Things to see and do Ciudad De Panamá

The former colonial Place d'Armes was redeveloped in 1922 as a tribute to the unsuccessful French attempt to break through the isthmus. At the far end of the square, facing the sea, stands an obelisk atop which a proud Gallic cockerel looks out towards the canal and France! Its base is surrounded by busts of figures who played a major role in "el esfuerzo francés " ("the French effort", as the Panamanians refer to the French canal project): Ferdinand de Lesseps and engineers Armand Reclus, Lucien Napoléon Bonaparte-Wyse, Léon Boyer and Panamanian Pedro Sosa (when Panama still belonged to Colombia). Behind them, in a semi-circular gallery with arcades, is the story of the canal told by Octavio Méndez Pereira. A plaque also pays tribute to Cuban physician Carlos Juan Finlay, who identified the mosquito responsible for transmitting yellow fever and advocated mosquito population control as an effective way of combating the disease. Just before the staircase is the place where Victoriano Lorenzo, the indigenous hero of the Thousand Days War, was shot in 1903, and the French Embassy, which has the privilege of being housed in a handsome early ^20th-century house. Next door, the ^18th-century Las Bóvedas ("the vaults") were once used as prison cells. Sculptures depict old trades, one of them María Ossa de Amador, who made the first Panamanian flag.

This long jetty of 6 km, which joins the islands of Naos, Perico and Flamenco to the mainland at the entrance of the canal, was built with the earth and rocks excavated from the Gaillard channel (1.25 billion cubic meters). The pier is intended to protect the entrance of the channel from sediments displaced by the currents. Originally, it also had a defensive function in case of an attack on the canal (Isla Flamenco hosted an American military base).

Long before the construction of the pier, during the colonial period, Perico Island welcomed ships from South America in its deep water port. Men, goods, gold and silver were unloaded and taken to the city in small boats. Today, it is the cruise ships that stop here.

The Causeway has been a tourist and leisure destination for Panamanian families since its retrocession to Panama in the late 1990s. There are many restaurants and shopping malls, more popular on the Brisas de Amador side than on the Flamenco marina where the local jet set meets. Panamanians love to walk around and have a drink while admiring the Bridge of the Americas, the canal or the lights of the city. It's very crowded on weekends but quieter during the week. The Biodiversity Museum by architect Franck Gehry marks the entrance to the Causeway, but also the long bicycle path that welcomes runners, rollerbladers and bicycles, which can be rented on site.

This church still retains its original Baroque façade, built in 1680 from stones salvaged from the former Panamá La Vieja church of the same name. Two massive towers crowned by a dome surround it. Declared a historic monument in 1956, the church has undergone various phases of renovation and now houses a museum with a wealth of religious objects and historical artefacts. The well at the entrance dates back 200 years and bears witness to the ancient underground water reserves that once supplied the town.

Built between 1671 and 1677, the church of San José is famous for its altarpiece covered with gold leaf (Altar de Oro). Legend has it that it was saved from the sacking of Panamá La Vieja by the famous pirate Henry Morgan, thanks to the ingenuity of the monks who hid it by covering it with a mixture of lead carbonate or ceruse... In reality, specialists say that it dates from the 18th century and that the gilding work was completed in 1915. Its baroque details make it one of the most beautiful religious works of the colonial period.

The square was created after the fire of 1756. In its center, several statues pay homage to Simón Bolívar, hero of the independence of the American colonies. They were erected on the occasion of the centennial of the Pan-American Congress of 1826, organized by El Libertador in an attempt to form a confederation of peoples freed from Spain and thus consolidate independence. The square is quiet and offers beautiful views of the facade of the old brick-colored Colombia Hotel built in 1937, the neoclassical church and some houses dating from 1880.

Panama is one of the few capitals of the continent to have a real tropical forest in its heart. One goes there as much for the fauna as for the impressive sight on the city. This protected park of 232 ha is the green lung of Panama. It is the first part of a biological corridor between the south and the north of the isthmus, which guarantees the animals the possibility to pass from the forests of the Pacific to those of the Atlantic. The forest of the Metropolitan Natural Park continues through the national parks Camino de Cruces, Soberanía and the protected area of Fort San Lorenzo.

The park has two entrances 700 m apart. At the visitor center, the main entrance, you will find a description of the walks to be done, a small bookstore specialized on the fauna and flora of the country and some amenities. From here the trails Los Momótides (900 m, 45 minutes), Los Caobos (900 m, 1 hour) and El Roble (700 m, 30 minutes) start. The other entrance is at the guard's hut, from where La Cienaguita (1.1 km, 1 hour) and Mono Tití (1.1 km, 1 hour) start. All the trails are marked and connected to each other. The main loop takes less than 2 hours to complete. There are 227 species of birds, 46 of which are migratory and are present here during the North American winter. From the viewpoint at 135 meters above sea level, the view extends over the canal, the forests as far as the eye can see, the Cerro Ancón and the plantations of skyscrapers. Sloths and mono-titles are watching you from the canopy! To see them too, visit the park early in the morning!

To cope with the saturation of Balboa Avenue, which ran along the Bay of Panama, it was decided to build a new road complex by gaining land on the sea. The Cinta Costera was inaugurated in 2009 and has transformed the coastal landscape, with an advance on the sea of more than 26 hectares. If you want to see the sea, look for the twin towers of the Miramar Hotel: they used to be right on the beach. The Cinta Costera is a set of traffic lanes (4 lanes in one direction and 6 in the other, including the old Balboa Avenue), fortunately bordered by a wide coastal promenade. The Cinta Cotera has made traffic flow more smoothly, but above all, pedestrians and sportsmen have finally been taken into account in a city that had totally ignored them until then! Large green spaces, sports fields and pedestrian and bicycle paths have allowed the inhabitants to make the seafront their own. You will see the monument dedicated to Vasco Nuñez de Balboa, the discoverer of the "Southern Sea" (the Pacific Ocean) in 1513. The Cinta Costera is invaded early in the morning by joggers and cyclists, and in the late afternoon and evening by families and groups of friends who come to play soccer or basketball, and to rollerblade. During the day, there is little life and it is easy to understand why: it is really too hot! The view on the Casco Viejo on one side and on the skyscrapers of Paitilla on the other is superb. There are no bars, but there are a few vendors selling sodas and raspa'o.

In 2014, the Cinta Costera was expanded with the much maligned construction of a viaduct around Casco Viejo, the Cinta Costera III.Most Casco Viejo residents, as well as UNESCO, were against the project, but President Martinelli ignored the protests. He did the irreparable with this road bypassing the old city, to connect the modern center and the Chorrillo. The colonial district has lost its beautiful skyline. On the other hand, coming from the fish market, you can walk there, for a nice view on the Casco Viejo. On the other side of the Casco, the promenade goes along the not very frequented neighborhood of Chorrillo until the entrance of the Causeway (the promenade is well secured). You can eat right on the beach, at the small restaurant complex "Sabores del Chorrillo", located next to the Maracaná stadium; very pleasant for a ceviche or grilled fish break! From there, it is possible to go to the Biodiversity Museum and to continue the walk until the end of Calzada de Amador.