3 Best Sights in Colon, The Canal and Central Panama

Two blocks from the Zona Libre is the city's cruise-ship port, Colón 2000, which is basically a two-story strip mall next to the dock where ships tie up and passengers load onto buses for day trips. It has a supermarket, restaurants, two rental-car offices, and English-speaking taxi drivers who can take you on sightseeing excursions ($70–$100 for a full day). A second terminal opened in 2008 and briefly served as the home port for Royal Caribbean's Enchantment of the Seas; the Panamanian government is aggressively courting other cruise companies to set up shop here.

Twelve kilometers (7 miles) south of Colón are the Esclusas de Gatún, a triple-lock complex that's nearly a mile long and raises and lowers ships the 85 feet between sea level and Gatún Lake. There's a small visitor center with a viewing platform and information about the boats passing through is broadcast over speakers. The visitor center doesn't compare to the one at the Miraflores locks close to Panama City, but given the sheer magnitude of the Gatún locks (three sets of locks, as opposed to two at Miraflores) it is an impressive sight, especially when packed with ships. You have to cross the locks on a swinging bridge to get to San Lorenzo and the Represa de Gatún (Gatún Dam), which holds the water in Gatún Lake. At 2½ km (1½ miles) long, it was the largest dam in the world when it was built, a title it held for several decades. Get there by taking the first left after crossing the locks.

Many South American merchants go to Colón to shop at the Zona Libre de Colón (Colón Free Zone), which handles about $6 million worth of wholesale and retail sales per year. Northern visitors likely won't be wowed by the prices and won't recognize the brand names here. It is also downright ugly. If you do visit, remember that this is a free port. Your purchases must be exported. The Zona Libre delivers what you buy for pick-up upon your departure at Tocumen International Airport. Allow a minimum of two days for the arrangements. If you're hankering for some shopping, it's generally easier to stick to the mega-malls in Panama City, since the Free Zone is focused almost completely on wholesale.