Panama City runs along the Pacific coast beside the canal. Casco Viejo holds the restored colonial quarter, the Miraflores and Agua Clara locks let you watch ships transit, and the Amador Causeway and Metropolitan Park add sea views and rainforest within the city.
The Miraflores Visitor Center, with viewing decks over the locks and a museum, and the newer Agua Clara locks on the Caribbean side for the larger Neopanamax ships.
The UNESCO-listed old town of plazas, churches and rooftop bars on a small peninsula, rebuilt after the original city was sacked.
The ruins of the first Panama City, founded in 1519 and destroyed in 1671, and the Amador Causeway with the Frank Gehry-designed Biomuseo.
The Miraflores Visitor Center charges admission and is busiest late morning when ships transit; check the daily transit schedule. Casco Viejo is safe by day and in its lit central blocks at night, but the surrounding streets need care. The US dollar is used alongside the balboa.
Ships pass through Miraflores in windows during the day. Check the schedule so you arrive when there is something to watch.
The old town has the character, the restaurants and the rooftop bars, and connects by short taxi to the canal and the causeway.
Metropolitan Natural Park has genuine tropical forest and wildlife within the city limits, a rare thing in a capital.
What is the best way to see the canal?
The Miraflores Visitor Center for the classic locks view and museum, or a partial transit boat tour to actually go through a set of locks.
Is Casco Viejo safe?
The restored central blocks are fine day and night; the fringes are rougher. Stay in the lit, busy streets after dark and take taxis.
What currency is used?
The US dollar circulates as legal tender alongside the Panamanian balboa, which is pegged to it.
How long should I stay?
Two to three days to cover the canal, Casco Viejo, Panama Viejo and the causeway or Metropolitan Park.
The original Panama City was founded on the Pacific coast in 1519 and became a key transit point for Spanish silver. It was destroyed in 1671, and a new walled city was built a few kilometres west at what is now Casco Viejo.
The city grew again around the canal, completed in 1914, and has boomed since Panama took full control of the canal in 1999, adding a high-rise banking district.
This page is an independent guide for visitors, covering the Panama Canal Authority and any tourism body.
