A skyline of towers beside a colonial old town
Panama City combines a gleaming skyline with Casco Viejo, the colonial old town on a small peninsula, now restored with plazas, churches, rooftop bars and restaurants. The Cinta Costera waterfront path links the two, and the Amador Causeway runs out to islands at the mouth of the canal, past the colourful Biomuseo designed by Frank Gehry. The ruins of Panamá Viejo mark the original city sacked by the pirate Henry Morgan. Rainforest starts remarkably close, in Metropolitan Natural Park and Soberanía National Park.