Panama City is the national capital of Panama, as well as the provincial capital of the Panama Province, and largest city of Panama. It is the most modern city not only in Panama, but the rest of Central America. Panama City has been an incredibly popular tourist and retirement destination, particularly for U.S. and Canadian citizens, due to city prices being cheap compared to most other places. Recently, Panama City has been given the unofficial title of The Dubai of Latin America, due to the recent rapid influx of skyscrapers, high-rise buildings, and increasing number of wealthy people in the city.
Panama City is a very multicultural place, with large populations from many different parts of the world. Spanish is spoken by most, and many speak some form of English. Customer service is slowly improving, and surprisingly dismal in hotels. However, on the streets Panamanians are for the most part friendly and helpful and would love to give you some advice. You can find many ethnic stores , in certain parts of the City.
Tropical forests around Panama are vital for the functioning of the Panama Canal, providing it with the water required for its operation. Due to the canal's importance to the Panamanian economy, tropical forests around the canal have been kept in an almost pristine state; the canal is thus a rare example of a vast engineering project in the middle of a forest that helped to preserve that forest. Along the western side of the canal is the Parque Nacional Soberanía (Sovereignty National Park), which includes the Summit botanical gardens and a zoo. The best known trail in this national park is Pipeline Road, popular among birdwatchers.
