Cumaná's sights are walkable and modest in scale. The two colonial forts on the hill above town — the Castillo de San Antonio and the smaller Santa María de la Cabeza — are the obvious starting points, followed by the historic core around Plaza Bolívar with the cathedral and the older Iglesia de Santa Inés. The Casa Natal de Andrés Eloy Blanco preserves the birthplace of one of Venezuela's best-loved poets and is a small but rewarding stop.
A wander down to the Manzanares River — palms, fishing boats, pelicans — gives a sense of the city's working character, and the market beside it is the place to taste local empanadas and arepas. Out past the western edge of town, Playa San Luis offers an easy swim and the Instituto Oceanográfico has a small aquarium and exhibits on the unique anoxic ecosystem of the Gulf of Cariaco.