Panama City was meant to be the practical bit: a night or two between the airport and the islands, a canal to tick off, then somewhere greener. Instead, it became the part I kept thinking about. Not because it was conventionally beautiful – the skyline is frankly busy – but because the old quarter, the Pacific promenade and the food make a surprisingly persuasive case for staying put.
Panama City is not a beach break. It is a city of heat, traffic, towers and serious contrast. Give it two or three nights, stay in Casco Viejo, and it turns into a very good beginning – or end – to a Panama trip.
Stay in Casco Viejo, not just near it
Casco Viejo is the colonial old quarter and the place where Panama City becomes walkable. Restored townhouses sit beside buildings still waiting for their turn; there are balconies, churches, cafés, small hotels and enough shade to make the heat manageable. It is also the one part of the city where dinner, a rooftop drink and your bed can all be reached without negotiating a motorway.
One address that stayed with me is Tántalo Hotel. The building is as much part of the experience as the room: graphic art, colour and a slightly unruly mood that feels exactly right for Casco Viejo. We stayed here, and the photograph above was taken inside. Its rooftop is the place for a first drink after sunset, with Casco’s roofs in front of you and the skyline in the distance. It is not anonymous or bland — which is precisely the point.
Tántalo was my base and remains a useful choice for anyone who likes a hotel with a point of view. The rooms were designed by local artists, and the rooftop is more social than serene – exactly right if you want your first evening to feel like you have arrived somewhere. If you prefer a quieter hotel, still use the rooftop for a drink and the view across Casco Viejo towards the newer city.
Do Casco Viejo slowly
The best plan here is almost no plan. Start around Plaza de Francia, follow whichever street catches your eye, and allow time for the odd mix of careful restoration and beautiful decay. It is a UNESCO-listed district, but it does not feel like an outdoor museum. People live, work and take photographs here with considerable commitment.
Go late in the afternoon. The light softens, the temperature becomes less theatrical and the Pacific-facing edges of the quarter are at their best. This is also when Casco Viejo makes sense as a grown-up city break rather than a checklist of colonial façades.
Take the coffee seriously
Panama has every right to be proud of its coffee. Café Unido is a good place to start: its Panama-roasted speciality coffee includes Geisha alongside blends that are easier on both the palate and the budget. Find a branch near where you are staying, order whatever they recommend that day, and resist turning the whole thing into a tasting examination before breakfast.
It is the kind of city where a proper coffee stop is not wasted time. In the midday heat, it is often the sensible thing to do.
Eat where the city feels least polished
The seafood market near the Cinta Costera is not designed for a hushed lunch. It is lively, noisy and full of competing music. That is part of the point. Pick a simple counter, order ceviche or whatever looks freshest, take a cold drink, and accept that you will hear several Latin playlists at once.
For dinner, book Fonda Lo Que Hay in Casco Viejo. It is still serving contemporary Panamanian food in the old El Colegio building, and it remains the dinner worth planning ahead for. The menu changes, which is exactly as it should be; do not go looking for one remembered dish from somebody else’s holiday.
Walk the Pacific, then look back
From the seafood market, the Cinta Costera gives you the clearest sense of Panama City’s improbable geography: Pacific water on one side, the financial skyline on the other, and the old quarter behind you. It is not a picturesque European promenade. It is better for being unmistakably itself.
Walk as far as suits you, then turn around. The view back towards the towers is the one that explains why the city works: old and new have not been blended politely, but they are both visible at once.
Make time for the canal – and one museum
The canal is not optional, even for people who think they are above infrastructure. Check the current visitor information from the Panama Canal Authority before going to Miraflores, because operations and visiting arrangements can change.
Back in the city, choose one cultural stop rather than trying to force three into a hot afternoon. The Panama Canal Museum belongs naturally with a Casco Viejo day. The Biomuseo, designed by Frank Gehry, is the better choice if Panama’s biodiversity and geography interest you more than ships and engineering.
How I would plan two days
Day one: arrive, check into Casco Viejo, have coffee, wander without an agenda, then take a rooftop drink at sunset and dinner at Fonda Lo Que Hay.
Day two: visit Miraflores in the morning, retreat during the hottest part of the day, then walk the Cinta Costera from the fish market back towards Casco Viejo. Fit the museum in where your energy – and the weather – allow it.
So, worth the trip?
Yes, provided you stop expecting a miniature version of Cartagena or Miami. Panama City is more direct, less polished and much more interesting for it. The real pleasure is the contrast: a good coffee in a colonial quarter, Pacific air on a city walk, and dinner in a place that knows exactly what Panama can do with its own ingredients.
Give it time. The city does not flatter you on arrival. It gets under your skin instead.
For another very different, but equally rewarding, grown-up city break, read my guide to Madrid in winter.
