Taste of Panama City: Walking Tour with Food and Drinks in Casco Viejo

Meet your local guide and fellow culinary explorers at Café Unido Coffee Roasters, where you’ll begin your Panama City food and drinks tour with a tasting of high-end coffee. Sip a sample made from Geisha beans — some of Panama’s best (and one of the world’s most expensive) — and learn about the country’s coffee industry from a local coffee farmer and roaster.

Now that you’re a bit caffeinated, move on to your next stop, a gourmet food shop that specializes in rich Panamanian chocolate. On your way there, enjoy your walk through the World Heritage-listed Casco Viejo district (also known as Casco Antiguo), passing by historical landmarks like the Arco Chato (Flat Arch).

When you arrive at the food shop, sample a piece of organic chocolate from the Bocas del Toro province, where the chocolate is produced by the Ngöbe, an indigenous group. Then take another walk through Casco Viejo toward your next destination, stopping along the way for photo ops of the stunning Metropolitan Cathedral and white-washed Presidential Palace (Palacio de las Garzas).

Next up is a local microbrewery, where you can enjoy a tasting of four beers — whichever are on tap that day. Take a look at the brewery facilities to see how the local beer is made, and learn a bit about beermaking in Panama from your guide.

Continue your adventure along the malecón (sea wall) to a seafood market, where you’ll enjoy some fresh ceviche, a Panamanian specialty that’s also common throughout Central and South America. Panamanian ceviche typically consists of small pieces of fresh raw fish cured in lime juice and flavored with chopped onion and cilantro, and it’s one of the best things you’ll eat all day.

Finally, head to your last stop, a rooftop bar, for a rum cocktail made with 7-year-old Ron Abuelo, which comes from one of Panama's oldest rum producers. As you sip your drink, watch the sunset over the city. Your tour ends here, where you can stay on your own to continue your evening in Panama City, or find perhaps another spot in Casco Viejo to have drinks and dinner.