Quotes of the Day

Panama City is rapidly emerging as Central America's Pacific-front boomtown. Already blessed with a UNESCO-lauded Old City (the Casco Viejo), a tower-filled skyline, an economy-boosting $5.25 billion Panama Canal expansion program and a vibrant culinary scene, Panama City is now beefing up its cultural bona fides with the arrival of the first ever International Film Festival of Panama (iffpanama.org). Running from April 26 to May 2, and launched by a founder of the prestigious Toronto International Film Festival, the event will include some 50 screenings, myriad panels and workshops and a week's worth of parties and premieres. In between, make the most of your downtime with the following tips from Panama City — and film festival — insiders.

K.C. Hardin, owner, Canal House and Las Clementinas hotels
Begin and end in the old quarter, the Casco Viejo. Start with a hike from the colonial section, past the turn-of-the-century buildings on Avenida Central and up into the rain-forested Cerro Ancón, which has a spectacular view of the city, the canal and the classic canal-zone architecture. It's best to begin the journey before 8 a.m. It takes about an hour and includes encounters with flocks of toucans.

On the way back, stop for brunch at my hotel Las Clementinas, on Calle 11, tel: (507) 228 7613, and then get out onto the water. Depending on the season, this could mean a fishing-and-barbecue excursion on Lake Gatun, or looking for whales in the Pearl Islands or going for a surf down the coast at Punta Barco.

Before dinner, enjoy the sunset over spicy ceviche and a beer at Ciao Pesca on Plaza Bolívar, tel: (507) 262 3700. Then head to the Marina Marina restaurant at Punta Pacífica, tel: (507) 390 1010, for guiso de pescado (Brazilian fish stew), which is one of the few things that will get me out of the old quarter.

Back in the Casco, finish off the night with a shot of amaro liqueur at Divino, on Calle 4a, tel: (507) 202 6867. Or have a nightcap at the ever changing indoor-outdoor gallery-bar La Casona de las Brujas, on Plaza Herrera, tel: (507) 211 0740, and see what amazing reuse of found objects owner Blanca Davalos has come up with that week.

Alejandro Ferrer, president, Biodiversity Museum
Start at the Amador Causeway, just a few minutes from downtown. It's bursting with restaurants, bars, marinas, bikers and joggers, who all enjoy spectacular views of the Bay of Panama and the city skyline. From there you can also admire the Biodiversity Museum (biomuseopanama.org), which opens early next year and is the only Frank Gehry-designed building in Latin America. It will tell the story of how the Isthmus of Panama united two continents, divided one ocean and became a center of biotic exchange between North and South America.

After Amador, take a trip to the city of Colón on the Panama Canal railway, tel: (507) 317 6070. This journey goes through dense jungle before reaching Colón on the Atlantic Ocean in less than an hour. Once there, you can visit numerous historic sites including Fort San Lorenzo, a UNESCO World Heritage site that dates back to 1597 and once housed Spanish conquistadors. Colón is also noted for its excellent Caribbean-style seafood restaurants. There are many to choose from; I always order a plate of octopus with coconut rice.

If you want to stay put in Panama City, stroll through the Casco Viejo, full of history, with beautiful buildings, including our National Theater, the presidential palace and our cathedral. It's also filled with outstanding restaurants. For lunch, I'd head for Maito, at Final de la Calle 50, tel: (507) 391-4657. It offers Panamanian flavor married with international technique. The chef, Mario Castrellón, trained with Ferran Adrià and it shows.

Next I would head to the rain forest. Few folks know that there's three times more biodiversity in our small nation than in all of North America combined. One of my favorite places to experience it all is the Canopy Tower, tel: (507) 264 5720, at the Soberanía National Park, which is 30 to 45 minutes from town.

Henk van der Kolk, CEO, International Film Festival of Panama
My perfect day in Panama begins in the back garden with a pot of Panamanian Palo Alto coffee followed by a walk along the Cinta Costera Boulevard, which snakes along the Pacific coast and connects the Casco Viejo with the modern high-rise districts of Panama City.

The Miraflores Locks, which are part of the Panama Canal complex, are immediately adjacent to the city and a marvelous way to spend a few midmorning hours. The sheer realization that some 200 million L of water pour through the locks each time a ship passes through is awe-inspiring.

For lunch, we love the Spanish food at Restaurante Angel, on Vía Argentina, tel: (507) 263 6868. An appetizer of razor clams followed by the superb roast suckling pig will tide me over to dinner. Next comes a ride down to the magnificent Amador Causeway at dusk, to the very end until we reach Alberto's, tel: (507) 314 1134, on the waterfront. You can order a cocktail and take in the views of the Panama City skyline from the terrace.

Dinner is in the Casco Viejo at the very popular Venezuelan steak house La Puerta de Tierra, tel: (507) 228 6595, where we never tire of the lamb burger and a good bottle of wine.

• David Kaufman
• In town for the film festival? Here's what to do between movies