Panama City
Everything you want it to be.....
Panama City is: vibrant, dirty, crazy, wonderful, full of traffic and exhaust fumes, hot, perfumed, fun, exciting, growing, modern, old, sophisticated, beautiful, ugly, tiring, exhilarating! Panama is: concrete sky scrapers, modern condos, French colonial chic, middle class villas, rental apartments, poor tin roofs as well as rain forest on your door step. Basically Panama City is anything and everything you want it to be...
Panama City, located at the Pacific entrance of the Panama Canal, has almost one million inhabitants. It is a "first world" urban capital in the throes of a major building boom. The dense skyline of Panama City, with its projected 250 high-rise office and condominium towers, is starting to resemble downtown Manhattan or Singapore. High class restaurants, first class hotels and fast food outlets are here for all tastes and pockets. The ghettos in the suburbs are expanding daily too. Juan Carlos Navarro, Panama's current mayor is doing his best to expand the infrastructure of the city in line with its explosive growth.
Entertainment is varied: the latest movies along with concerts featuring foreign and local performers of all genres as well as every kind of sporting event are all available in the city (baseball is arguably the most popular sport in Panama and a number of Panamanian players are found in US major league clubs).
Panama City is an important hub for international banking and commerce too, coming only second to Switzerland in importance. It has an advanced communications service, Internet use is widespread and Panama's Tocumen International Airport offers daily flights to many international destinations.
Real Estate in Panama City
Panama City currently has an undervalued real estate market; however as has happened in countries like Costa Rica, Mexico and Ireland, prices have been rising as more people discover the advantages Panama has to offer. As a potential real estate investor, there are several areas to consider where you will find maximum growth opportunities. Condominiums are growing up like mushrooms in town while some interesting areas are undergoing re-development:
Old Panama Canal Zone
There are also many exclusive residential districts in the old Panama Canal Zone that reverted to Panama in year 2000. Many excellent gated developments with homes and lots are available in Clayton, Ancon, Albrook, and Cardenas many with 2000 square meters of land. Figure on spending at least $250,000 and beyond for a single family home on a one quarter acre lot and plan for some upgrades and repairs. Several expensive projects with spectacular ocean and city views are being constructed on the Amador Causeway located in the Pacific entrance to the Panama Canal. One such project is “Las Brisas”. This is considered a "hot trendy area". It has cooling breezes all year, great vistas of the city, first class restaurants, marinas, biking, discos, etc.
Casco Viejo
One often overlooked jewel of Panama City is Casco Viejo. Don't be dismayed that many of the buildings are in disrepair, look closer and you will see many remnants of French and Spanish colonial architecture; some properties are gradually being rescued and have become restaurants, bars, studios and small hotels in an area that could well become another New York City Soho. The Presidential Palace and the National Theater are located here as well as a monument to the French who made the first attempt to build a canal. Purchase and restoration of properties in this area receive incentives from the government in the form of tax exemptions and discounted mortgages. Even your rent is tax deductible expense. In a few years this could be one of the most sought after parts of the city. From apartments to palaces, the opportunities are limitless.
Beaches & Carnival
Of course, Panama City also has exquisite Pacific beaches. Little more than an hour's drive from the capital city, their warm temperatures make them a year round destination.
People lucky enough to be in Panama City during Carnivale often find themselves overwhelmed at first, but the spirit of celebration quickly rids most inhibitions. Vibrant yet sophisticated, colonial yet modern, mysterious yet welcoming – Panama City defies comparison.
Getting out of Panama City
Panama City bores you (heaven forbid!!) you can get out of town or out of the country in a hurry. There is good surfing about three hours north of Panama City. You can visit a stone age people about two hours south of Panama City. You can fly to any number of islands in 20 minutes or less. You can eat breakfast on the Pacific Ocean and drive to the Caribbean for a second cup of coffee in less than an hour. You can fly from here to the Dominican Republic, to Caracas, Venezuela or San Jose, Costa Rica in two hours. You can fly to Miami or to Havana, Cuba in three and to Peru in about four hours. Nice!
The Weather in Panama City
Panama City has a "tropical maritime" climate, making it a pleasant year-round city to live in or visit. The average daily high is 87°C, and the average daily low is 73°C. The city has a rainy season that stretches from May to December, and a dry season from January to April. October is the wettest month with just over 20 days and 330mm of rain. That doesn’t mean it rains all day of course but probably implies a thunder storm in the afternoon or at night.
Places to Eat
Click here for restaurants in Panama City
Places to Stay
Click here for Panama City Hotels (ditto)
Places to See in Panama City
Church of San Jose
One of Panama City's greatest treasures is the baroque Altar de Oro – the Golden Altar – located in the Church of San Jose.
In 1671, news of pirate Henry Morgan's approach reached the priest responsible for the Church of San Jose. Desperate to protect the church's most valuable possession, the priest painted the altar black. Morgan arrived ready to claim his prize, but the priest was able to convince him that a previous pirate had beaten him to the loot and that the black altar was merely wood. Legend also has it that the priest even wangled a donation toward a replacement altar from Morgan, which elicited the response, "I don't know why, but I think that you are more of a pirate than I am." Mass is still celebrated at the Church of San Jose, so use discretion when visiting.
Las Bovedas
The Vaults, a waterfront promenade jutting out into the Pacific.
The Centennial Bridge
The famous bridge that crosses the Panama Canal. It earned the American Segmental Bridge Institute prize of excellence together with 7 other bridges in the Americas. Also see the National Institute of Culture Building and across from it and the French Embassy.
National Theatre
Teatro Nacional is a recently renovated performance center, with outstanding natural acoustics with seating for about 800 guests.
Museo del Canal Interoceanico (Inter-oceanic Canal Museum)
Humans have cris-crossed the Isthmus of Panama for millennia. This museum chronicles the latest chapters of that history, focusing on the time when European excursions searched for a route to Asia up to the modern era of canal building and administration. The story is told with photographs, educational videos, and historical exhibits, including original copies of canal treaties. Displays are labelled in Spanish, but if you call ahead, you can arrange a free guided tour in English.
Church and Convent of Santo Domingo
In San Felipe (Casco Viejo) district of Panama City, see this magnificently maintained chapel, which was constructed in 1756. Inside, you'll find religious paintings and sculpture, sacred relics crafted from silver and bone, and an exquisite gold altar.
Palacio de las Garzas
Heron's Palace: the official name of the presidential palace. There are real herons in the compound.
Summit Botanical Gardens
This small zoo can be found in Soberania National Park, just 20 minutes from downtown Panama City. Among its popular residents are jaguars, scarlet macaws, tapirs, and monkeys – all housed in their natural habitats. The zoo's most prized exhibit, however, is the Harpy Eagle habitat. This species, also Panama's national bird, is the world's largest bird of prey and can reach weights of 20 pounds and boast wingspans of seven feet. Summit is also known for its collection of palm trees – one of the most diverse selections at any garden. The park also offers bathroom facilities, a playground, and a restaurant.
The Parque Natural Metropolitano (Metropolitan Nature Park).
This unspoiled urban park covers 655 acres and is only a 10-minute drive north of downtown. The rainforest setting is home to monkeys, white-tailed deer, sloths, and many birds, including orioles, toucans, and parakeets. Visitors may stroll along several nature paths, the best of which is the 2 kilometer La Cienaguita trail, which affords gorgeous views overlooking the city. A greenhouse with native orchids, a small museum, a library, and a gift shop are onsite. Plus, if you call ahead, you can arrange a guided tour with a park ranger. A veritable treasure of nature, these acres of pristine rainforest host 105 species of mammals, 525 species of birds and 124 species of reptiles and amphibians. In this national park, the best known trail is the Pipeline Road, very popular among birdwatchers.
For more on Bird Watching click here. Google – Bird watching or Birding in Panama
Recently, a well traveled travel writer said that she had traveled to the deepest part of the Amazon, but not seen nearly as much nature in the Amazon as she saw in the Panama Canal Rainforest, just 30 minutes from the modern metropolis of Panama City.
Afro-Antillian Museum
This small but fascinating museum, located in a renovated church, chronicles the history of the Antillean immigrants who helped construct the Panama Canal. Artifacts include household items, musical instruments, artistic works, and photographs of both their new lives in Panama and their ancestral homes of Martinique, Haiti, and Jamaica.
Museum of Modern Art (Museo de Arte Contemporaneo de Panama)
This facility, Panama's only private museum, showcases both native and international artists. Works on display encompass a variety of media, including sculpture, painting, photography, and silk-screen. In addition to its permanent collection, the museum hosts traveling exhibits, concerts, lectures, and workshops for children and adult.
Marine Exhibitions Center
At the Pacific entrance of the canal is the Centro de Exhibiciones Marinas, a research center for those interested in tropical marine life and ecology. Centro de Exhibiciones Marinas is managed by the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute.
Also
Currently the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute operates a station and a small museum open to the public at Culebra Point on the island of Naos.
A new museum, The Bridge of Life Museum, is currently under construction on the causeway and is scheduled to be completed in 2009.
The Salon Bolivar is of outstanding historical importance, as the venue for Simon Bolivar's visionary attempt in 1826 to create a Pan-American congress, more than a century before such institutions became a reality.
Night Life
Buzz
Punta Pacifica, Panama, 507-226-0333
A fun mix of Latin rhythms and American pop tunes from the 1980s and 1990s, along with a full range of beverages and a cozy dance floor, have made Buzz a popular place among locals and tourists.
Café El Barko
Calle Amador, Isla Flamenco, Panama City, 507-314-0000
On a clear evening, there's no better place to enjoy a sunset view of the Panama Canal and the skyline than at this open-air nightclub on the tip of the Amador Causeway. Panama City's beautiful people regularly flock here to dance and dine under the stars. Although a full bar is available, locals usually stick to the special-recipe sangria – they claim it's the best in town.
El Pavo Real
Calle 51 and Calle 50, Panama City, 507-262-2448
This traditional English pub hops every night of the week. British and American ex-pats frequently gather for pints of Guinness and a game of darts or pool. On most weekdays, happy hour pulls folks in after the work day, letting them escape the daily grind. Of course, you can also indulge in classic bar snacks, like vinegary fish and chips served in a newspaper cone.
Las Bovidas
Plaza Francia, Panama City, 507-228-8068
"Bovedas" means "dungeon," and that's exactly where this bar and restaurant is located – in an old colonial dungeon in San Felipe. Rough stone walls provide immediate atmosphere, and they're a perfect setting for smooth, cool jazz and a cocktail or two. Bands play all weekend and occasionally during the week. Great local color.
Sushi & Martini Bar
Avenida Balboa-Multicentro, Radisson Decapolis Hotel, 0833-0293 • 507-215-5000
Located in the Radisson Decapolis Hotel, the Sushi Bar doubles as a chic Martini Bar, and provides a relaxing escape from the crowds of the city. Sleek and inviting, the bar serves quality sushi and cocktails to a diverse, yet discerning, clientele.
Wine Bar
Calle 55 and Av Eusebio A. Morales, Hotel Las Vegas, Panama City, 507-265-4701
This upscale wine bar is popular with Panama City's young professionals. The beverage selection is broad, with more than 200 wines available by the bottle or by the glass. While you sip, snack on a gourmet cheese platter – the waitstaff can recommend selections that will best enhance your chosen vintage. Pizza is also available if you crave a heartier snack.
Shopping
Shopping options range from local markets to multi million dollar super malls and luxury goods.
Albrook indoor mall offers a wide variety of discount stores and boutiques, as well as a food court featuring Wendy's, Pizza Hut, and Kentucky Fried Chicken. Visit Little Kids for juvenile wear, Enigma for unique adult clothing, and Bijoux Terner for exquisite jewelry.
Venture to Flamenco Island on the Amador Causeway to visit this collection of shops, bars, and restaurants. You'll easily complete all of your travel shopping at this one spot, whose tenants offer jewelry, souvenirs, traditional Panamanian handicrafts, leather goods, cigars, and artwork. Bilingual security guards are always on duty, so you can shop in safety and have translation help if you need it.
Los Pueblos is located near the international airport, this mall is worth a visit even if you just have a layover in Panama. The massive shopping complex is the first stop for local and on-the-road shoppers since it houses dozens of department and specialty stores. Los Pueblos is known as a bargain hunter's paradise, thanks to a wide selection of discount shops that sell clothing and household goods. A food court offers fast food and has tables where you can rest for a while.
The Amador Causeway has a number of great restaurants, yacht clubs and a duty free shop, it is also a great place to bicycle, jog or walk in the sea breeze with a great view of the stunning Bridge of the Americas.
Multicentro is Central America's largest mall and is more than just a shopping stop. A casino, a 9-screen movie theater, a nightclub, and 30 restaurants complement the selection of upscale boutiques and shops. In fact, among the resident retailers you'll find are those that sell apparel, furniture, perfume, art, and jewelry. When you need a break, the terrace provides a place to rest and savor the panoramic city view.
Sports and Activities in Panama City
Birding
Two of the world's best bird watching locations: Pipeline Road near Panama City and Achiote Road near Colon.
Click here for more on Birding in Panama
Fishing
Gatun Lake created as part of the Panama Canal and once the world's largest man-made lake offers excellent lake fishing (it is normal to catch several dozen fish).
Click here for more on Fishing in Panama
Kayaking and Rafting Day Tours
Aventuras Panama offers an exciting one day Class II rafting trip on the Chagres River and two kayaking day tours in the Panama Canal Rainforest. On one you paddle the Chagres River through lush rainforest and the other from Gatun Lake to the historic Fort San Lorenzo on the Atlantic Coast.
Barro Colorado Island
A lush jungle island which is a world renowned living laboratory run by the Smithsonian Institute for Tropical Research in Gatun Lake, part of the Panama Canal waterway. A tour will include a boat ride in the Panama Canal and a rainforest hike with a naturalist. Make your reservations with a tour operator well in advance as tourists are limited to protect the islands' numerous scientific research projects.
Monkey Island Tour
A boat tour in the Panama Canal to the islands in the Canal where at least four types of monkeys are usually observed - this trip is a sure family hit.
Summit Golf Club
Just twenty minutes from downtown Panama City, Summit Golf Club offers extraordinary tropical scenery, a championship course designed by Jeffrey Myers with 18 holes, par 72, 6626 yards and sand based Bermuda-Tidway grass. The course has the only computerized GPS system in Central America, 100 golf carts, outstanding practice facilities and a beautiful club house.
A Short History of Panama City
Panama City, like most cities has been shaped over the centuries by war, fires, invasion, influxes of different peoples and the ups and downs of the economy.
The city was founded on August 15, 1519, by Pedro Arias de Avila from Spain. Shortly after, the city became a transit point for Incan gold and silver headed towards Spain from Peru. This trade led to the famous fairs of Nombre de Dios and Portobelo.
In 1671, the Welsh pirate Henry Morgan, with the help of a band of 1400 men, attacked and looted the city, which was subsequently destroyed by fire. The ruins of the old city still remain and are a popular tourist attraction known as Panama la Vieja (Old Panama). It was rebuilt in 1673 in a new location approximately 5 miles southwest of the original city in an area now known as the Casco Viejo (Old Quarter) of the city.
Two years after the start of the California Gold Rush in 1848, the Panama Railroad Company was formed and started operating in 1855. Between 1848 and 1869, the year the first transcontinental railroad was completed in the United States, about 375,000 people crossed the isthmus from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and 225,000 in the opposite direction. This movement of people brought money into the city.
The construction of the Panama Canal was of great benefit to the infrastructure and economy too. Of particular note are the improvements in health and sanitation brought about by the American presence in the Canal Zone. These include the eradication of yellow fever and malaria and the introduction of a first-rate water supply system. However, most of the workers involved in the construction of the canal were brought in from the West Indies, which created some unprecedented racial and social tension in the city.
For more information on the Panama Canal click here
During World War II, construction of large US military bases brought more wealth to the city than ever before. Panamanians however had limited access, or no access at all, to many areas in the Canal Zone neighboring the city and tensions arose between the people of Panama and the U.S. citizens living in the Panama Canal Zone. This erupted in the January 9, 1964 riots.
In the late 1970s through the 1980s Panama became an international banking center but soon became infamous for international money-laundering. In 1989 after nearly a year of tension between the United States and Panama, President George H. W. Bush ordered the invasion of Panama to depose the leader of Panama, General Manuel Noriega. As a result of the action a portion of the El Chorrillo, a neighborhood which consisted mostly of old wood-framed buildings dating back to the 1900s, was destroyed by fire. Eventually, the U.S. helped finance the construction of large cinderblock apartment buildings to replace the destroyed structures.
Panama remains a major banking center, although with strict controls against money laundering. Huge sky-rises owned by the banks now dominate the city skyline.
Shipping is handled through port facilities in the area of Balboa operated by the Hutchison Whampoa Company of Hong Kong and through several ports on the Caribbean side of the isthmus.
Panama Today
Due to lack of urban planning over several decades and very fast recent growth Panama is now facing several urban problems. With the large number of condominiums and office buildings being built, population density is increasing far beyond what was previously expected. Neighborhoods like El Cangrejo and El Carmen, originally designed for a density of 10,000 inhabitants per square kilometer (26,000/sq mi) are now reaching 35,000 inhabitants per square kilometer (91,000/sq mi). The city's downtown streets are overcrowded with cars, creating traffic problems exasperated by the crazy driving of the ‘red devil’ buses.
Panama City has full access to electricity however, potable water, sewer lines, telephone, cable TV service, and internet service. Telecommunications are very advanced after the privatization of the national telecommunication company in the mid-1990s. Cell phone service is also very accessible. Panama City has for years boasted some of the cleanest, best-tasting water in the world. Tap water quality is excellent throughout the City metropolitan areas. However Panama City's water supply piping system is not receiving enough maintenance and this is starting to cause several water pollution related problems.
Crime in Panama City
There is a moderate but growing level of crime in the Panama City and Colon areas, and police checkpoints have become commonplace on weekends there. Based upon reported incidents, the high-crime areas around Panama City are Chorillo, Ancon, Curundu, Vera Cruz Beach, Panama Viejo, and the Madden Dam overlook. Crimes there are typical of those that plague metropolitan areas and range from rape to armed robberies, muggings, purse snatchings, "quick-naps" from ATM banking facilities (in which the victim is briefly kidnapped after withdrawing cash from an ATM and robbed), and petty theft. Panama has seen an increase in the number of crimes in which unlawful weapons were used, as well as an increase in arrests for possession of illegal weapons. There has been a substantial increase in incidents of armed violence in metropolitan areas.
Airport theft is common, and the traveler should not ride in unauthorized taxis or share one with a stranger. Demonstrations occasionally occur with anti-U.S. sentiment and are typically nonviolent. However, one is advised to avoid such demonstrations. The police are generally helpful. Punishment for crime (especially drug trafficking) is severe.
Local laws in Panama
Panama law requires that you carry identification documentation at all times.
Penalties for drug offences are severe and include lengthy prison sentences served in local jails. Possessing even a very small quantity of illegal drugs or being in the company of someone using illegal drugs are grounds for arrest.
Vehicle insurance (including third party) is not compulsory in Panama and many locals drive without it. If you are involved in a car accident Panama law requires you to wait with the vehicle until the traffic police arrive.
Although homosexual acts are not illegal, discretion is highly recommended since homosexuality is not socially acceptable in all areas.
It is illegal to photograph official buildings in Panama. You should check with local authorities before taking photos.
There are curfews for minors (under 18 years of age) in Panama City. Minors violating curfews may be detained at a police station until their legal guardian can arrange for their release. |
