French role in the construction of the canal. Its large stone…

This Casco Viejo church protects the famous Altar de Oro (Golden Altar), the sole relic salvaged after privateer Henry Morgan sacked Panamá Viejo.

This impressive museum is housed in a beautifully restored building that once served as the headquarters for the original French canal company. The Panama…

Built in 1907, the interior of this ornate Casco Viejo theater has been completely restored. It boasts red and gold decorations, a once-magnificent…

Built between 1619 and 1626, this cathedral is the best-preserved building of the Panamá Viejo ruins. In traditional fashion, it was designed so that its…

Built in 1617, this Panamà Viejo landmark may be the oldest standing bridge in the Americas.

On a hill north of downtown, this 265-hectare park protects vast expanses of tropical semideciduous forest within the city limits, and serves as an…

Ideal for families, CEM is operated by the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI). This informative marine museum features two small aquariums and…

Mini travelers (and those young at heart) will love this museum dedicated to interactive learning. Six exhibition rooms explore such themes as electricity…

These days only a shell, this 1741 convent and church in Casco Viejo was destroyed in a fire and further damaged in an earthquake but remains a thing of…

The biggest park in the city is filled with children, joggers and the occasional salsa class. It's located in Omar, behind the San Francisco neighborhood…

Iglesia y Convento de Santo Domingo is the best-preserved church of the ruins of Panamá Viejo. The convent dates from the 1570s, though the church was…

An example of the baroque style in Panama, this Casco Viejo church was built in 1673 with a facade transferred from Panamá Viejo.

The story of the monumental effort to build the Panama Canal is powerfully depicted in murals by notable artist William B Van Ingen of New York. The…

In Panamá Viejo, the Jesuits arrived a decade or so after Dominican friars and built Iglesia y Convento de la Compañía de Jesús, whose stone ruins are…

Like other Panamá Viejo churches, this is among the settlement's most outstanding structures: rectangular, with stone outer walls, timber roofs, internal…

With 1600 species, Panama City's butterfly garden is a worthy stop for nature lovers. Fifteen-minute guided tours explain the life cycle of butterflies…