Panama City
(Culture Tour)
On this tour you will learn the history of Panama City as you sketch the
steps of the Spanish Conquistadors. Discover the three cities in
one; Old Panama, Colonial Panama, and Modern Panama and how Panama City turn up as the most
important trade center of the New World. You will as well see a living museum , called “Mi Pueblito”,
built by the city to celebrate small town traditions,
, the culture and history of different costumes of the town
bringing you close to our roots and
cultural heritage.
We
will start with the ruins of the original Panama, “Panama La Vieja”,
founded in 1519, the first official city
founded by Europeans on the Pacific coast of the Americas and the
headquarters of the treasure trails that crossed the isthmus to the
Caribbean, the gateway city for the Spanish conquest of Latin America, with ruins of a once elegant city built in 1519 and destroyed by Henry Morgan
in 1671 . We'll stroll among the
stone walls and remnants of what was once considered the richest city in
the Americas. After the wreckage of Panama La Vieja the city moved
east to what is now Panama City, called “Casco Viejo”,
which will be our next visit. Visitors may shop for native crafts in
a market alongside, or enjoy a cold drink in a cafeteria that overlooks
the bay. 
Casco
Antiguo became the new Panama City of the times and was never successfully
damaged, being protected by a wall that surrounded the new
town. This beautiful colonial area with the
ruins of 17th century convents and residences has several attractions
that tourists shouldn't miss. We'll
walk along the French Plaza with its monument
to the French entrepreneurs who began the Panama Canal and to
the 22,000 who died in this operation, we'll
take a look at the Golden Altar in the San Jose Church,
one of the few testimonies to all 
the wealth that made its way through
this city. Following we
will visit the InterOceanic Canal Museum
located in a restored building that once housed the headquarters of the French
company that attempted to build the canal. The
museum presents a broad perspective of the historical development of
Panama from its Spanish colonial days to the completion of the canal in
1913.
From Casco Antiguo we will go along the bay of Panama to the modern area of Panama City , with its Manhattan-like skyline, modern buildings, one of the worlds’ largest banking districts and multi million shopping molls. Here you will experience the city’s vibrant business rhythm and will be surprised of how fast this city transforms within 10 minutes drive.
By
now it should be time for a nice Panamanian lunch enjoyed at a typical
restaurant. Following, we
will approach “Mi Pueblito” (little village), which combines three
distinct villages: a typical Panamanian, an Antillean, and an Indian
one. You
can appreciate
not only replicas of the constructions, but also the original furniture of
the epoch, see and feel the
traditions of our ancestors,
with the
"Afro-Antillean Village" honouring the Negro population that
came from Africa and the Caribbean and the "Indigenous Village",
where you will have a representation of the country’s natives way of
living.
The final leg of the tour takes us at the folk art market at the old YMCA building ending at the Amador Causeway, perfectly situated at the mouth of the Panama Canal and bordering beautiful Panama City bay with spectacular 360 degree views and pleasant sea breezesJ