Panama City presents a fantastic fusion of traditional handicrafts and international designs. A city, sitting on the crossroads of North and Latin America, is apparently dominated by indigenous handicrafts such as the Panama hat (though it was invented in Ecuador); mola works by Kuna people, and handicrafts by Emberá, Ngöbe-Buglé Indians and Wounaan communities. On the other side, tourists will find no dearth of luxury goods, clothes and electronic items at half the prices that in US or Europe. A shopper's paradise, if any Latin city could beat Panama for the creativeness in its handicrafts it would only be Mexico City.
Metro Mall Panama
Go for: departmental stores, over 200 specialty shops, 10-screen cinema and a food court.
Address : Cerro Viento, Avenida Domigo Diaz, Panama City, Panama
Tel. No. : +507 217 7280
Opening Hours : Daily 10:00 am to 8:00 pm
Albrook Mall
Go for: discount stores, kids wear, adult clothing, exquisite jewellery, Pizza hut, Wendy's and Kentucky's food courts
Address : Ave Marginal, Corregimiento de Ancón, Panama City, Panama
Tel. No. : +507 303 6333
Opening Hours
: Monday to Thursday: 10:00 am to 8:00 pm
Friday & Saturday: 10:00 am to 9:00 pm, Sunday: 10:30 am to 8:00 pm
Multiplaza Pacific
Go for: specialty and boutique shops for all reasons & seasons, movie theatre, several restaurants and a supermarket.
Address : Via Israel, east of Punta Paitilla, Panama City, Panama
Tel. No. : +507 302 5380
Opening Hours
: Monday to Saturday: 10:00 am to 8:00 pm
Sunday: 11:00 am to 7:00 pm
Multicentro Shopping Mall
Go for: casino, 9-screen movie theatre, nightclub, 30 restaurants, boutiques & shops selling apparel, furniture, perfume, art, and jewellery
Address : Balboa Ave., Panama City, Panama
Tel. No. : +507 208 2500
Opening Hours : Daily 10:00 am to 9:00 pm
Los Pueblos
Go for: favourite among bargain shoppers, discount shops selling clothing and household goods, dozens of departmental and specialty stores, food court
Address : Via Domingo Diaz, Road to the International Airport, Panama City, Panama
Opening Hours : Daily 10:00 am to 10:00 pm
Flamenco Shopping Plaza
Go for: shops selling jewellery, souvenirs, traditional Panamanian handicrafts, leather goods, cigars, and artwork, bars, and restaurants
Address : Calle Amador, Flamenco Island, Panama City, Panama
Tel. No. : +507 314 0932
Opening Hours : Daily 10:00 am to 7:00 pm, Restaurant & Bar timings vary
Centro Artesanal Antiguo YMCA
Go for: native handicrafts, molas bags, shirts, glasses cases, and pot holders, embroidered blouses, jewellery, hand-woven hats, work by Emberá and Wounaan Indians of the Darién province.
Address : Av. Arnulfo Arias and Av. Amador, Balboa, Panama City, Panama
Tel. No. : +507 211 0100
Photo Credit:Creative Commons/Markus Leupold-LöwenthalCentro Municipal de Artesanías Panameñas
Go for: molas work by Kuna women, chaquiras, bags, hammocks, dresses, framed butterflies, T-shirts, and other souvenirs.
Address : Av. Arnulfo Arias, three blocks up from old YMCA, Balboa, Panama City, Panama
Tel. No. : +507 211 3924
Flory Saltzman Molas
Go for: biggest mola (Kuna) collection in Panama weaved into bags, shirts, coin-purses, headbands by Flory Saltzman artisans.
Address : Av. Arnulfo Arias, three blocks up from old YMCA, Balboa, Panama City, Panama
Tel. No. : +507 223 6963
Galería Arte Indígena
Go for: indigenous handicrafts, carvings, paintings, Emberá woven baskets and bowls, decorated gourds, figurines, masks, Panama hats from Ecuador, t-shirts, post cards, maracas, hammocks, decorated gourds, hats, animals figures, folk dance performances
Address : Calle 1, No. 844, Casco Viejo, Panama City, Panama
Tel. No. : +507 228 9552
Opening Hours : Daily 9:00 am to 8:00 pm
Mercado de Artesanía de Panamá Viejo
Go for: shops and stalls selling indigenous handicrafts like woven hats, Carnival masks, beaded jewellery, embroidered textiles, works of mestizo & Kuna artisans, molas
Address : Av. 4 at Av. B, Santa Ana, Panama City, Panama
Opening Hours : Daily 9:00 am to 6:00 pm
Mercado de Buhonería
Go for: Masks, hammocks, molas, t-shirts, sandals, maracas, masks, baskets, food stands and other handicrafts
Address : Avenida 4a, (cross-street Avenida B), Panama City, Panama
Opening Hours : Daily 7:00 am to 7:00 pm
Artesanías Panamá Bahía
Go for : Panamanian and Ecuadorian souvenirs, Panama hats, and indigenous handicrafts
Address : Vía Veneto, El Cangrejo, Panama City, Panama
Tel. No. : +507 399 9012 / 3
La Ronda
Go for : Ecuadorian Panama hats, molas, Carnival masks, wood carvings, paintings
Address : Calle 1 and Plaza Francia, Casco Viejo, Panama City, Panama
Tel. No. : +507 211 1001
Museo de la Esmeralda
Go for : emeralds jewellery from a Colombian mine
Address : Calle Pedro J. Sossa on Plaza Catedral, Casco Viejo, Panama City, Panama
Tel. No. : +507 215 1664 / 5
Opening Hours : Daily 9:00 am to 6:30 pm
Reprosa
Go for : gold and gold plated replicas of huacas used by the indigenous population at the time of burial, black onyx necklaces, gemstones, reproduction of pre-Columbian gold jewellery and Spanish coins, chaquira beadwork, cocobolo wood carvings, paintings, molas
Address : Av. A and Calle 4, Art Deco Building, Casco Viejo, Panama City, Panama
Tel. No. : +507 271 0033
Opening Hours : Daily 9:00 am to 6:00 pm
Joyería La Huaca
Go for: jewellery and huacas resembling huacas from Pre-Columbian times which were buried with the indigenous people, silver, gold, platinum and diamond jewellery
Address : Continental Hotel & Casino, Via España, P.O. Box 6-4202, El Dorado, Panama City, Panama
Tel. No. : +507 269 7254