In Panama City’s old core, a visit to the 100-year-old National Theater is no doubt one of the most spectacular moments of anybody’s stay, not to mention the chance of watching streets decked out with balconies dating back from the 19th century. And everything is near the sea and the tropic, both coming together to provide an unforgettable travel experience. In the area we’ll also find the Paseo Esteban Huertas, known locally as Las Bovedas, overlooking the Bridge of the Americas and the Calzada de Amador.

If we walk down Calzada de Amador, we’ll see a road that runs through the sea and hooks up the Naos, Perico and Flamenco islands, perfect spots to engage in familiar trekking sites, ride bicycles, visit restaurants and cafés, wallow in the coming breeze and watch the ships that sail in and out of the Panama Canal. In this zone, the Gehry Museum –themed on biodiversity– is expected to open soon and see over 600,000 visitors walk past the turnstiles every year.

In the province of Colon, Portobelo and the San Lorenzo Castle –both on the list of World Heritage sites– are must-sees for visitors, with structures that have lived out for centuries. The region is home to the famous procession of the Christ of Portobelo in the month of October. Just another allure in Colon is the array of beaches with crystal-clear waters that draw thousands of sunbathers in the summer.

Panama’s archeological wealth is amazing. A sightseeing site like the El Caño Museum in the province of Coclé displays former Indian settlements –many of them are still being discovered today– and a considerable chunk of its collection is shown in major museums in the country and around the world as tokens of a still-untapped puzzling past.

In the country, traditions and customs have survived more in some regions. In the area of Azuero, for instance, polleras and sombreros pintao, ten-verse stanzas, the diablicos and the folkloric festivals hailing from different regions also spruce up an abundant cultural offering.

Over 20 percent of the country’s territory is populated by five villages of indigenous people: Guna Yala, Embera Woonaan, Gnobe Bugle, Madugandi and Wargandi, each and every one of them with traditions, tongues and typical garments of their own. All are open for the public to visit and share with these original dwellers.

In addition, Panama hosts more than 60 fairs and festivities every year, including the International Flower & Coffee Fair in Boquete, the Azuero International Fair or the David Fair, the Marjoram Festival, as well as Manito de Ocú and Torito Guapo, let alone the International Book Fair that reels in over 100,000 visitors every year, or the recently-created International Film Festival. All this much has prompted authorities to come up with a new Convention Center.

The National Symphonic Orchestra and the Panama National Ballet Company stage presentations on a regular basis. And one of the gems of the national culture is the Panama Jazz Festival, whose 10th anniversary is slated for January 2013. An assortment of handcraft markets also brings visitors delight.

Perhaps the most important or best marketed attraction of all in our nation is the Panama Canal. As a national company, for over a hundred years this has represented a must-see reference as far as the country is concerned. Following the expansion –a project that must be finished by 2014– the isthmus will certainly take on newer and bigger challenges in terms of efficiency and economic outcomes that must render in bigger benefits for the majority of the population. For visitors, watching the Panama Canal and feasting eyes on these majestic waterworks –coupled with the expansion works– is a once-in-a-lifetime and unforgettable experience.

Panama, the Bridge of the World and the Heart of the Universe –as it is known nearly everywhere around the globe– is open for visitors willing to scout the nation and enjoy it unhurriedly. That would for sure guarantee a unique and complete travel experience.