Panama City is the most beautiful & cosmopolitan capital in Central America. Founded in 1519 by the Spanish, it quickly became an important center of government and church authorities, only to be destroyed in 1671 by Welsh pirate Henry Morgan, later the governor of Jamaica. Gone forever were several beautiful churches, thousands of colonial homes and hundreds of warehouses stocked with foreign goods. Panama City today has several major attractions, among which are these popular four: Panamá Viejo on the eastern edge, whose scattered stone ruins cover a large area; “downtown” or the “new” city of Casco Viejo (Old Compound), re-built by the Spanish just a few miles southwest of the original site, with narrow cobblestone streets and a mix of architectural styles; the lovely residential suburbs with gracious villas, modern hotels, gardens and pools and of course, the 48 mile long Panama Canal, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.