Cordoba - The colonial home of Argentina

While Buenos Aires has a great nightlife and plenty of Tango, Cordoba also has the best collection of colonial buildings in Argentina. You will notice pretty quickly that the city was heavily influenced by the 17th century Jesuits, and the huge collection of churches and cathedrals in this city is one of the hallmarks. The Manzana Jesuitica is the section that contains most of these buildings including the oldest Argentinean church; the Compañía de Jesús built in 1671. Apart from all the Cathedrals you will also find an almost endless supply of museums ranging from art museums, typical historic museums to more hands-on science and technological museums. My personal best from these was the Museo Nacional de Meteorología Dr. Benjamin Gould a fantastic astronomy and meteorological museum. Cordoba was listed in 2006 as the Capital of Culture in the Americas so as you can imagine, it’s not just the museums and cathedrals that gives this city such a deep culture. You can also enjoy the extensive art scene including “arte bars” which also hold shows. On top of this, the city has the oldest University in Argentina as well as another 6 university within the city! That’s a lot of students and a lot partying!

Panama City - The Crossroad of the Americas

In the typical laidback fashion of Central America, Panama City is a relaxing city full of broken English and old colonial buildings. One of the best places to relax is found down in Miraflores locks, where you can grab a quality selection of food at most restaurants and watch some of the gigantic boats pass through the Panama Canal. We managed to find a place that served a whopping 12 courses! There are two separate areas of the city that has historical significance. The Casco Viejo is the colonial part of the city and many of the buildings are in wonderful condition. Here you can also find a Museum dedicated to the canal as well as some gorgeous cathedrals and government buildings. Panama Viejo is the ancient city remains from before the colonial times and has a museum explanation some of the local history. A novel part that this city has over others is the Parque Natural Metropolitano which is a beautiful rainforest park that has several trails that you can either hike or cycle around. There is also several veiwing points that have been placed above the forest canopy and give a sublime view of the city.