Panamá Viejo, Archaeological ruins in Parque Lefevre, Panama.

Panamá Viejo is the archaeological site of the original Panama City, founded in 1519 and abandoned after 1671, in the suburbs of the modern capital. Its weathered tan-stone ruins include a jagged wall pierced by rectangular openings edged in red brick and, to its right, a taller square tower with a narrow stair near its base; fallen blocks lie on the grass.

Pedro Arias Dávila founded the city in 1519 as the first permanent European base on the Pacific and it served for nearly 150 years as a trade hub for gold and goods from South America. An attack by Henry Morgan in 1671 destroyed most of the buildings completely, and the surviving residents established the new city several kilometers to the west.

The site reveals its past as the first permanent European settlement on the Pacific coast through plazas and stone pathways that still keep their original layout. School groups come here today to learn about the colonial period directly in front of the old walls and see the contrasts between the ruins and the modern cityscape.

A small museum at the entrance provides information and maps to help orient yourself across the entire site before entering the open areas with the ruins. The ground is uneven and there is little shade, so sturdy footwear and sun protection are important on hot days.

The cathedral tower stands 30 metres high and was built unusually beside the apse, not at the facade. Its ruins were adapted as a viewpoint reached by 115 steps in three levels, each with a resting platform and museum panels. Construction began in 1535 under Bishop Fray Tomás de Berlanga, and the cathedral was rebuilt in masonry between 1619 and 1626.