How to spend a weekend in Panama City
You guys, I am in love with Panama City! This July was my second trip to Panama. And it certainly will not be my last. Making a trip to Panama usually entails flying into Panama City. While many people quickly by-pass the city and use it only as a stop-over on their way to the mountains of Boquete or the many amazing beaches, Panama City has a lot to offer. On my first trip, I spent 3 days in the city and I am still in love. This July I returned and I made sure to give myself a weekend in the city before returning home.
Casco Viejo
The Casco Viejo area of Panama City is such a beautiful place to spend an afternoon. The old buildings are a sight to see themselves. Be ready to take some pictures when you’re here! This area is currently being restored at a fast pace. I noticed many more buildings had been restored in the six months since I had previously visited in December. Even the unrestored buildings have their own beauty and charm about them.
I spent the afternoon wandering around the streets and admiring the beautiful architecture. Grab an ice cream and have a seat in one of the picturesque plazas and just relax.
At sunset, head up to one of the rooftop bars to take in the view. The view from the top overlooking the old city and the new with its skyscrapers and modern buildings is amazing. I recommend Tantalo and Gatto Blanco.
Food
El Mercado de Mariscos
The seafood market is located very close by the Casco Viejo if you are coming from that direction, but I recommend getting a taxi or Uber because otherwise, you may be crossing a pretty busy highway. Upstairs is the actual seafood market, which if you are staying somewhere with a kitchen and feel like cooking, would be an excellent place to buy some seafood to cook.
Outside, there are several small restaurants. When you walk in, several guys with menus will approach you and usher you over to their tables. We saw only locals eating here when we came and the food was so fresh and delicious. I recommend trying some ceviche and a whole fried snapper. Eating in the seafood market was one of the highlights of the whole weekend for me.
I love Peruvian food! There are so many different Peruvian restaurants in Panama City. This one is located in Casco Viejo. My maracuya pisco sour, my favorite cocktail, was delicious. The menu offers many different traditional Peruvian dishes. My favorite is the grilled octopus.
This is definitely a tourist-centered restaurant. Normally, I don’t enjoy this kind of thing, but our taxi driver recommended it so we decided to check it out. I’m glad we did. I need to remember that it’s ok to get out of my comfort zone and try something I normally wouldn’t. The interior of the restaurant was very interesting, the walls are all lined with handmade masks of diablos which can be purchased. My husband decided to get one as a souvenir to add to our collection of masks at home.
The food was good. The menu features traditional Panamanian dishes and the portions are large. It was a little on the pricier side for me, around $20-30 an entree, but it did include a show of Panamanian traditional costumes, dance, and music.
I really enjoyed the show with costumes and dances that portray Panamanian folklore. The costumes were beautiful and very interesting. The shows are on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings at 8:30. Call to make a reservation.
Shopping
I confess to being a bit of a shopaholic at times. What I love about shopping in Panama City is that the malls have both American and European brand stores. I made sure to stop into Zara, Desigual, and Pull & Bear while in Panama City. This trip I was lucky to arrive when most of the stores were having big sales. I was in the city at the end of July. It was a great time to shop. The two malls I shopped in were the Albrook Mall and the Multiplaza in Punta Pacifica.
The Albrook Mall is located right next to the Albrook bus station. It’s the largest mall in Latin America and it is HUGE! I got lost in this mall a few times. You can access a map online to help you find out where all the stores are. The mall is divided up into sections that are given an animal name which helps to make it easier to navigate.
In the afternoon the Albrook mall got much more crowded so if you enjoy shopping with less of a crowd, I recommend arriving earlier in the day. If you’re looking for something to do indoors to get our of the heat and humidity, or if traveling in the rainy season like I was, to get out of the rain, a shopping trip can be a great way to spend the afternoon.
The Multiplaza mall is located in Punta Pacifica. It has an upscale section with designer brands like Dolce and Gabbana, Gucci, Kate Spade, among others. But it also has the standard mid-range and lower priced stores. If you are staying in the city center or in Casco Viejo, this mall will be closer than the Albrook mall. If you’re planning to do some shopping in the late afternoon around rush-hour traffic time, I’d recommend going toward this mall for that reason. Traffic in Panama City is pretty bad in the late afternoon when everyone is getting off from work. It’s best to sit back and relax somewhere than to be on the move.
Where to Stay
I’ve stayed in a few different hotels and hostels while traveling through Panama City and these are my two favorite:
I stayed here in December in a private room with my husband and sister. The hostel is located in a residential area of Punta Pacifica. It’s in a good location with a grocery store and a tasty middle eastern restaurant just around the block in a little shopping plaza. The rooms were basic but very clean and with hot water. They also have dorms available.
They have a very chilled out vibe. It was never loud late at night. A free pancake breakfast is included, which you cook yourself. Outside is a nice little courtyard area with a pool which was perfect for hot and humid afternoons.
Dorms start at $10 USD a night and a private room with private bath start at $35 USD.
For the price, location, and the pool, this was my favorite place to stay.
If you want to stay in Casco Viejo, Magnolia Inn is in the perfect location.
It is a hostel with dorms, but also with private rooms. The dorms are very clean and the beds have the most comfortable mattress I have ever slept on in a hostel. It’s almost like sleeping on your bed at home.
The hostel is in an old colonial style mansion and the architecture is beautiful. The common area has balances overlooking the street and a kitchen area.
I recommend bring some warm clothes to sleep in because the AC was very cold at night.
Dorms start at $15 USD and the private rooms start at $80 USD.
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