Toamasina's sights are modest by global standards but satisfying if approached without inflated expectations. The city's character lives in its streets and markets as much as in any single attraction. The Bazary Be is the place to start — wander its alleyways for an hour and you will understand the city better than any museum could explain it. North of the centre, the Ivoloina Wildlife Park is the undisputed highlight, a genuine conservation success story and one of the best places in Madagascar to see lemurs at close quarters.
Along the seafront, Boulevard Joffre rewards an evening stroll: crumbling belle époque buildings, palm trees bent by the trade winds, and the sound of the ocean just beyond the sea wall. The city beach is swimmable outside cyclone season, though the Indian Ocean here is powerful and there are no lifeguards.