{"id":348561,"date":"2026-11-09T13:22:37","date_gmt":"2026-11-09T18:22:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.sothebysrealty.com\/?p=348561"},"modified":"2026-11-10T12:26:18","modified_gmt":"2026-11-10T17:26:18","slug":"spotlight-on-panama-sun-sea-sand-and-charming-contrasts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/spotlight-on-panama-sun-sea-sand-and-charming-contrasts\/","title":{"rendered":"Spotlight on Panama: Sun, Sea, Sand, and Charming Contrasts"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Luxury living is reaching new heights in this architecturally rich nation that links the Americas, writes Rosie Bell<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Outdoor<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Costa del Este, Panama City<\/a> | Panama Sotheby\u2019s International Realty<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beguiling beaches, delectable cuisine, misty mountain towns and islands galore\u2014Panama <\/em>does and has everything. Stretching between Costa Rica and Colombia, this isthmus is the narrow land bridge uniting North and South America, yet its diminutive proportions belie extraordinary diversity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take Panama City. The country\u2019s sophisticated capital has both a tropical forest teeming with sloths, toucans and tamarins, and an urban fabric rich in architectural contrasts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTo understand Panama City\u2019s shape, you have to look at its history and its geography,\u201d says Ramon Zafrani, co-founder of Panama City-based architecture studio F\u00e9mur<\/a>. \u201cRather than spreading outward in every direction from a central core, as most cities do, Panama City grew in essentially one direction: east from Casco Viejo.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To the west, the Panama Canal blocks expansion, and to the south lies Panama Bay. \u201cThe result is a long, linear city that hugs the coastline,\u201d Zafrani explains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The country is also home to the latest addition to the Sotheby\u2019s International Realty network. In September, Panama Sotheby\u2019s International Realty<\/a> became the brand\u2019s 65th office in the Caribbean and Latin American region, serving buyers drawn to Panama\u2019s investment and visa offerings, but most of all to its homes and lifestyle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Ground-level<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Casco Viejo, Panama City<\/a> | Panama Sotheby\u2019s International Realty<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Casco Viejo is the city\u2019s UNESCO-listed historic center, where neoclassical structures like this three-bedroom apartment<\/a> share the compact district with art nouveau, art deco and French-influenced buildings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt offers spaces you simply can\u2019t find elsewhere in the city, buildings with thick lime-and-stone masonry walls, generous ceiling heights and a deep sense of authenticity,\u201d Zafrani says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Casco\u2019s charms include buzzy caf\u00e9s and rooftop bars <\/strong>from which to savor the year-round warm weather. Parkas and ponchos can be consigned to storage\u2014come rain or shine, the mercury never dips below 68\u00b0F (20\u00b0C) in the capital.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Contemporary<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Punta Pacifica, Panama City<\/a> | Panama Sotheby\u2019s International Realty<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If it\u2019s views you covet, look no further than Punta Pacifica. \u201cThis is the city\u2019s front row, with direct ocean views from nearly every tower, and great restaurants, the best shopping and a Johns Hopkins hospital just minutes away,\u201d says Brian Kelly, vice president of Panama Sotheby\u2019s International Realty<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A 58th-floor, four-bedroom waterfront apartment<\/a> in the neighborhood\u2019s distinctive Ocean Club skyscraper is a case in point. \u201cThe JW Marriott [hotel] shares the tower, so restaurants and service are an elevator ride away,\u201d says Kelly, whose multilingual team works out of the building.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Bright<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Costa del Este, Panama City<\/a> | Panama Sotheby\u2019s International Realty<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Further along the coast, Costa del Este is a modern, oceanfront community in Panama City with room to spread out, as well as panoramic skyline and sea views. An expansive four-bedroom penthouse<\/a> in the neighborhood\u2019s Regalia tower offers all of the above.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe city\u2019s verticality comes from a combination of factors: strong demand to live in a few central, waterfront neighborhoods with ocean views, and successive real estate booms,\u201d explains Zafrani.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Aerial<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Santa Mar\u00eda, Panama City<\/a> | Panama Sotheby\u2019s International Realty<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When amenities are paramount, Santa Mar\u00eda Golf and Country Club is a residential community minutes from the capital\u2019s international airport. It offers a Nicklaus Design golf course, a Luxury Collection hotel, a sports club, private villas and high-rise luxury residences such as this three-bedroom apartment<\/a> in the La Maison by Fendi Casa branded residence, which brings Fendi Casa’s Italian design to Panama.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For those seeking to wriggle their toes in the sand beyond the capital, a couple of hours\u2019 drive southwest is Buenaventura, an oceanfront residential enclave with a 100-year-old corot\u00fa tree as its centerpiece.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A beachside four-bedroom contemporary villa<\/a> offers the chance to do just that, and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Modern<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Buenaventura, Panama<\/a> | Panama Sotheby\u2019s International Realty<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou can play golf or go horseback riding in the morning, visit the beach club in the afternoon, and go to the Corot\u00fa Spa when you want to do nothing at all,\u201d says Kelly, who has called Panama home for 16 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The country\u2019s real estate investment visa scheme provides a route to residency for overseas buyers spending at least US$300,000 on a new home or US$500,000 on a resale home which is held for a minimum of five years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Kelly advises: \u201cPanama offers a U.S. dollar economy, a clear path to residency, and a way of life that is hard to match anywhere at this level.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inspired by luxury coastal living? Read on to explore<\/em> Greece\u2019s most spectacular islands<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Footer<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Luxury living is reaching new heights in this architecturally rich nation that links the Americas, writes Rosie Bell Costa del Este, Panama City | Panama Sotheby\u2019s International Realty Beguiling beaches, delectable cuisine, misty mountain towns and islands galore\u2014Panama does and has everything. Stretching between Costa Rica and Colombia, this isthmus is the narrow land bridge […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":232770370,"featured_media":348564,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_wpcom_ai_launchpad_first_post":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_hide_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_featured_image_duplicate_dismissed":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1393,1559],"tags":[1415,1423,1472,1524,1495,1505],"class_list":["post-348561","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-art-and-culture","category-destinations","tag-australia","tag-california","tag-new-york","tag-oregon","tag-sweden","tag-united-kingdom"],"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pf4gbL-1sFX","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/Panama_Buenaventura.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/348561","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/232770370"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=348561"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/348561\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":348595,"href":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/348561\/revisions\/348595"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/348564"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=348561"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=348561"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sothebysrealty.com\/extraordinary-living-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=348561"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}