Panama City
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Panama City is a hassle-free place to explore on your own: many people speak English, the U.S. dollar is legal tender, and there are ATMs, restaurants, pharmacies, shops, and taxis just about everywhere. You can explore some areas on foot, though distances between neighborhoods make taxis (or perhaps the shiny new Metro rail system, depending on your destination) necessary for most trips. If you ever feel uneasy about a location or situation and there aren't any police around, just flag down a taxi, which are safe and everywhere. Be sure to agree on the fare before boarding the taxi, as drivers are notorious for overcharging foreigners. Tourism police patrol the Casco Viejo and Panamá Viejo on bicycles. If you have a medical problem, go to Hospital Punta Pacífica, the best private clinic in the city. It also has a dental clinic.

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  • 1. Centro de Exhibiciones Marinas Punta Culebra

    Museum/Gallery

    Though it doesn't compare to the aquariums of other major cities, the Centro de Exhibiciones Marinas is worth a stop. It was created by the scientists and educators at the STRI and is located on a lovely, undeveloped point with examples of several ecosystems: beach, mangrove forest, rocky coast, and tropical forest. A series of signs leads visitors on a self-guided tour. There are several small tanks with fish and sea turtles, as well as pools with sea stars, sea cucumbers, and other marine creatures that kids can handle. The spyglasses are great for watching ships on the adjacent canal. Be sure to visit the lookout on the end of the rocky point.

    Punta Culebra, Isla Naos, , Panama
    507-212–8793
    www.stri.si.edu/english/visit_us/index.php

    Sight Details

    Rate Includes: $5, children $1, Tues.–Fri. 1–5, weekends 10–6 during school year; otherwise Tues.–Sun. 10-6

  • 2. Museo de la Biodiversidad

    Museum/Gallery

    The triangle of land where the Causeway begins is the site of the eye-catching Museo de la Biodiversidad. Also called the "BioMuseo," the museum was designed by the American architect Frank O. Gehry, famous for the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, and the pavilion at Chicago's Millennium Park. Gehry's colorful, jutting architecture is a big part of the attraction; inside you'll find exhibits on the remarkable biodiversity of Panama's forests and oceans, as well as the isthmus's role as a biological bridge between North and South America. Large-screen videos and life-size animal sculptures make dramatic visual statements, and plans call for a small inside aquarium to display marine life. The admission price is a bit steep considering the modest size of the museum, but it's still a noteworthy attraction, and the grounds offer lovely views of the canal entrance and the city skyline.

    Beginning of Causeway, , Panama
    507-830–6700
    www.biomuseopanama.org

    Sight Details

    Rate Includes: $22 foreign adults, $11 foreign students and visitors under age 18 ($12 for adult residents), Mon. and Wed.–Fri. 10–4, weekends 10–5

  • 3. Salón Bolívar

    Museum/Gallery

    The hall in which Simón Bolívar's 1926 meeting of independence took place, next to the Iglesia de San Francisco, holds a small museum.

    Calle 3, Plaza Bolívar, , Panama
    507-511–4100
    www.inac.gob.pa

    Sight Details

    Rate Includes: $1, Weekdays 8–4

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