6 Best Sights in Cerro Ancon and Balboa, Panama City

The heart of the former Canal Zone is quite a switch from the rest of Panama City, with its wide tree-shaded lawns and stately old buildings. It sometimes feels like a bit of a ghost town, especially after you spend time on the busy streets of Panama City proper, but it's a peaceful area with lots of greenery. You may spot toucans, or agoutis (large jungle rodents) on the slopes of Ancon Hill, or near the Panama Canal Administration Building. The Friday's restaurant next to the Country Inn & Suites Panama Canal has a front-row view of the canal and Bridge of the Americas.

The rain forest that covers most of Cerro Ancón is a remarkably vibrant natural oasis in the midst of the city. The best area to see wildlife is on the road to the Cerro Ancón Summit, which is topped by radio towers and a giant Panamanian flag. The road ascends the hill's western slope from the luxuriant residential neighborhood of Quarry Heights, above Balboa. There is also a trail into the forest behind the offices of ANCON, Panama's biggest environmental group. If the gate at the end of Quarry Heights is locked, it should take 20-30 minutes to hike to the summit. It is best done early in the morning or late in the afternoon, when you are likely to see animals such as the abundant agoutis (large rodents), keel-billed toucan, and Geoffrey's tamarind—Panama's smallest simian. If you have a taxi drop you off at the trailhead (ask the driver to take you to the "Oficinas de ANCON" in Quarry Heights), you can hike down the other side of the hill to Mi Pueblito, where you should be able to flag a cab.

Well worth a stop is this impressive structure set atop a ridge with a dramatic view of Balboa and the canal—a site chosen by the canal's chief engineer, George W. Goethals. The building, designed by New York architect Austin W. Lord, was inaugurated in 1914, one month before the SS Ancon became the first ship to navigate the canal. Since it holds the offices of the people in charge of running the canal, most of the building is off-limits to tourists, but you can enter its lovely rotunda and admire the historic murals of the canal's construction. The murals were painted by William B. Van Ingen, who also created murals for the U.S. Library of Congress and the Philadelphia Mint. They're quite dramatic, and capture the monumental nature of the canal's construction in a style that is part Norman Rockwell, part Frederic Edwin Church. The rotunda also houses busts of the three canal visionaries: Spain's King Carlos V, who first pondered the possibility in the 16th century; the Frenchman Ferdinand de Lesseps, who led the first attempt to dig it; and President Theodore Roosevelt, who launched the successful construction effort. The doors at the back of the rotunda are locked, but if you walk around the building you'll be treated to a view of the neat lawns and tree-lined boulevards of Balboa.

Three blocks northeast of Plaza Cinco de Mayo, in the midst of a rough neighborhood, stands a simple wooden museum dedicated to the tens of thousands of West Indian workers who supplied the bulk of the labor for the canal's construction. The West Indians, mostly Barbadians and Jamaicans, did the toughest, most dangerous jobs, but were paid in silver, while the Americans were paid in gold. A disproportionate number of them died during canal construction; the survivors and their descendents have made important contributions to Panamanian culture. The museum has period furniture and historic photos. You'll want to take a taxi here; consider asking the taxi to wait for you while you visit the museum.

A tiny expanse on the north end of the Avenida Central pedestrian mall, this plaza has several notable landmarks nearby. To the northeast of the plaza stands a large brown building that was once a train station and later housed the country's anthropological museum, until it was moved to a new space near Parque Metropolitano. Just behind it on Avenida 4 Sur is a small handicraft market called the Mercado de Buhonería that few people visit, so you can score some good deals there. On the other side of Avenida Central, behind a large monument, is the Palacio Legislativo (Legislative Palace), Panama's Congress, which opens to the public for some legislative sessions, but is hardly worth the visit. The areas to the north and east of the Plaza should be avoided. Plan to arrive at and leave Plaza Cinco de Mayo in a taxi or bus.

Spread over a ridge on the north side of Cerro Ancón and lined by trees, the home office of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI), known as the Earl S. Tupper Center, has offices, meeting halls, a large library, a bookstore, and a café. A branch of the Washington, D.C.–based Smithsonian Institution, the STRI has half a dozen research stations in Panama, the most famous of which is on Barro Colorado Island. The institute also coordinates scientific studies in various other tropical countries. All reservations for tours to Barro Colorado Island are done online, but you can visit the Tupper Center to browse the library and shop at the bookstore, which has an excellent selection of natural history titles, as well as souvenirs.