3 Best Shopping in Panama City, Panama

A good place to shop for molas is the Centro Municipal de Artesanías Panameñas, a small market where most of the stands are owned by Kuna women, who are often sewing molas as they wait for customers. They also sell chaquiras, bags, hammocks, dresses, framed butterflies, T-shirts, and other souvenirs.

Galería Arte Indígena, just down the street from Plaza Francia, has indigenous handicrafts such as Emberá baskets, animal figures carved from tagua palm seeds, decorated gourds, hammocks, Panama hats (imported from Ecuador), and T-shirts.

Masks, hammocks, and other handicrafts tend to be relatively inexpensive at the Mercado de Buhonería, a small market behind the old train station, just east of Plaza Cinco de Mayo, that receives few visitors. If you visit the Avenida Central pedestrian mall, you should definitely stop by here.