Catch IFF Panamá, the city film festival, in April

Hotel La Compañía opened in 2022 on a site that began as a Jesuit convent in the 17th century, and its restoration blended Spanish colonial, French colonial and Beaux-Arts architecture. The 88 rooms open onto a garden courtyard between the wings, so it is a quiet base even with the plazas outside. You do not have to…

Despite the name, genuine Panama hats are woven from toquilla straw in Ecuador and picked up the name because they were shipped and sold through the isthmus. Souvenir vendors along the Casco Antiguo seawall sell hats among other crafts, so ask where a hat was woven, look for toquilla fiber and be wary of anything…

On Avenida Central near Plaza Santa Ana, Café Coca Cola opened in 1875 and is called the oldest establishment in the city. It took its present name in 1906, and a local researcher says it is the only café the soft drink company has authorized to use it. Coffee is its best seller, so skip the soda and take a cup at the…

Next to Casco Antiguo, the San Felipe Neri public market has three areas: produce, meat and a hall of fondas serving typical Panamanian breakfast and lunch. Come at breakfast for fried hojaldras, the puffy discs of leavened dough that locals eat with coffee, and stay for a plate of the day at lunch. Walk the hall…

On Sunday mornings the city closes a long stretch of the coastal road to cars so cyclists, runners and families can take it over, an open-streets event called the Recreovía. Recent editions have run from the elevated bridge at Paitilla to the end of the marine section at Barraza, starting around six in the morning. Go…

Each year on November 3 and 4 the capital fills with civic parades of school bands and delegations. One route runs through Casco Antiguo from Calle 3 near Parque Simón Bolívar to Calle 26 on Avenida Balboa, and another follows Vía España. The first day marks the separation from Colombia and the second is the Day of…

Danilo's Jazz Club is an intimate listening room of about 60 seats inside the American Trade Hotel on Plaza Herrera, tied to the pianist Danilo Pérez and his foundation's jazz school. The room is built for listening, so arrive ready to focus on the stage rather than chat. The hotel's own page sells tickets for its…

The Paseo Esteban Huertas runs along the old seawall of Casco Antiguo, with the bay on one side and the modern skyline across the water, framed by flowers along the path. Late afternoon into sunset is the busiest window, so on weekends arrive about half an hour early or shoot in the softer morning light. The walk ends…