Panama City is one of the most unusual capitals in the Americas. Within a relatively small area you can walk through a 350-year-old colonial neighborhood, watch enormous ships pass through a canal, hike through tropical rainforest, eat fresh ceviche, cycle along the Pacific and finish the evening on a rooftop overlooking a forest of skyscrapers.
Here are 10 things I would put at the top of the list for anyone visiting Panama City.
1. 🚢 Watch a Ship Go Through the Panama Canal
This is the obvious one, but for good reason. Head to the Miraflores Visitor Center and watch enormous ships squeeze through the locks while learning how the canal changed world trade.
It is much more impressive in person than it sounds on paper. A ship that looks impossibly large slowly enters the lock, the water level changes, and suddenly the vessel has been lifted or lowered to another level. The canal remains one of the defining features of Panama City.
Don't just take a photo and leave. Spend some time watching several vessels if you can.
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2. 🏛️ Get Lost in Casco Antiguo
If the Canal represents modern Panama, Casco Antiguo represents its past.
Walk the cobblestone streets, explore the plazas, look inside old churches and wander along the old defensive walls. Plaza de Francia, Plaza Bolívar, Plaza de la Independencia and the Paseo Esteban Huertas are some of the highlights.
The neighborhood was established in 1673 after the original Panama City was destroyed, and today its colonial architecture sits beside restaurants, cafés, boutique hotels, galleries, bars and some fantastic views of the modern skyline. It is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Best time: late afternoon, staying into sunset and evening.
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3. 🌿 Hike Up Cerro Ancón
One of the coolest things about Panama City is that you can be looking at skyscrapers one minute and walking through tropical forest the next.
Cerro Ancón rises 199 meters above the city and provides spectacular views over Panama City, the Canal and the Pacific entrance. The forest around the hill can also produce encounters with birds, sloths and other wildlife.
It's a particularly good activity for travelers who don't want to spend their entire Panama City visit surrounded by concrete.
Best time: early morning before the heat becomes intense.
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4. 🚲 Bike the Amador Causeway
Rent a bicycle and ride along the Amador Causeway, a long waterfront road connecting several small islands at the entrance to the Panama Canal.
On one side you have the Pacific and the ships waiting to enter the canal. On the other, you get enormous views of Panama City's skyline.
You can combine the ride with a visit to the Biomuseo, stop for food or drinks, and simply enjoy the breeze coming off the water. The tourism authority specifically highlights cycling, walking and sailing around Amador as major city activities.
Best time: late afternoon toward sunset.
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5. 🦋 Visit the Biomuseo
Even if you aren't normally a museum person, the Biomuseo is worth considering because it explains one of the most important things about Panama: why this tiny piece of land has such an enormous impact on the natural world.
Designed by architect Frank Gehry, the museum explores Panama's biodiversity and its role as a biological bridge between North and South America.
It's particularly good when combined with the Amador Causeway, since they're right next to each other.
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6. 🐒 Go Into the Jungle at Metropolitan Natural Park
This might be the biggest surprise for first-time visitors.
Metropolitan Natural Park is a 230-hectare tropical forest essentially inside the capital. It contains hundreds of bird species along with monkeys, mammals, reptiles and amphibians. Its trails lead to viewpoints overlooking the city and Canal.
You don't need to travel hours outside the city to experience genuine Panamanian rainforest.
For backpackers and nature lovers, I'd actually put this higher than several traditional city attractions.
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7. 🏺 Explore the Ruins of Panamá Viejo
Before Casco Antiguo, there was Panamá Viejo.
Founded in 1519, it was the original European settlement on the Pacific coast of the Americas. Its ruins tell the story of a city that became enormously wealthy from the movement of treasure across the isthmus before being destroyed by the pirate Henry Morgan in 1671.
Today you can walk among the ruins and climb the old cathedral tower for a completely different perspective of modern Panama City.
This is especially good for anyone fascinated by pirates and Panama's history.
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8. 🐟 Eat at the Mercado de Mariscos
For a taste of the city that feels considerably more local than sitting in a fancy restaurant, head toward the Seafood Market.
Try ceviche, fresh fish or other seafood dishes and watch the activity around the market.
The market also fits naturally into a walking or cycling day because the Cinta Costera connects the waterfront with the historic center and other parts of the city. Panama's tourism authority specifically recommends stopping at the seafood market during a city cycling itinerary.
And if you're a food-loving backpacker, this is one of the places where you can experience a very different side of Panama City from the skyscraper-and-rooftop-bar image.
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9. 🌅 Walk the Cinta Costera at Sunset
The Cinta Costera is one of the simplest attractions in the city, but don't underestimate it.
Walk, run, cycle or simply sit beside the water while Panama City's skyline rises behind you. The contrast between the Pacific, tropical vegetation and skyscrapers makes it one of the best places to appreciate just how strange Panama City's geography really is.
Go around sunset and stay until the city lights come on.
It's free, easy and requires no tour.
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10. 🍹 Experience Panama City's Nightlife
Don't go to bed early.
Panama City has a surprisingly energetic nightlife scene, particularly around Casco Antiguo, where you can move from a casual bar to a rooftop overlooking the skyline and then find live music, salsa, dancing or a late-night restaurant.
Rooftop bars are particularly fun because the city looks completely different after dark. Panama's tourism authority also highlights the city's rooftop bars, Latin music and nightlife as major parts of the Panama City experience.
For a backpacker, Casco at night is probably the easiest place to meet other travelers.
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🇵🇦 If You Only Have 2 Days...
I'd do it like this:
Day 1:
Panama Canal → Casco Antiguo → seafood lunch → Cinta Costera → Casco rooftop at sunset → nightlife.
Day 2:
Metropolitan Natural Park or Cerro Ancón early morning → Panamá Viejo → Amador Causeway → Biomuseo → sunset by the water.
And if you have a third day, I'd seriously consider getting out of the city for a jungle or Gatún Lake experience. Panama City's greatest trick is that you don't have to travel very far before the skyscrapers disappear and the rainforest takes over.
For a backpacker, Panama City is best experienced as more than a stopover. It's a place where history, jungle, canal, Caribbean and modern Latin American city life all collide within a surprisingly small area.