Most travelers come to Panama City for the Canal and end up surprised by everything else. A UNESCO-listed colonial quarter at the water’s edge. Five-hundred-year-old ruins under glass towers. A Frank Gehry museum on a causeway built from Canal excavation rock. A working fish market that feeds the city. A forested hill where you can hear howler monkeys ten minutes from downtown. And day trips that take you to a Caribbean archipelago, a cloud forest crater, or the Canal jungle in under two hours.
This guide covers every activity worth your time in Panama City, with honest takes on how long to allow, how to get there, and whether each one is actually worth it. The Canal and Casco Viejo have their own dedicated guides on this site, linked below.
For the broader picture on neighborhoods, food, where to stay, and how to structure the trip, see our Panama City travel guide.
How many days do you need in Panama City?
Two days covers Casco Viejo, the Canal, Panama Viejo, and the Amador Causeway at a comfortable pace. Three days lets you add Ancon Hill, the Metropolitan Natural Park, and one day trip. Four or more days lets you do justice to the day trips, which is where Panama City really earns its position as a Central American base.
If you are short on time, the two non-negotiables are Casco Viejo and the Canal.
Activity 01
Casco Viejo: Panama City's Historic Quarter
Casco Viejo is the part of Panama City that stays with you. Founded in 1673 after Henry Morgan’s raid on the original Panama Viejo, it occupies a narrow peninsula at the southern tip of the city. The streets are cobblestone. The buildings are colonial Spanish and French. Some blocks are fully restored and immaculate, others are mid-renovation with scaffolding on every facade. That contrast is part of the appeal.
What makes Casco Viejo worth more than a morning is the density of things to see within a very small area. You can walk the perimeter walls and look out over the Bay of Panama. You can sit at a cafe on the same plaza where Spanish colonists held their markets 350 years ago. You can eat extraordinarily well.
Getting to Casco Viejo
If you are not staying in Casco Viejo, take an Uber from your hotel. It is the most straightforward option regardless of where you are in the city, and the drop-off puts you directly at the edge of the neighborhood. Do not walk from the financial district or any surrounding streets. The blocks between the modern city and Casco Viejo are not safe on foot. For hotels close by, see our where to stay in Panama City guide.
The architecture walk
Start at Plaza de Francia at the southern tip. The old French embassy is here, along with a monument to the workers who died during the failed French Canal attempt, and good views over the bay. Walk north along the perimeter walls and the Paseo de las Bovedas to Plaza Bolivar, a small square dedicated to Simon Bolivar in front of the Church of San Francisco. You can pay to climb to the top of the church tower for a view of the city.
Continue past the Arco Chato, one of the few structures remaining from the 1600s, and through to the Panama Canal Museum, which is worth visiting in its own right if you cannot make it to Miraflores. From there, head to Plaza de la Independencia at the center, where the historic Central Hotel, Panama’s first commercial hotel, and the Metropolitan Cathedral face each other across the main square. The Central Hotel is worth stepping inside.
If you want to extend the walk, the Church of the Mercy and the Church of Saint Joseph, famous for its golden altar, are both within a few blocks. End the walk at Plaza Herrera. Allow two hours minimum to do this properly without feeling rushed.
Architecture Walk Route
A
Plaza de Francia — start here, get bay views, walk the Paseo de las Bovedas (B)
C
Plaza Simón Bolívar — church of San Francisco
D
Arco Chato — historic ruins
E
Panama Canal Museum — to do if you cannot visit the canal
F
Plaza de la Independencia — historic hotel + Cathedral (G)
H
I
Church of the Mercy + Church Of Saint Joseph — historic churches
J
Plaza Herrera — end here
If you want more context on the history and architecture than self-guided exploration can give you, a small-group walking tour is a good option. These typically run two hours and cost $25 to $40 per person, and the best ones cover the colonial history, the restoration story, and the political context that shaped the neighborhood.
Eating and drinking in Casco Viejo
The restaurant scene here is the strongest in Panama City. For elevated Caribbean and Panamanian cuisine, Fonda Lo Que Hay is the most talked-about restaurant in the country. La Pulperia is more casual with a generous happy hour and good bar food. Kaandela does fusion well. Super Gourmet is the right call for a quick cafe-style meal.
For drinks in the evening, the rooftop bars are the draw. Lazotea has the best skyline views. Casa Casco looks out over the colonial neighborhood itself, with its churches and plazas from above. The streets are lively on Friday and Saturday nights, and the tourist core is safe to walk after dark.
Safety in Casco Viejo
Casco Viejo is safe within the tourist core, the area around the three main plazas and the streets between them. Do not walk north beyond Avenida Central without checking current conditions first. Take a taxi or Uber directly to and from the neighborhood. For the broader Panama safety picture, see our full safety guide.
Time to allow
Half day minimum. Full day if you stay for dinner and rooftop drinks.
Getting there
Uber from anywhere in the city.
Worth it?
Yes. The most atmospheric neighborhood in the city.
Activity 02
The Panama Canal: What to Visit and How
The Canal is the reason most people come to Panama, and it justifies the reputation. There are four ways to experience it, and choosing the right one matters. The Miraflores Visitor Center is the most accessible at about 20 minutes by taxi. The viewing platform sits directly above the lock chambers and you can watch ships move through in real time. Entry is around $17 per person. The Agua Clara Visitor Center is 80 kilometers away on the Atlantic side near Colon. It shows you both the newer expanded locks and the original Gatun Locks in the same visit, and it is the more impressive of the two centers if you have the time.
A partial transit puts you on the water inside the Canal itself, moving through the lock chambers at water level. It is a fundamentally different experience from watching from a platform. A full transit runs the entire 80-kilometer length on the first Saturday of each month only.
Our Panama Canal guide covers all four options in detail: what you actually see at each, how to book, and which one suits your trip.
Time to allow
1.5 to 2 hours per visitor center. Half day for partial transit. Full day for full transit.
Getting there
Taxi or Uber to Miraflores. Tour includes transport for others.
Worth it?
Yes. Choose your format based on time and how much of the Canal you want to see.
Activity 03
Panama Viejo: The Ruins That Started It All
Panama City is the oldest continuously occupied European settlement on the Pacific coast of the Americas. Panama Viejo is where that city began in 1519, and where it ended when Henry Morgan burned it to the ground in 1671. The ruins, a cathedral tower, the main plaza, convent walls, and sections of the original street grid, are now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
What makes Panama Viejo interesting is the contrast. You stand inside a 500-year-old stone tower and look out at the glass towers of the financial district less than a kilometer away.
A complimentary shuttle runs across the site, which is welcome in the Panama heat. You can move between the entrance, the dense part of the ruins, and the museum without walking the whole way in full sun. Do not skip the museum. It holds artifacts recovered from the ruins alongside a detailed account of the Morgan raid and the founding of Casco Viejo, and it gives you the context that makes the ruins make sense.
The tower climb is a few stories of modern retrofitted stairs. The view from the top looks down over the full extent of the ruins with the skyline rising behind them. It is worth the effort.
Time to allow
2 hours including museum and tower.
Getting there
15 minutes by taxi from the city center.
Worth it?
Yes. Consistently one of the most underrated stops in the city.
Activity 04
Amador Causeway: Cycling, Views, and the Biomuseo
The Amador Causeway is a three-kilometer road built from rock excavated during construction of the Panama Canal. It connects the mainland to four small islands at the Pacific entrance, and on a clear day the view back toward the skyline with container ships queuing on the water is one of the best in Panama.
Cinta Costera and cycling the Causeway
The Cinta Costera is the seven-kilometer waterfront promenade that runs from Punta Paitilla along the bay to the entrance of Casco Viejo. It connects directly to the Amador Causeway, and together they make the best continuous cycling and walking route in Panama City. The mornings and the hour before sunset are when the locals come out: runners, cyclists, families, dog walkers. The Panama sign sits along the promenade and is the standard photo stop.
Cycle vendors operate along the Causeway and at points along the Cinta Costera. Bring cash. Most vendors are independent operators and do not always take cards. The full route is flat, car-free in the central lane, and takes about an hour end to end at a casual pace.
The Biomuseo
The Biomuseo is Frank Gehry’s only building in Latin America: a riot of color, angles, and folding planes that looks completely deliberate and completely out of place at the same time. Inside, it is a natural history museum focused on the formation of the Isthmus of Panama and why that matters to the rest of the world.
When the land bridge between North and South America closed roughly three million years ago, it triggered one of the largest species exchanges in the history of life on Earth and changed ocean circulation on both sides of the continent. If you have been traveling through Panama without fully understanding why this narrow strip of land is so biologically significant, the Biomuseo answers that question without being textbook about it.
Exhibitions are fully bilingual in English and Spanish, the design is genuinely family-friendly, and fish tanks throughout show the range of aquatic environments around Panama from Pacific reefs to Caribbean shallows to freshwater river systems. It is the best single place to visualize all of Panama’s ecosystems in one location.
Budget ninety minutes minimum. The building gets warm, so mornings are more comfortable. Closed Tuesdays.
Punta Culebra Nature Center
Further along the Causeway sits Punta Culebra, a small open-air nature center run by the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. The site has a sloth in the canopy of the surrounding trees, marine touch tanks, and short interpretive trails. It works well as a one-hour stop after the Biomuseo or for families with younger children.
Time to allow
Half day with the Biomuseo. Add 90 minutes for the full Cinta Costera and Causeway cycle.
Getting there
Taxi or Uber. About 10 minutes from Casco Viejo, 15 minutes from El Cangrejo.
Worth it?
Yes. The Biomuseo alone justifies the trip.
Activity 05
Mercado de Mariscos, Panama City's Fish Market
The Mercado de Mariscos sits on the waterfront between Casco Viejo and the city center. The ground floor is a working fish market, corvina, pargo, octopus, shrimp, and also where you want to eat. The restaurants sit right alongside the stalls, and the food is made from whatever came off the boats that morning.
The ceviche is the reason to come. Panamanian ceviche is made with corvina, lime juice, onion, and aji chombo, served cold in a plastic cup with crackers on the side. Beyond ceviche, most stalls offer cooked fish dishes based on whatever is freshest that day.
A few things to know before you arrive. The restaurant workers outside the stalls are pushy and will try to direct you to their spot before you have had a chance to look around. Ignore them. Walk the full ground floor first and choose based on which stall has the most locals already eating there. Most sell the same dishes at the same prices, so foot traffic is your best indicator of quality.
Time to allow
1 hour for lunch. Add 30 minutes if you want to walk the market.
Getting there
Noon to 2 p.m. when the market is most active.
Worth it?
Yes. One of the more honest corners of a city center that has become polished.
Activity 06
Ancon Hill and the Metropolitan Natural Park
Ancon Hill
Ancon Hill is a 199-meter forested hill on the edge of the old Canal Zone, about ten minutes by taxi from Casco Viejo. It is free to enter, open to walkers, and offers the best elevated view of Panama City that does not require a hotel rooftop reservation.
One important practical note: do not walk to the hill from Casco Viejo. The neighborhood between them is not safe. Take a taxi or drive directly to the entrance on Avenida de los Martires.
The path to the summit is a 1.5-kilometer service road and takes about 40 minutes at a comfortable pace. The summit is shaded by trees, which makes the heat manageable, and the views take in both the Canal, the Bridge of the Americas, and the Bay of Panama. You will likely hear howler monkeys somewhere on the path. We heard them on the way up. Go early. Bring water. There are no facilities on the hill.
Mi Pueblito
At the southeastern foot of Ancon Hill sits Mi Pueblito, a recreated cultural village showing three distinct Panamanian traditions: the Afro-Caribbean community, the interior farming region, and indigenous groups including the Guna and Embera. Entry is $3 and it is open daily 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The honest assessment: Mi Pueblito is a modest attraction and some visitors find it more touristy than educational. For anyone spending only a day or two in Panama City with no time to visit the interior or the Caribbean coast, it gives a reasonable visual introduction to how different Panama’s regional cultures are. It works well as a 30-minute add-on before or after the Ancon Hill walk. Parking and clean restrooms on site.
Metropolitan Natural Park
If Ancon Hill leaves you wanting more wildlife, the Metropolitan Natural Park is the follow-up. It is a short taxi ride away and is the only protected tropical forest within the city limits of any capital in the Americas. Five trails wander the 700-acre site, and the Cienaguita Trail leading to Mono Titi Road gives you the best summit view of the city.
This is where we saw a sloth, moving slowly through the canopy above one of the trails, which is about as good as a sloth sighting gets. The park sits along a major migratory bird route and connects to Soberania National Park further along the Canal corridor. Toucans, monkeys, agouti, and a wide range of birds are regularly spotted here.
Time to allow
Half day for Ancon Hill, Mi Pueblito, and the Metropolitan Natural Park combined.
Getting there
Taxi to each. Do not walk from Casco Viejo to Ancon Hill.
Worth it?
Yes. One of the more complete wildlife and culture mornings in the city.
Activity 07
Day Trips from Panama City
Panama City is one of the best-positioned bases in Central America for day trips. Within two hours you can be on a Caribbean island, inside the Canal jungle, in a cloud forest crater, or walking Spanish colonial forts on the coast.
The best options:
- San Blas Islands, Caribbean islands governed by the Guna people. About 90 minutes by 4WD road plus a boat transfer. Day trip is possible, but two or three days does it justice.
- Gamboa, Canal jungle and wildlife, 30 minutes from the city. Combines well with a partial Canal transit.
- Valle de Anton, a small town inside an extinct volcano crater, two hours away. Hot springs, waterfalls, and cloud forest hiking.
- Portobelo and Isla Grande, Spanish forts and Caribbean snorkeling, 90 minutes from the city. Works as a single combined day.
- Embera community, an indigenous village reachable by dugout canoe up the Chagres River. One of the more unusual things you can do from the city.
Our day trips from Panama City guide covers each one in full with practical detail on transport, timing, and what to expect.
Time to allow
Full day for any of them. Two days for San Blas if you can.
Worth it?
Yes. Panama City earns its position as a base because of these.
Planning
How to Plan your Time in Panama City
One day: Casco Viejo in the morning, the Canal in the afternoon, back to Casco Viejo for dinner and drinks in the evening.
Two days: Add Panama Viejo on the morning of day two. Lunch at Mercado de Mariscos. The Amador Causeway and Biomuseo in the afternoon. Sunset cycle along the Cinta Costera.
Three days: Add Ancon Hill and the Metropolitan Natural Park for a wildlife morning. One day trip. San Blas if the road is open. Gamboa if you want wildlife and a partial Canal transit.
Four or more days: Add a second day trip. Portobelo and Isla Grande work well together. Valle de Anton is a full day. The Embera community visit is unlike anything else on this list. An overnight in San Blas is the best version of that experience.
Panama City is also the launch point for the rest of the country. San Blas, Boquete, Valle de Anton, and Bocas del Toro all start with a flight or a drive from here. Our Panama itineraries are built around that fact.
Continue planning
Planning the rest of your time in Panama City?
Canal tours, Casco Viejo nights, day trips into the wild, and where to stay by neighborhood.
