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Drinking and nightlife
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Panama City is very much a
24-hour city
, whose residents like nothing better than to cut loose and eat, drink and dance into the early hours. Most of the upmarket places are around
El Cangrejo
, and it's easy and relatively safe to walk between them at night. Many restaurants double as
bars
, and there are several
discos
and
nightclubs
, playing a mixture of reggae, salsa, merengue and US and euro dance music.
Cover charges
tend to be high, but often include several (sometimes unlimited) free drinks. Be warned that many of the more upmarket nightclubs operate an unofficial racist policy whereby black Panamanians are effectively refused admission. The free bi-monthly English-language
Panama News
has entertainment
listings
including live music and theatre.
At the other end of the market are the
cantinas
and bars around Av Central: hard-drinking dives where women are rarely seen. The wildest nightspots are out in the Afro-Antillan ghetto of Rio Abajo, but it is not a good idea to go there unless accompanied by locals. Other useful information
for tourists (each section contains more specific sub-sections): |
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Panama,
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