- [Both] Welcome to Panama City.
(upbeat music)
- Panama City was made famous
by the construction of the Panama Canal.
It is the entrance to the historic waterway
that connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
It's a modern city with an impressive skyline
of new age high rises and historic architecture.
Many people simply cruise through the Panama Canal,
but it's worth spending a day or two
to explore its historic center and welcoming hospitality.
(energetic music)
We are touring Panama Viejo
and the ruins behind me date back to 1519
and they were in use until 1671.
Now the Spaniards, they ruined these,
they sacked them themselves and burnt them
and then they moved everything to the new city
of what we know as Panama today.
So this is pretty interesting to come by and see.
We are at the main cathedral
which was really the heartbeat of old Panama.
This was where all of the festivals took place,
this was the main cathedral, this was where all
of the rich people lived.
If you lived close to the cathedral that means
that you were wealthy.
So the closer you were, the wealthier you were.
(upbeat music)
- Let's go.
- So you can walk up to the top of the cathedral tower
for a panoramic view of Panama and it's fantastic.
And they do have the tourist steps made
so you don't have to go through the old traditional ones,
which look like they would've been quite an adventure.
(light music)
A trip to Panama would not be complete
without visiting the Old City.
And it is developing rapidly.
UNESCO the World Heritage site,
there's a lot of historic buildings to visit.
Dating back to 1673, Casa Viejo is a must visit district
when going to Panama.
There are many crumbling buildings being turned
into five-star boutique hotels.
There are cathedrals to visit.
You can check out the historic society of Jesus
that can only be viewed from the outside.
There's Independence Plaza and the Iglesia de Marcad
which houses an impressive permanent nativity scene.
There are many eateries, cafes, and musicians,
street vendors are lined along the waterfront,
and it is here that you can purchase a Panama hat.
(light music)
Fun fact, Panama hats are actually made in Ecuador,
but they became famous as Panama hats
after President Roosevelt was photographed wearing one
while visiting the Panama Canal in 1906.
- We're here at the Panama Canal and it's a bit crazy,
but it's really, really impressive.
We're here at the Pacific entrance of the Locks
which is the Miraflores Locks
and there's actually three sets to get you
from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean.
It's pretty cool because 35 to 40 ships
come through here a day and they've built,
you can just see behind me,
they've actually built a bigger one
that takes bigger ships.
Only five ships go through,
but they can take up to 14,000 containers.
Pretty impressive.
(light music)
- It's pretty wild being here at the Panama Canal.
This is one of the seven industrial wonders of the world
and I can understand why.
It's pretty amazing and wow, it's still very popular.
There's a lot a people here to see it.
(light music)
- Cool interactive museum here.
- The Miraflores Locks has a museum telling
the history of the Panama Canal.
If you can't make it out there,
there's another museum located in Casco Viejo
in the former headquarters of the French and U.S. companies
that constructed the canal.
- If you do come here,
make sure you get up to fourth floor.
Check out the amazing view.
Watch the ships come in and out,
but also get down to the museum 'cause it gives you
a great idea of how things were built,
the struggles that everybody went through,
and it's quite interactive.
A great highlight here in Panama.
(light music)
- One of the nicest things you can do here
in Panama is to go for a walk along the waterfront.
They've got a great running track.
They've got some lookouts
where you're overlooking the causeway
and it's a great view of the city
and the breeze is spectacular.
- If you come to Democracy Plaza here in Panama City
it has a beautiful view of the Old City.
It's also a little respite
from the traffic herein the city.
(light music)
- [Pam] When in Panama you really need to take in the views
of the skyline and modern skyscrapers.
The best places we've found for viewing
was at the top of the JW Marriott bar on the 65th floor
and at the Hard Rock Hotel.
Panama City is a surprising destination
that will keep you busy for a couple of days
before you head off to the islands,
one of its nature parks, or board a cruise.
So when you do go to Panama, be sure to include
this ever-expanding city in your itinerary.
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