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, including

• Las Bóvedas, literally The Vaults, a waterfront promenade jutting out into the Pacific;
• The National Institute of Culture Building and across from it, the French Embassy;
• The Cathedral on Plaza de la Catedral;
• Teatro Nacional, a recently renovated performance center, with outstanding natural acoustics; It provides an intimate performance environment, seating about 800 guests.
• Museo del Canal Interoceánico (InterOceanic Canal Museum);
• Numerous restaurants located near the French embassy.
• 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 the hill Cerro Ancón 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. A new attraction is the new bridge over the Panama Canal, the Centennial Bridge.

Located just outside the Casco Viejo, on the Plaza Cinco de Mayo is the Museo Antropológico Reina Torres de Araúz, with precious metal artifacts from pre-columbian Panama. The museum is located on what was the Pacific terminal of the Panama Railroad which itself is an architecturally significant building.

The area immediately east of the Pacific entrance of the canal is currently being developed as a major tourist center with many North-American style malls, hotels, discos and restaurants. Currently the Smithsonian 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 the tighter budgets Casco Viejo is a better option.

Located just outside the Casco Viejo, on the Plaza Cinco de Mayo is the Museo Antropológico Reina Torres de Araúz, with precious metal artifacts from pre-columbian Panama. The museum is located on what was the Pacific terminal of the Panama Railroad which itself is an architecturally significant building.

The area immediately east of the Pacific entrance of the canal is currently being developed as a major tourist center with many North-American style malls, hotels, discos and restaurants. Currently the Smithsonian 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 the tighter budgets Casco Viejo is a better option.

Source: Wikipedia