Our first weekend in Panama we had a bit of a wander around Panama City’s Old Town, Casco Viejo, including drinks and a snack at a rooftop bar. Apparently it’s THE thing to do. Here’s what we discovered during our adventure—and why we think you’ll love it.

Casco Viejo is Panama City’s “old town” and is home to a lot of tourist oriented shops and restaurants as well as quite a number of hotels and short-stay accommodations. It’s not the oldest old town, though – real history buffs will want to visit Panama Viejo.

The primary goal for our visit to Casco Viejo was a trip to the canal museum (Museo del Canal Interoceánico de Panama) with a secondary goal of seeing what all the hype was about.

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First Must Do: Walking around Casco Viejo

We started with a very tasty breakfast at Mahalo, wandered in and out of a couple of places then went for coffee at Unido. Sandra tried the Geisha coffee – she’d been looking forward to it for weeks as she had read many rave reviews online. In the end she decided she either didn’t get a properly brewed cup or it’s just not that special. Not exactly what you want to hear about a $10 cup of coffee, LOL.

From there we wandered around a bit more and then visited the Metropolitan Cathedral Basilica of Santa Maria the Ancient and Parish of San Felipe de Neri. After that, we (well, Bob) got buttonholed by a fast talking schmoozer from the Central Hotel who promptly escorted us up to the rooftop restaurant.

The restaurant is a pretty cool spot to hang out and have a drink; we stuck to frozen juices but they were very nice. It had been a couple of hours since my last feeding so I talked us into ordering some empanadas. That was a GREAT decision, they were really excellent. Maybe a bit light on the fillings but flavor and texture were on point.

The lobby of the Central Hotel is a good place to catch your breath and have a coffee, as well. Loads of comfortable chairs and A/C.

There are a number of things highlighted in Casco Viejo in most guide books and we only hit a couple of spots. That was partly due to the weather (coming from Oregon, we weren’t and still aren’t use hot and muggy) and partly due to the fact that we were pretty mentally and physically worn out from the week’s previous adventuring.

People make it look easy, wandering around and exploring Panama City, but when you come from low 50’s temps with 60-70% humidity to mid- and high-80’s temps with 80%+ humidity, it’s a shock to the system. We walked a lot the first two days we were in town and by Day 3 we were feeling it.

The canal museum in Casco Viejo is fantastic and will get a post and video of its own on our youtube channel.

We did make a second trip later to Casco Viejo while we were in Panama City but we didn’t spend a full day; we just did a bit of aimless wandering again but we saw some different sights so that video will come up eventually.

What You Shouldn’t Miss in Casco Viejo

• Plaza de la Independencia: Perfect for people-watching and grabbing a drink from a nearby café.
• Museo del Canal Interoceánico: If you want to dive into Panama’s fascinating history, this is the spot.
• The Rooftops: When in doubt, go up. Casco Viejo is known for its rooftop bars, and we can vouch for the views (and the cocktails). Head to Tantalo or Casa Casco for sunset.

Pro Tip: If you’re visiting on the weekend, get here early before the crowds arrive. Weekdays are more relaxed, but there’s something special about the weekend buzz in this part of the city.

If you’re visiting Panama City then I feel like a trip to Casco Viejo is in order; I think 2 days is probably sufficient to see the history of the place. You’d need many days to get through all the restaurants, though.

For more details about our wander around Casco Viejo – watch our Casco Viejo Youtube video