During our reconnaissance trips, we spent most of our time focusing on the practicalities of what life would look like here: walking through neighbourhoods, checking out grocery stores, touring hospitals. We didn’t get much of a chance to do much of the touristy things here as we figured we would have plenty of time for that later.

“Later” started today. We decided to visit Panamà Viejo – not to be confused with Casco Viejo, the very quaint Old Town. Panamà Viejo is the original Panamà City, but was destroyed in 1671 by pirates. Panamà City was rebuilt down the coast, and that area is Casco Viejo. Both sites are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Panamà Viejo is in the middle of the city. There’s a parking lot available, and a clearly marked entrance leads you into the first building where you can buy tickets ($17 for non-residents, $5.50 for each of us since we are residents and retirees). There’s a shuttle that can take you to the main area (it’s one kilometer away) or you can walk. The road takes you past some of the ruins.

We preferred to walk, so we could get a closer look at some of the ruins.

There are some picture perfect places for a photo shoot.

Once getting to the main plaza, there’s a very nice museum that explains the history of Panamà Viejo, including the obligatory scale model.

Tucked away in a corner of the museum is a room dedicated to “Colonial Religious Art”.

Outside, the main square is dominated by the cathedral.

You can climb to the top of the cathedral, which involves more stairs than I care to count. The views from the top are stellar.

It wasn’t very crowded, and we weren’t the only creature enjoying the ruins.

It feels like you’re so very far away from the city, not right in the middle – until you look up.

A very pleasant visit, and something we will definitely recommend to visitors.