Casco Viejo - what is that?

Casco Viejo (Casco Antiguo or San Felipe) is the old quarter of Panama City. It was founded in 1673 after the original Pacific settlement of Panama Viejo was sacked by Henry Morgan. It is the oldest city on the Pacific coast of the Americas and remained the center of Panamanian life for 300 years until the 1930's. At that time Casco Antiguo declined as Panama's upper class moved to the suburbs.

It was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1998 mainly because of it's blend of Spanish, French and American colonial, neoclassical and art nouveau architecture. Certain styles, such as the 16th through 18th century houses with inside courtyards, are specific to the region. Today, the buildings often contain a combination of ruins from the days of Spanish Explorers and Pirates, along with the influences of all of those who followed. To walk through Casco Viejo is definitely to walk through history. Buildings sitting side by side can be over three hundred years apart in age. Balconies are filled with flowers such as geraniums and bougainvillea wrapped around sculpted wrought iron crafted in another country. The streets are brick, and no matter which way they run, they run to the sea, because Casco Viejo is a peninsula jutting into the Bay of Panama.

It is very similar to Old San Juan (in Puerto Rico) in architecture as well as the narrow streets made out of cobblestones.

Today in Casco Viejo you will find the National Theater with black tie events. Kids diving from old ruins into the sea and indigenous people selling their crafts. Tourist shops, small clubs and sidewalk cafes, art galleries and many restaurants.