Why go
The district's plazas and public buildings reveal how Panama City rebuilt and kept changing. Use the cathedral, churches, waterfront and civic buildings as anchors, then notice the varied streets between them instead of treating the area as one architectural period.
The full story
After the original city at Panamá Viejo was destroyed in 1671, Panama City was reestablished in 1673 on a peninsula farther southwest. The sea and defensive walls helped protect the new settlement. The area became known as Casco Viejo or Casco Antiguo; San Felipe is another name encountered on maps and in administrative descriptions. The district holds institutions associated with the later city. The Metropolitan Cathedral stands by Plaza de la Independencia, while other churches, the municipal palace, the National Theatre and the Panama Canal Museum mark different functions and periods. Plaza Bolívar, Plaza Herrera and Plaza de Francia offer more than pauses in a walk: they help break the area into recognizable parts. On the waterfront, Las Bóvedas recalls the district's fortified setting. Its streets also carry layers beyond the seventeenth century. French, Caribbean, republican and other styles sit among older buildings. That variety is the point of a slow walk here. The district should not be confused with Panamá Viejo, where the remains of the first city stand.