A bustling commercial hub marking the midway point between Panama City and Costa Rica on the Inter-American Hwy, Santiago delivers a trio of appealing sites. Santiago was founded in 1632. Today it is a thriving commercial and agricultural centre. The plaza is graced by a bas-relief monument to the Santiago-born writer and politician who died the year he was elected president of Panama.

Occupying a reproduction of the town’s former jail, the Museo Regional de Veraguas has exhibits ranging form fossils of giant sloths to a re-creation of a pre-Columbian excavation site. Santiago’s crown jewel is the Escuela Normal Superior Juan Demostenes Arosemena, a teacher training facility from the 1920s. This historical monument features an elaborate plateresque portal and masterful murals in the main hall by local artist Roberto Lewis.