Current Time in Panamá, Panama

Panama City is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Panama, located on the Pacific coast of the Central American isthmus at the southern entrance to the Panama Canal. The city sits where the Americas narrows to its thinnest point, a geographic fact that has determined its extraordinary importance in global trade, transportation, and history. It is the financial, political, and cultural center of Panama and one of the most cosmopolitan cities in Latin America.

With a metropolitan population of approximately 1.5 million, Panama City is the largest city in Central America and one of the fastest-growing urban areas in the Western Hemisphere. Its role as a global financial center, the presence of the Canal, and the dollarized economy have attracted international business, creating a city with a distinctive skyline of gleaming skyscrapers that would not look out of place in Miami or Singapore.

The history of Panama City is one of the most dramatic in the Americas. Old Panama (Panamá la Vieja), founded by the Spanish in 1519, was the first permanent European settlement on the Pacific coast of the Americas and a crucial gateway for gold and silver being shipped from Peru to Spain. The buccaneer Henry Morgan destroyed the original city in 1671, and it was refounded at its current location in 1673. The city grew in importance with the construction of the transisthmian railway in 1855 and became globally transformative when the United States completed the Panama Canal in 1914, permanently altering world maritime trade.

Panama City offers a remarkable concentration of historical and modern attractions. The Casco Viejo (historic district), a UNESCO World Heritage Site, preserves the colonial architecture, plazas, and churches of the 17th and 18th centuries in a setting that is simultaneously historic and trendy, with boutique hotels, rooftop bars, and upscale restaurants occupying restored colonial buildings. The ruins of Panamá la Vieja, including the tower of the old cathedral, stand dramatically at the city's eastern edge. The Miraflores Locks of the Panama Canal, where massive container ships are raised and lowered between oceans, is one of the most spectacular engineering spectacles in the world and a major visitor attraction.

The city is home to remarkable biodiversity — Soberanía National Park, accessible within an hour of the city center, offers some of the best birding in the Western Hemisphere, with hundreds of species visible along Pipeline Road. The Biomuseo, designed by architect Frank Gehry, celebrates the natural history of the isthmus and its role in connecting and shaping the Americas' biodiversity.

Transportation infrastructure is excellent, with Tocumen International Airport serving as the main hub for Copa Airlines and the primary connection point for flights throughout the Americas. The Panama Metro and an extensive bus network serve the metropolitan area.

Several universities including the University of Panama and USMA serve the city's academic needs. The city's International Financial Center and the Free Trade Zone at Colón support a major financial and commercial sector.

Panama City is a city where the world truly comes together — a cosmopolitan, biodiverse, historically rich metropolis at the crossroads of the Americas and the world's great trade routes.