Conde Nast Traveler

PEOPLE WHO’VE traveled with me a lot will tell you that I can be guilty of trying to do too much. To be honest, I didn’t fully figure out how to take a proper beach vacation until well into adulthood, because I’d always worry that I wasn’t being active enough. By now I’ve mastered the art of a trip designed expressly for relaxation, but in a city there’s still the urge to go, go, go. In early June I had a rare weekend alone in London and big, ambitious plans for how to spend it. But I also had a cold and was feeling slightly worn down from work and travel and life. So I decided it would be perfectly okay to slow down a bit. My chic room at the…

Like its namesake canal, Panama has historically served as a gateway to other ports of call throughout the Caribbean and South America. But in the last few years, the country’s capital city has emerged onto the global stage: Magnificent hotels are preserving the architecture of Casco Viejo, the colonial center. Restaurant openings are showcasing Panama’s diversity and culinary flair. And getting to the Dubai of Central America (so named for its skyscraper-studded cityscape) is easier than ever, thanks to new flights on hometown carrier Copa Airlines and stops by cruise lines, including Norwegian, Crystal, and Oceania, at the recently expanded Fuerte Amador terminal. Yes, you can do a single shore day—but you’ll want to come back for more.…

» AMARLA CASCO VIEJO Located next to the centuries-old Spanish colonial home Casa Góngora, which survived multiple fires over the centuries, Armala opened in 2022 as an eight-room relaxed-luxury refuge which sells art that benefits local Indigenous communities and is convenient for snorkeling excursions to the nearby Pearl Islands. » AMERICAN TRADE HOTEL Built in 1917 as the headquarters of the American Trade Development Company and reborn as a hotel in 2013, this boutique beauty’s colonial design and Jazz Age energy draws tourists and locals alike to its recently reconceptualized music lounge, The Club. Once dedicated solely to jazz, it now also hosts salsa and tango nights, spotlighting the city’s diverse live-music scene. » SOFITEL LEGEND CASCO VIEJO This neoclassical grande dame opened its doors in 2023 after a to-the-studs renovation of…

Panama’s provinces boast many at-the-source culinary experiences: decadent chocolate tastings at Bocas del Toro; distilleries in Herrera Province that make seco, a sugarcane liqueur; the famously delicate Gesha (a.k.a. “Geisha”) coffee in Chiriquí. But it all comes together in the capital, where the country’s gastronomic riches collide with its multicultural history. New homegrown dining rooms are serving sumptuous global fare with Panamanian touches. At Kaandela, in Casco Viejo, Top Chef Panama alum Edy Acedo splices grilled, smoked, and raw ingredients into dishes like pork belly lollipops and clams with plantains. Inside Popino, in the tony neighborhood of Punta Paitilla, guests find Art Deco interiors, live jazz, and artful dishes like bok choy with pan-seared corvina. Sibling spots Kanibal and Calle Dragones both debuted this year atop a parking garage near…

RIFF ZONE “Top jazz musicians come to play at Salotto Italiano, where I like the food and the vibe; you can actually talk over dinner and listen to the performers. And the students put on great jazz shows at the Fundación Danilo Pérez too.” WATERING HOLE “People know Maito because it’s on that list of Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants, but I go there because it’s near where I live in the San Francisco neighborhood. Their garden-like outdoor bar is nice for after-dinner drinks.” SWELL TIMES “When I was learning to surf at Playa Venao, just outside the city, it finally clicked for me when I fell into the rhythm of the waves—like hearing music. That, with the blues and greens of the area, was a harmonizing moment.” ANYONE CAN DANCE “My wife, my daughters, and I…

“I TELL MY FRIENDS that I’m now midcentury modern,” the New York–based fashion designer Phillip Lim quips about turning 50. “And like the furniture, hopefully better with age.” Joking aside, Lim, who launched his 3.1 Phillip Lim label in 2005 and now sells his signature clean-lined clothing in shops around the world, saw the landmark birthday as a chance to take stock. “I heard somewhere that, with 50, you get a second dawn. I took that to heart.” For starters, he sold the Manhattan apartment where he’d lived for 16 years and turned his 1940s bungalow on the North Fork of Long Island into his primary home. But the weekend place needed renovating, which was one of Lim’s reasons for booking a trip to Sri Lanka, a destination he’d long dreamed…