Panama City contains 880,691 residents within its municipal boundaries according to the 2023 census, making it the largest urban center in the country. The metropolitan area approaches 1.9 million people. The city spreads along the Pacific coast at the southern terminus of the Panama Canal, occupying roughly 275 square kilometers. Finding accommodation and dining here requires understanding the distinct geographic zones that divide the capital into functionally separate neighborhoods with different infrastructure standards, price levels, and access to services.
Casco Viejo, the colonial quarter founded in 1673 after Henry Morgan destroyed the original Panama City, occupies a peninsula jutting into Panama Bay. UNESCO designated the district a World Heritage Site in 1997. The neighborhood contains approximately 800 buildings across 35 hectares. Restoration accelerated after 2000, converting merchant houses and colonial residences into boutique hotels. The American Trade Hotel opened in 2013 inside a 1917 building at Plaza Herrera, offering 50 rooms with original ironwork balconies and terrazzo floors. Rates start near 280 dollars per night in low season. Las Clementinas, operating since 2005 in three adjoining buildings from the 1860s, provides seven suites ranging from 250 to 400 dollars nightly. Casa Casco opened in 2018 with six rooms in a restored 1890s townhouse, priced from 180 dollars. Central Hotel Panama, a Preferred Hotels property in a former convent, has 53 rooms starting at 220 dollars. The Magnolia Inn operates 11 rooms in a 1920s building from 150 dollars. Budget travelers find few options here—the district rebuilt for boutique tourism.
Dining in Casco Viejo reflects both tourist demand and local culinary tradition. Donde José, opened by chef José Carles in 2014, serves a tasting menu focused on Panamanian ingredients at a counter seating 16 guests. The nine-course meal costs 95 dollars excluding beverages. Reservations open six weeks ahead and fill within days. Maito, run by chef Mario Castrellón since 2010, occupies a corner building at Calle 8 and serves dishes like whole fried corvina with patacones and octopus with Panamanian spices. Main courses run 22 to 38 dollars. Fonda Lo Que Hay operates from a small space on Avenida Central, offering sancocho on Saturdays for 8 dollars a bowl and daily plates of ropa vieja with rice and beans for 12 dollars. Casacasco on Plaza Bolivar serves breakfast and lunch with corvina ceviche at 14 dollars and arroz con pollo at 16 dollars. Super Gourmet, a corner deli on Calle 3, sells Panamanian breakfast staples—hojaldras cost 1.50 dollars, empanadas 2 dollars. Granclement, a French bakery on Avenida A, produces croissants and baguettes from 2.50 dollars. The neighborhood has three supermarkets: Super 99 on Avenida Central, Machetazo on Calle 10, and a small Romero across from Plaza Herrera.
The banking district east of Casco Viejo, commonly called the financial center or Bella Vista, rises along Avenida Balboa facing the Pacific. Development here began in the 1950s and accelerated after 1990. Glass towers house regional headquarters for multinational corporations and Panamanian banks. The Waldorf Astoria Panama opened in 2013 occupying floors 16 through 35 of a 66-story mixed-use tower. Its 130 rooms start at 320 dollars nightly. The Bristol Panama, operating since 1950 and rebuilt in 2006, maintains 117 rooms from 240 dollars with traditional service emphasizing personalized attention to repeat guests. The Marriott Panama Hotel downtown has 295 rooms from 170 dollars, positioned for business travelers near financial offices. Le Méridien Panama occupies 40 floors of Tower Financial Center with 204 rooms from 190 dollars. Budget chains exist farther from the water—Riande Aeropuerto on Via Israel near Tocumen International Airport offers rooms from 85 dollars, a 25-kilometer drive from the banking district.
Restaurants serving the financial district include Maito Bahareque, chef Mario Castrellón's second location inside the Sortis Hotel, focusing on grilled meats and Panamanian market ingredients with main courses from 24 to 42 dollars. Riesen on Calle Uruguay serves German-influenced food including schnitzel at 26 dollars and house-made sausages from 18 dollars, open since 2008. Market, inside the Mercado de Mariscos seafood market at the edge of Casco Viejo, offers corvina ceviche for 12 dollars and whole fried fish from 16 dollars at counters overlooking fishing boats. Locals queue at the attached raw fish market starting at 6 a.m. when boats arrive with daily catch. Intimo opened in 2016 in a residential building on Calle 51 in Bella Vista, serving an eight-course tasting menu at 75 dollars featuring ingredients from Panamanian farms and fishermen. Tasting Room by Castrellón operates inside the Sortis Hotel with a nine-course menu at 85 dollars. Mercado de Abastos, the main wholesale produce market, sits in the Calidonia neighborhood—Fonda Calidonia inside the market serves sancocho daily for 6 dollars from 7 a.m. until sold out, usually by 1 p.m.
The Costa del Este neighborhood, developed beginning in 1995 on reclaimed land and former salt flats east of the banking district, contains shopping malls, apartment towers, and newer hotels. The Hard Rock Hotel Panama Megapolis opened in 2015 with 1,500 rooms starting at 140 dollars, built as a casino resort with convention facilities. The Hilton Panama operates 361 rooms from 150 dollars. Santa Maria Hotel and Golf Resort spans 526 rooms across low-rise buildings surrounding a 72-par golf course designed by Jack Nicklaus, with rates from 180 dollars. The Westin Playa Bonita, located outside the city proper on the Pacific coast near the canal's Pacific entrance, offers 615 rooms from 160 dollars on a beach property. These properties cater primarily to package tourists and conference groups rather than independent travelers exploring the capital.
The Amador Causeway, constructed between 1906 and 1913 using rock excavated during canal construction, connects the mainland to four small islands extending three kilometers into Panama Bay. The road provides access to restaurants and the Biomuseo, designed by Frank Gehry and opened in 2014. Causeway restaurants target middle-income Panamanians and tourists—prices run higher than similar food elsewhere in the city. Pencas on the causeway serves ceviche from 15 dollars and grilled octopus at 28 dollars. Alberto's on the causeway specializes in pizza from a wood oven, pies ranging from 16 to 24 dollars. Panamanian families drive here on weekends for the bay views. Several restaurants operate on Isla Flamenco at the causeway's end, including Bucanero serving seafood with whole corvina priced at 32 dollars.
Cerro Ancón, a 199-meter hill separating the old canal zone from the urban core, provides access to Metropolitan Natural Park, established in 1985 across 232 hectares. No hotels or restaurants operate within the park. The adjacent former Canal Zone, administered by the United States from 1903 until 1999, contains Clayton, now Ciudad del Saber, where the Clayton Panama Hotel operates 58 rooms from 110 dollars in converted military buildings serving university visitors and NGO staff.