As the plane circles for its landing in Panama City, passengers making their first visit to Panama stare in amazement at the sight below. Skyscrapers gleam in the tropical sunlight and a beautiful skyline they hadn't expected extends out to a gently curving point of land that meets the tourquoise blue waters of the Pacific Ocean. Dozens of tankers and freighters sit lazily in the bay beyond, awaiting their turn for passage through the Panama Canal.

Although you might not believe it, when you first visit Panama that's going to be your reaction, too. And it's a sight that keeps on being amazing, even after you've seen it lots of times before. Visitors are always impressed by Panama City. It is clean, safe, cosmopolitan and full of interesting sights. Because of its long history of catering to travelers passing from ocean to another, and because of Panama's unique mix of cultures, restaurants serve an oustanding variety of authentic, international cuisines, along with the country's own delicious specialties.

One fine restaurant in the hotel district offers daily dinner shows, featuring the traditional dances and costumes of Panama. These are beautifully done and are highly recommended. Hotels are excellent. Panama City is also a shopper's mecca, offering great prices for top-quality linen, crystal, jewelry, clothing, cigars and much more. The City is a important center of international finance and is home to more than 120 banks, many of which have prestigous names known around the world.

Despite the modernity of the skyscrapers which form the financial sector and the Punta Patilla residential district, the city is imbued with a quiet and gracious sense of history. On the city's eastern edge stand the centuries-old ruins of Old Panama, the first city founded by the Spaniards in Panama. On the western side is the historic Casco Viejo area, some of which dates from the 17th century.