The Santa Maria, a Luxury Collection Hotel & Golf Resort, Panama City

Panama City was founded on August 15, 1519 by Pedro Arias Dávila, known as Pedrarias, making it the first Spanish city on the shores of the South Sea (known today as the Pacific Ocean) and the oldest city on the mainland that yet exists today. It replaced the former cities of Santa María la Antigua del Darién and Acla and became the capital of Castilla del Oro. On September 15, 1521, a royal decree conferred the municipality with the title of City and Carlos I of Spain granted it a Coat of Arms. Ships set sail from Panama City in search of wealth in South America, specifically for the exploration and conquest of Peru. Gold and riches from all over the Pacific coast of the Americas arrived here to be shipped to Spain. In 1671, the English pirate Henry Morgan led an attack on the city to plunder its stored riches. As a security measure to protect both population and property, the Captain General of the Mainland, Don Juan Pérez de Guzmán, ordered the evacuation of the city and the torching of the gunpowder deposits, causing the city to go up in flames and be completely destroyed. The ruins of the ancient city still remain today, including the cathedral tower and the Collective Historic Monument of Panama La Vieja. The site has become a tourist attraction and has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Panama City was rebuilt in 1673 at a new site 2 kilometers west-southwest of the original city at the foot of Cerro Ancón, now known as the city's Old Town district. At the area's Visitor Center you can relive the city's history, from pre-Columbian archaelogical discoveries to a scale model of what Panama City looked like before pirate Morgan's attack.

Casco Viejo is the historic district and cultural gem of Panama City. Declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1997, Casco Viejo was established around 1673 by the Spanish colonialists, the Catholic Church, and other settlers. Historically one of the richest and most densely populated neighborhoods in the Americas, Casco Viejo went on to experience decades of neglect around the 1950s. The streets are filled with buildings that served as homes, cathedrals and churches and government buildings over centuries and many architectural phases. Some of these structures have been painstakingly restored and now house museums, gourmet restaurants, quaint shops and upscale residences.

The Biomuseo is located on the Amador Causeway, a prominent area at the entrance to the Panama Canal in the Pacific Ocean. From the Biomuseo one can clearly observe the skyline of the modern city, the historic district, Ancon Hill, and the Bridge of the Americas. This unique area was restricted to Panamanians during the days of the former US-controlled Canal Zone.

The Panama Canal Expansion was the largest infrastructure project since the Canal’s opening in 1914. Considered and analyzed for a decade with more than 100 studies, the Expanded Canal provides the world’s shippers, retailers, manufacturers and consumers with greater shipping options, better maritime service, enhanced logistics and supply-chain reliability. Since its inauguration on June 26, 2016, the Expanded Canal increases the waterway's capacity to meet the growing demand of maritime trade using larger vessels, which means that the Panama route provides important economies of scale. The Expansion included the construction of a new set of locks on the Atlantic and Pacific sides of the waterway, creating a third lane of traffic and doubling the cargo capacity of the waterway. It also included the creation of the Pacific Access Channel, improvement to the navigational channels, and improvements to the water supply. While the expanded locks are 70 feet wider and 18 feet deeper than those in the original Canal, they use less water due to water-savings basins that recycle 60 percent of the water used per transit. In line with its commitment to customer service, the Panama Canal will continue to provide the world with value for another century and beyond.

Treasures of Panama is the leading company in the preservation and promotion of Panama's history, cultural traditions, ecological beauty and ethnic diversity. The National Institute of Culture (INAC) has awarded the company the exclusivity to reproduce the Gold Collection of the Anthropological Museum of Panama. In its 40 years of existence, Treasures of Panama has received many awards and acknowledgements, and its pieces are objects of pride and admiration around the globe. Being the most emblematic and representative of Panama, members of royalty, artists, politicians, businessmen and diplomats from all latitudes have been presented with gifts from Treasures of Panama. Treasures of Panama are experts in exact reproductions of pre-Columbian indigenous artifacts and Spanish colonial coins found at archaeological sites. The jewelry is inspired in nature, folk traditions and indigenous groups that represent the biological and cultural diversity of Panama. For decades the company has worked with many of the indigenous tribes of Panama, as well as artisans in rural areas, and has successfully expanded its variety of products including fine pieces carved in tagua and cocobolo exotic wood, baskets and masks woven in the Darien, the famous molas from Guna Yala, ceramics, dolls, clothes and accessories, among other crafts. The company is constantly innovating, creating new Panamanian handicrafts like earrings or key rings made of pre-Columbian artifacts, engraving native and fold motifs on different surfaces and producing handcrafted pens made of exotic cocobolo wood, to name a few.