Casco Viejo Sights: 12 Places You Shouldn't Miss

The plazas, churches, museums and viewpoints of Casco Viejo, Panama City, with maps, history and tips for each.

Casco Viejo's main square, where Panama declared its independence from Colombia in 1903.

The Basilica of Santa María la Antigua, built over more than a century and beautifully restored.

The story of the canal, from the failed French attempt to the 1999 handover, on the main square.

A monument to the French canal builders at the tip of the peninsula, with vaults built into the old sea wall.

A bougainvillea-covered promenade on top of the old sea wall, with views of the bay and skyline.

Home of the famous Golden Altar, a baroque masterpiece with a legend attached.

Panama's grand national theatre, opened in 1908, with a painted ceiling by Roberto Lewis.

A leafy square honouring Simón Bolívar, next to the palace where he convened the 1826 Congress of Panama.

The ruins of a colonial convent and its famous flat arch, which played a part in the canal's history.

The official seat of Panama's president, named after the herons that live in its courtyard.

A church whose stone façade was carried from the ruins of the first Panama City.

A quieter square on the west side of Casco Viejo, with an equestrian statue of General Tomás Herrera.