Why go
Use the old quarter's National Theatre and museums as a doorway into the city's creative life, then look beyond monuments to Panamanian writers and artists. The contrast keeps a visit from reducing Panama City to engineering and colonial history alone.
The full story
Panama City has a literary history that stretches well beyond the travel stories told about the canal. The city's writers include poet Amelia Denis de Icaza, Ricardo Miró and later voices such as Diana Morán and Manuel Orestes Nieto. Their names offer a starting point for reading Panamanian work alongside the streets where the country's institutions and public life developed. The visual arts add another thread. Alfredo Sinclair became known for abstract painting, and his daughter Olga Sinclair also worked as an artist. Guillermo Trujillo and Brooke Alfaro represent other approaches. These names point to a national art scene rather than a single style or a single museum. In Casco Viejo, the National Theatre, the Panama Canal Museum and civic buildings place cultural activity amid historic streets. The Amador Causeway adds a different setting, where Biomuseo's architecture makes a conspicuous modern counterpoint. Check current exhibitions or performances if one of these places is the reason for your trip; the lasting value lies in seeing how art, public buildings and the city's changing urban landscape meet.