Panama City
Celebrating Panama as the land bridge that has permitted astonishing biodiversity in the region, this world-class museum is a visual feast. Exhibits tell…
Must-see attractions in Panama
Parque Nacional Marino Isla Bastimentos
Isla Bastimentos
Established in 1988, this 132-sq-km marine park was Panama's first. Protecting 130 islands of the Bocas del Toro archipelago, including the coral-fringed…
Panama City
This wonderful privately owned museum features the best collection of Panamanian art anywhere, an excellent collection of works on paper by Latin American…
-
Península de Azuero
One of Panama's top artisans, Dario López has been making colorful masks for folkloric dancers since the 1960s. These days most of his masks and satin…
Panama Canal
The easiest way to visit the Panama Canal is to head to the Miraflores Visitors Center, just outside Panama City. This modern center features a four-floor…
Finca Los Monos Botanical Garden
Bocas del Toro Town
One of the joys of visiting Bocas is touring the 'Monkey Farm' botanical garden a couple of kilometers northwest of the center. Painstakingly carved out…
Panama City
Founded on August 15, 1519, by Spanish conquistador Pedro Arias de Ávila, the city of Panamá was the first European settlement along the Pacific. For 150…
Panama Rainforest Discovery Center
Panamá Province
Geared toward ecotourism and environmental education, this is an excellent facility for birdwatchers and nature-lovers. Since you are probably here to…
Panama City
At the tip of the southern point of Casco Viejo, this beautiful plaza pays homage to the French role in the construction of the canal. Its large stone…
Panamá Province
This 195-sq-km national park is one of the most accessible tropical rainforests in Panama. It extends much of the way across the isthmus, from Limón on…
Panama City
This Casco Viejo church protects the famous Altar de Oro (Golden Altar), the sole relic salvaged after privateer Henry Morgan sacked Panamá Viejo.
-
Darién Province
On the southern shore of the Golfo de San Miguel, this 263-sq-km wildlife reserve is owned by the private conservation group ANCON. It contains species…
Panama City
This impressive museum is housed in a beautifully restored building that once served as the headquarters for the original French canal company. The Panama…
Panama City
Built in 1907, the interior of this ornate Casco Viejo theater has been completely restored. It boasts red and gold decorations, a once-magnificent…
-
Darién Province
Traveling the wide and very brown Sambú River is a memorable experience: you'll glide past spectacular mangroves – five of the world's seven known species…
-
Península de Azuero
On the east side of Plaza Simón Bolívar, this national treasure was consecrated in 1782, although the foundation stone had been laid more than two…
-
El Valle
One of El Valle's top attractions allows you to walk among up to 250 butterflies as they flutter by in a screened 'flight house.' Learn more about these…
-
Darién Province
On the south side of Lago Bayano, the Bayano Caves are a fun adventure. Cavers wade up Río Tigre though a sculpted Paleolithic cavern that is 850m long…
-
Península de Azuero
Isla Cañas is one of a handful of places that olive ridley sea turtles nest in high numbers (the others are two beaches on the Pacific side of Costa Rica…
-
Portobelo
Fuerte San Jerónimo, close to the center of Portobelo, was the largest fortress ever built to protect the bay. Some two dozen embrasures with 16 cannons…
-
Portobelo
A 20-minute, US$45 return boat ride from Portobelo will bring you to this lovely white-sand beach on a tranquil cove surrounded by dense wilderness. It…
-
Catedral de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción
Panama City
Built between 1619 and 1626, this cathedral is the best-preserved building of the Panamá Viejo ruins. In traditional fashion, it was designed so that its…
-
Isla Bastimentos
This 6km-long beach on the southeast side of the island falls under the protection of the marine park. Hawksbill, leatherback and green sea turtles nest…
-
Isla Bastimentos
Small but perfectly formed, Red Frog Beach is named after the rana rojo (strawberry poison-dart frog), an amphibian you're most unlikely to encounter here…
-
Panamá Province
The third most visited Emberá village in the park – and all the more interesting for that reason alone – is where you'll learn all about the history and…
-
Taller de Restauración Macario José Rodriguez
Península de Azuero
Macario José Rodriguez has been restoring the wooden altars and statuary of Panama’s colonial churches since the early 1980s, and this is the only such…
-
Portobelo
Atop a hill overlooking much of the bay is a small but well-preserved watchtower called Mirador Perú, which was built at the same time as Fuerte Santiago…
-
Panama City
Built in 1617, this Panamà Viejo landmark may be the oldest standing bridge in the Americas.
Panama City
On a hill north of downtown, this 265-hectare park protects vast expanses of tropical semideciduous forest within the city limits, and serves as an…
Panama City
Ideal for families, CEM is operated by the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI). This informative marine museum features two small aquariums and…
Explora Center of Science & Arts
Panama City
Mini travelers (and those young at heart) will love this museum dedicated to interactive learning. Six exhibition rooms explore such themes as electricity…
Isla Colón
This lovely beach is pounded by intense waves. Though you wouldn’t want to get into the water here without a board, the soft, yellow sand and palm-fringed…
Isla Colón
Boca del Drago, in the northwest of Isla Colón, is one of the best beaches on the island, though the surf can be rough at times. Just offshore from the…
Iglesia de la Compañía de Jesús
Panama City
These days only a shell, this 1741 convent and church in Casco Viejo was destroyed in a fire and further damaged in an earthquake but remains a thing of…
Panama City
The biggest park in the city is filled with children, joggers and the occasional salsa class. It's located in Omar, behind the San Francisco neighborhood…
Iglesia y Convento de Santo Domingo
Panama City
Iglesia y Convento de Santo Domingo is the best-preserved church of the ruins of Panamá Viejo. The convent dates from the 1570s, though the church was…
Panama City
An example of the baroque style in Panama, this Casco Viejo church was built in 1673 with a facade transferred from Panamá Viejo.
-
Panama City
The story of the monumental effort to build the Panama Canal is powerfully depicted in murals by notable artist William B Van Ingen of New York. The…
-
Refugio de Vida Silvestre Isla Iguana
Península de Azuero
This 53-hectare reserve is centered on a deserted island ringed by corals. The water is shallow enough for snorkeling and, as elsewhere in the Pacific,…
-
Museo de Herrera Fabio Rodriquez
Península de Azuero
This small museum, housed in a lovely two-story colonial building, contains many well-preserved pieces of pottery dating from 5000 BC until the Spanish…
