The Best Sight in Panama City, Panama

Background Illustration for Sights

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.

Santo Domingo

Casco Viejo

A catastrophic fire ruined this 17th-century church and Dominican monastery centuries ago. What's left at the entrance is the Arco Chato, or flat arch, a relatively precarious structure that served as proof that the country was not subject to earthquakes, tipping the scales in favor of Panama over Nicaragua for the construction of the transoceanic canal. The arch finally collapsed in 2003, without the help of an earthquake, but the city fathers considered it such an important landmark that they had it rebuilt.

Av. A at Calle 3, Panama City, Panama
507-209--6300-museum

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