Recommend September 2013 - (Page 36)

101 WAYS TO EXPERIENCE PANAMA PANAMA CITY Sprawled along beautiful Panama Bay, modern Panama City is a lively place, perfectly blending Old World charm and 21st century sophistication in first world infrastructure that includes a dynamic nightlife, a delicious restaurant scene, and the only rainforest in the world within city limits. Countless leafy residential neighborhoods add to the city’s charm, and a solid core of international chain and boutique hotels—and more are coming—add to the city’s visitor comforts. #1 The best views of Panama City are from atop Ancon Hill, the capital’s highest point, offering spectacular bird’s-eye views over the old and new parts of the city, the Bay of Panama and the Panama Canal. #2 On the outskirts of the capital, travelers can capture a bit of Panama’s earliest grandeur amidst evocative stone remains of Old Panama (aka Panama La Vieja), the first European settlement on the Pacific, founded in 1519 and destroyed by pirate Sir Henry Morgan in 1671. The Visitors Center & Museum offers an interesting historical account of early Panama as well as a large scale model of the original site. #3 Right at the Panama La Vieja ruins is the Mercado Nacional de Artesanias, one of the city’s best handicraft centers. #4 Casco Antiguo in Panama City, founded in 1673, is enjoying a new life, for the once-dilapidated historic quarter is undergoing a large-scale gentrification. The neighborhood is a tangle of narrow streets, centuries-old houses and neo-colonial government buildings, and its oldest part, the San Felipe district, was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1997. New to the old town is a trendy arts district with galleries, coffee houses (try the combo: Diablo Rosso cafe/art gallery), street musicians, bars (of note: Cafe Habana) and some of the city’s most stylish restaurants and boutique hotels. #6 In your client’s tour of the city, include harbor-side Casco Viejo, which enjoys spectacular city views from Santa Ana Park and the Plaza de Francia, dedicated to the 22,000 Panama Canal workers from France, Martinique and Guadeloupe who lost their lives to yellow fever. A row of restored dungeons (Paseo de las Bovedas) is here, home to a French bistro and art galleries. #7 Staying in Casco Viejo’s a treat: Canal House is a small hotel with the ambiance of a private colonial home (Daniel Craig stayed here when filming “Quantum of Solace”); Casa de Horno, a classy boutique hotel with balconied apartment suites, occupies a former bakery; and Las Clementinas, originally a 1930s apartment building and totally refurbished, offers rooms the size of the former apartments, complete with kitchens, WiFi and access to a rooftop terrace. #8 Elsewhere, the Panama City experience has no shortage of deluxe accommodations for capital stays. For instance, there’s the Trump Ocean Club Hotel and Tower—at 70 stories transforming the city skyline—and the elegant Bristol Panama with its own new tower. New in town is the Waldorf Astoria with its first entry in Latin America; coming soon The Ritz-Carlton, with its first hotel in Central America. #9 Visitors should definitely take a hike or ride a bike along milelong Amador Causeway, a paved breakwater that is located at the Pacific entrance to the Panama Canal and offers spectacular views of Panama City’s skyline. #10 Recommend clients dine out along the Causeway. They can have lunch at one of the many cafes and restaurants and watch the Cinta Costera in Panama City #5 Recommend a walk in Casco Viejo, following cobbled streets lined with pastel-colored residences and historic mansions to the majestic Metropolitan Cathedral, 17th century convents and churches including the San Jose Church (home to the famous Golden Altar), the Santo Domingo Church and Convent and the Presidential Palace. 4 SEPTEMBER 2013 4-7 10-15 101ways.indd 4 8/22/13 9:40 AM

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recommend September 2013

Editor's Notes
Hotel Desk: Aston Hotels & Resorts
Tour Talk: Learning Journeys
Norwegian Breakaway
Family-Friendly Cruise Options
Moon Palace Golf & Spa Resort
Top Family Resorts
Four Seasons Resort Costa Rica at Peninsula Papagayo
Panama Travel Planner
Adventures by Disney's Scotland: A Brave Adventure
Club Med Punta Cana
Top Family Resorts
Hawks Cay Resort, Florida Keys
New Fantasyland at Magic Kingdom
Globus Bridges Generation Gap With Exciting China Tours
Far-Flung, Family-Friendly Destinations

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