Panama City, Panama

Panama City, Panama
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cuidaddepanama1.jpg
Author: Desi burgos


Panama City is the capital and biggest city in Panama. It covers 275 sq km (106.2 sq mi) and has a population of 881,000 people (2011 estimate), within a metropolitan area of 1.3 million people. Located on the southern entrance to the Panama Canal facing the Pacific Ocean, it is the political, administrative and transportation hub of the country.

Panama City was established in 1519 by Spanish conquistador Pedro Arias Dávila as the base for expeditions to conquer the Inca Empire. It grew as a crossroad for trade routes. It was through here that the gold and silver the Spanish took passed through.

The original city was ransacked by English pirate Henry Morgan in 1671, and a new city was built in its place in 1673. It is located 8 km from the original site, which became known as Panama Viejo.

Today Panama City has grown to become one of the most modern in Central America. Its skyline is a dense concentration of skyscrapers, many of which being condominiums owned by European and American retirees making the city their second home. The city is in the 39th position for total highrise buildings in the world.

The Panama City bus, often called Diablos Rojos, meaning Red Devils
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Buses_Diablos_Rojos.jpg
Author: Rob Tiggelman


Golden altar of San José Church, Panama City
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Altar_de_oro_Panama.jpg
Author: Editorpana

Visiting Panama City

The Tocumen International Airport (PTY) is the largest and busiest airport in Central America. There are flights from Amsterdam, Aruba, Atlanta, Barranquilla, Belo Horizonte, Bogotá, Brasilia, Buenos Aires, Cali, Cancún, Caracas, Cartagena, Chicago, Córdoba, Curaçao, Frankfurt, Guadalajara, Guatemala City, Guayaquil, Havana, Kingston, Lima, Los Angeles, Madrid, Managua, Manaus, Maracaibo, Medellín, Mexico City, Miami, Montego Bay, Monterrey, Montevideo, Nassau, New York-JFK, Newark, Orlando, Port-au-Prince, Port of Spain, Porto Alegre, Punca Cana, Quito, Rio de Janeiro, San José de Costa Rica, San Juan, San Pedro Sula, San Salvador, Santiago de Chile, Santiago de los Caballeros, Santo Domingo de Guzmán, São Paulo, St Marteen, Tegucigalpa, Toronto, Valencia and Washington DC, among others.

The most practical way to move about in Panama City is to take a taxi. Although the taxis do not carry a meter, the fares are strictly regulated. The driver should have a chart with map which shows how much the fare should be.

Aerial view of Panama City
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Panama_city_skyline.jpg
Author: dsasso

Places of Interest in Panama City

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Hello and thanks for reading this page. My name is Timothy and my hobby is in describing places so that I can share the information with the general public. My website has become the go to site for a lot of people including students, teachers, journalists, etc. whenever they seek information on places, particularly those in Malaysia and Singapore. I have been doing this since 5 January 2003, for over twenty years already. You can read about me at Discover Timothy. By now I have compiled information on thousands of places, mostly in Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore, and I continue to add more almost every day. My goal is to describe every street in every town in Malaysia and Singapore.