Panama City Vacation

The city has numerous tourist attractions including world-class hotels and restaurants. Of particular interest to tourists are various sites located in the Casco Viejo (also commonly referred to as "Casco Antiguo" or "San Felipe"), including

a. Las Bóvedas, literally The Vaults, a waterfront promenade jutting out into the Pacific;
b. The National Institute of Culture Building and across from it, the French Embassy;
c. The Cathedral on Plaza de la Catedral;
d. Teatro Nacional, a recently renovated performance center, with outstanding natural acoustics; It provides an intimate performance environment, seating about 800 guests.
e. Museo del Canal Interoceánico (Interoceanic Canal Museum);
f. Numerous restaurants located near the French embassy.
g. Palacio de las Garzas (Heron's Palace), the official name of the presidential palace. There actually are herons in the compound.

Further southwest one can climb Ancon Hill for an overview of the city (see photograph at the end of the article) and beyond that is the fairly well-known bridge that spans the Panama Canal, the Bridge of the Americas. Another new bridge over the Panama Canal, the Centennial Bridge, is also becoming an attraction.

Recently relocated to the entrance of Curundu Heights in the former Panama Canal Zone is the Museo Antropológico Reina Torres de Araúz (Reina Torres de Arauz Anthropological Museum) — better known by its Spanish acronym MARTA — with precious metal artifacts from pre-Columbian Panama.

The area immediately east of the Pacific entrance of the canal--known as the Amador Causeway is currently being developed as a major tourist center with many North American style malls, hotels, nightclubs, and restaurants. Currently the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute operates a station and a small museum open to the public on Culebra Island, just off the island of Naos (See inset). The noted American architect Frank Gehry known for the Bilbao Guggenheim Museum and the Disney Concert Center in Los Angeles, has designed a structure which will be built in this area. The structure, called The Bridge of Life Museum is scheduled to be completed in 2007.

Visitors who wish to experience more of the local atmosphere are advised to look for accommodations nearer the commercial and financial center of the city; that is, the neighborhoods of Bella Vista, Marbella or El Cangrejo. For tighter budgets Casco Viejo is a better option. In the neighborhood known as Bella Vista, Calle Uruguay is home to Panama's newest cosmopolitan restaurants among them La Rioja, Bistro 10, Peperoncini and La Posta. The city is also growing as a haven for seniors from the United States due to low-tax incentives and a tropical climate. The demand for space in Panama City has sparked a construction boom and skyscrapers are being to built as condos to supply the number of people entering the city. A new building, currently under construction in the city, the Ice Tower will be nearly the height of the World Trade Center; its highest floor will be as tall as the mast of the Empire State Building. Billionaire tycoon Donald Trump sees the city's future as a bright one. In 2006, he moved into the construction frenzy in Panama City with a tower that is to be more than 800 feet tall. The city is emerging as a regional player in finance and chances are that more buildings are on the way to supply all the business arrivals the city is getting.