Things to Do in Multiplaza

Catch a subtitled blockbuster at Cinepolis VIP

Reclining leather seats rumble with bass during explosions. Waiters glide in the half-light delivering shrimp burritos that smell of lime and chipotle. The screen looms four stories tall, so close you can see the individual beads of sweat on Panamanian actors' faces.

Browse the weekend artisan market outside the east entrance

Under white canvas tents you'll catch the sweet pong of panela sugar melting over tiny cups of café chorrerano. Machetes rasp as they shape cocobolo wood into toucans. Vendors line up tagua-nut earrings next to piles of Emberá baskets that still smell of riversmoke.

Ride the glass elevator to the rooftop terrace bar at sunset

The cabin climbs past mannequins in cocktail dresses until doors ping open to salt wind and the low thud of reggaetón. From here you can see the Cinta Costera's looping ribbon and the orange blink of aircraft lining up for Tocumen. Condensation beads your gin glass.

Let kids loose at the third-floor arcade and virtual-reality zone

Neon strips pulse over rows of dance pads clacking under sneakers. From a pod the scent of ozone drifts out as someone battles space pirates. Even if you're child-free, the vintage Pac-Man cabinet still costs the same old quarter. It lights up that same satisfying waka-waka.

Test weekday salsa steps in the central atrium dance studio

Mirrors reflect a blur of spinning hips while the instructor's playlist bounces from Rubén Blades to modern bachata. Bass vibrates through the marble into your shins. Spectators lean on the railing above, sipping bubble tea that smells of taro and condensed milk.

Costa del Este high-rise hotels. Five minutes by cab and you'll smell sea spray from your balcony.

Bella Vista guesthouses. Older mansions turned hostels, thick walls muffle the nearby salsa clubs.

El Cangrejo boutique pads. Streets smell of midnight pizza and taxi horns. But metro access is unbeatable.

Punta Pacifica towers. Glassy condos where lobby espresso costs the same as a local lunch.

Casco Viejo restored palaces. Ceilings echo with wood beams and church bells, 15-minute Uber to the mall.

San Francisco budget hospedajes. No-frills rooms above bakeries that pump out vanilla steam at dawn.