Casco Viejo

Panama City's charming historic quarter is known as the Casco Viejo, (pronounced CAS-coh Bee-EH-hoh), which translates as "old shell." It's spread over a small point in the city's southeast corner, where timeless streets and plazas are complemented by views of a modern skyline and the Bahía de Panamá. The Casco Viejo's narrow brick streets, wrought-iron balconies, and intricate cornices evoke visions of Panama's glorious history as a major trade center. A stroll here offers opportunities to admire a beautiful mix of Spanish colonial, neoclassical, and art nouveau architecture. And though most of its buildings are in a lamentable state of neglect, and the neighborhood is predominantly poor, it is a lively and colorful place, where soccer balls bounce off the walls of 300-year-old churches and radios blare Latin music.