The French attempt
And its failure.
Noe2785 — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Luigivampire — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Joseph vasquez alen — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Y.Y.Y.G. — CC BY 2.0
A museum in an elegant white building on the old quarter's main square, a grand hotel in the nineteenth century and later the headquarters of the French canal company, then of the American administration. It tells the whole canal story, from the first Spanish dreams of a route between the oceans to today. The rooms move through the stages: the Panama Railroad, built in the 1850s to carry gold seekers to California; the French attempt and its defeat by disease; the American construction that opened in 1914 with giant machines and tens of thousands of Caribbean workers; and finally the canal's handover to Panama in 1999. The halls show photographs, maps, lock models, workers' tools, documents and medical equipment from the fight against yellow fever. An audio guide is available in several languages, as most panels are in Spanish. Visit it before going to the Miraflores Locks to understand what you see there. Casco Viejo is fairly safe by day with tourist police around, but avoid the neighbouring districts after dark and use registered taxis.
And its failure.
Machines and workers.
How they work.
Plaza de la Independencia, Casco Viejo, Panama City
Casco Viejo (Old Quarter)Panama City's historic district, built on a small peninsula and settled in 1673 2 minutes walk
National Theatre of PanamaAn elegant neoclassical theatre in the heart of the old quarter, opened in 1908,3 minutes walk4.8
Plaza de FranciaAn elegant square at the far southern end of the old quarter, on the edge of the4 minutes walk4.7
Cinta Costera WaterfrontA long modern waterfront on the Bay of Panama, built on land reclaimed from the 21 minutes walk4.4Ideally both: the museum tells the history and the locks show ships passing; the museum first makes the locks clearer.