NEW YORK, NY.- Located at the tip of Cape Cod, Provincetown has overlapping — and sometimes competing — identities: one of America’s oldest art colonies, nature preserve, thriving LGBTQ+ resort and historic Portuguese fishing village. Among the few points of agreement in P-town, as locals call it, is that soaring housing costs and a creeping sense of Hamptons-style gentrification present an existential threat to this self-styled bohemian idyll that has over the years inspired literati with sensibilities as disparate as pugilistic novelist Norman Mailer and pacifist poet Mary Oliver. Yet while everybody likes to complain about how Provincetown is changing, filmmaker and summer resident John Waters wrote in his 2019 “Mr. Know-It-All” collection of essays, “I feel that if I dropped a piece of gum on the corner of Bradford and Court in the late ’60s, it would still be there today.”
ITINERARY
Friday
4 p.m. | Slurp some oysters
Don’t even bother unpacking. Instead, head straight for Mac’s Fish House to catch its daily 3 to 5 p.m. happy hour with half-price Wellfleet oysters (12 for $18), harvested from Wellfleet’s harbor bed just to the south and prized for their tangy brininess leavened by a hint of sweetness. Equally appealing is Mac’s itself. Although the establishment is part of a Cape-wide group of restaurants and markets, complete with its own fishing fleet, this seafood mini-empire opened as a single clam shack in 1995 by then-20-year-old Mac Hay with a $5,000 loan from his friends and an emphasis on all things local. That appealingly modest vibe endures and continues to draw diners seeking shellfish and sushi. (The free parking — a rarity among Provincetown eateries — doesn’t hurt either.)
6 p.m. | Take an art stroll
On Friday evenings, many of Provincetown’s nearly three dozen galleries open new shows. Most of the galleries are tucked inside the quaint 19th-century homes sitting cheek-by-jowl along the brick sidewalks of Commercial Street’s East End, making it easy to dip in and out. For impressive dives into Provincetown’s past, head to the Bakker Gallery and the Berta Walker Gallery, where prewar painters like Charles Webster Hawthorne and Blanche Lazzell still reign.
The cream of this local scene’s contemporary crop is showcased at the William Scott Gallery, with John Dowd’s noir-infused Cape landscapes, and the Schoolhouse Gallery, with Breon Dunigan’s faux-taxidermied trophy heads and Joel Janowitz’s beguiling beach tableaux. (Full disclosure: Letter16 Press, a nonprofit publisher of photography books co-founded by this reporter, has helped curate shows at Schoolhouse.)
8 p.m. | Have a quiet dinner
The rows of stately oil-on-canvas portraits silently gazing out from the walls of the intimate dining room at Freemans say it all: Keep it serene. And just in case you missed that message, Freemans refuses to seat parties larger than four or anyone under the age of 21: “We are an Adult Only environment,” warns the website. In spite of those rules — or precisely because of them, for diners exhausted by high-end restaurants acting more like nightclubs — Freemans sees full houses for its inventive takes on Mediterranean cuisine. Start with a bowl of palate-cleansing chilled pea soup ($16), followed by pappardelle in a braised short rib ragout ($38) or the roasted branzino with tzatziki and fennel, apple and radish salad ($46).
10 p.m. | Get your scream on
Many of singer-pianist Billy Hough’s evenings revolve around performing jazzy standards and crowd-pleasing torch songs. But Fridays at the basement Grotta Bar (free) are devoted to what Hough wants to play. That repertoire leans heavily toward the proto-punk pantheon: Imagine the Great American Songbook with Cole Porter and Dorothy Fields swapped out for Lou Reed and Patti Smith. The arrangements are stripped down, but their furious energy remains intact as Hough all but assaults his piano keys, often dragged back from the emotional edge (or a spiraling monologue) by his accompanist on bass, Sue Goldberg. Turns out there’s an audience hungry for this edgier take on the classic piano bar setting, and as this weekly event’s name, Scream Along With Billy, suggests, it’s happy to join in the chorus.
Saturday
9 a.m. | Dig into diner classics
Comfort food is the specialty at Chach, just northwest of the town’s center. A classic diner vibe is in full effect here, and tables of close friends pick up on the previous day’s conversations without missing a beat. Fuel yourself with vanilla-infused French toast topped with fresh fruit ($15) or eggs Benedict with applewood-smoked bacon, tomato and avocado ($17). You’ll find that same inviting atmosphere — and more brunch favorites — at Liz’s Cafe, Anybody’s Bar, in the West End, which also offers outdoor dining. Go for the chicken and waffles ($15) and order a plate of Portuguese flippers — sugar-dusted holeless doughnuts ($11) — for the group.
10 a.m. | Explore the dunes
Provincetown’s dunes occupy a prominent position within local lore; as philosopher Henry David Thoreau wrote of them in 1865, one can look out “and put all America behind him.” Now part of the federally protected Cape Cod National Seashore, the dunes stretch out behind the length of the town like an unspoiled and uninhabited sandy backyard — with the exception of 19 shacks originally built for ocean rescuers that became off-the-grid getaways for writers and artists including Jack Kerouac and Jackson Pollock.
The National Park Service provides free ranger-led walks into the dunes. Experienced hikers can explore on their own by following the Dune Shacks Trail for about 2 miles north from where Snail Road meets Route 6. For a less strenuous hourlong journey, hop into one of Art’s Dune Tours SUVs ($41), driven by guides well versed in the terrain and its tales.
1:30 p.m. | Picnic on the beach
Since you’re now a bit sweaty, return to the center of town to pick up sandwiches and drinks at Pop+Dutch or Far Land Provisions and then head to one of Provincetown’s two marquee beaches ($15 per entry on foot or bicycle, or $25 per car, during the summer). Herring Cove Beach is a bit more social, with a snack bar, a summer concert series, and separate areas favored by gay men, lesbians and those who prefer to sunbathe au naturel. Race Point Beach offers bigger waves, as well as more striking visuals with steep dunes behind you and the expanse of the Atlantic stretching out endlessly ahead. It’s also frequently a lounging area for a horde of seals — as well as the great white sharks that cruise the shoreline to feast on them. Keep your distance.
4:30 p.m. | Shop on Commercial
Provincetown’s legal ban on national chain stores isn’t airtight, but it has helped usher in an array of quirky shops that line Commercial Street in the heart of town. Book lovers have several winning options, including Womencrafts’ unabashedly feminist-themed stock (look for its “48 Years Grateful for My Abortion” street sign), East End Books’ carefully curated new titles, and Tim’s Used Books’ selection of Cape authors and out-of-print art catalogs. Yesterday’s Treasures is packed with all manner of town ephemera, vintage postcards and distinctive gifts (a copy of “The Ethel Merman Disco Album,” anyone?). Mauclère Leather features handcrafted belts, bags and sandals; the Old Baby offers locally themed clothing with a wry edge; Respoke repurposes haute couture into no-less-haute hats and footwear (its motto, “I once was an Hermès scarf,” says it all).
8 p.m. | Grab a lobster roll
Stay on Commercial Street for dinner in an invitingly casual setting at the Irish-pub-style Squealing Pig, where you can order the lightly battered fish and chips ($23) and pair it with a glass of Guinness stout ($9). The Nepali chicken curry ($19) is a less obvious, but no less savory, option (thanks to its Nepal-born chef). Or grab a seat in the Canteen’s backyard, where the beach party atmosphere draws a lively cross section of Provincetown — townie and tourist, young and old, gay and straight. Start with the crispy brussels sprouts ($10) and then settle in for a classic New England lobster roll ($28). The outdoor bar makes it easy to linger over drinks and bask in the harbor view as the sun sets behind you.
10 p.m. | Take in a drag show
Thespians love to cite Provincetown’s role as the birthplace of modern American theater thanks to playwright Eugene O’Neill’s legendary productions here in 1916. (The cultural buzz from those stagings followed him to New York, where he soon went from unemployable to Pulitzer Prize winning.) Such emotionally wrenching plays are a bit thin on the ground in Provincetown these days, but drama — at least in the form of over-the-top drag — is alive and well. There are plenty of performers paying dutiful tribute to divas past and present, but more interesting are the drag queens pointedly — and hilariously — taking aim at all manner of sacred cows, both gay and straight, in venues like the Art House and the sprawling Crown & Anchor complex (most tickets $35 to $45). You can’t go wrong with anything featuring Dina Martina, Varla Jean Merman or the Little Rascals-meet-Russ Meyer ensembles directed by Ryan Landry. (Needless to say, don’t bring the kids.)
After midnight | Get in your last licks
Once the bars close at 1 a.m., Provincetown quickly goes dark. One of the few exceptions is Spiritus, started in 1971 by two visiting hippie entrepreneurs who were astonished to discover that the town was without a single pizzeria. More than five decades later, Spiritus is still owned by co-founder John Yingling, though you are more likely to find his grandchildren behind the counter, slinging pizza slices ($4) and scoops of locally made Lewis Brothers ice cream ($4.25) to hungry late-night revelers until 2 a.m. A fun crowd tends to gather out front in the wee hours, but the benches facing the street are prime people-watching real estate day or night.
Sunday
10:30 a.m. | Keep it artsy
Start the day at one of Angel Foods’ waterfront picnic tables with a cup of coffee ($3) and an egg-and-bacon breakfast sandwich ($7.50). Then head across the street to the Provincetown Art Association and Museum ($15 admission), the town’s cultural flagship since 1914. The days of its members bitterly dividing into aesthetic camps over abstract expressionism versus figuration, complete with hurled insults and threats, are long gone, although an intensity of purpose still prevails.
Current exhibitions include a selection of maritime-themed works curated by museum director Christine McCarthy, showcasing both the town’s fishing tradition and its artists’ stylistic breadth. Continue next door to the Mary Heaton Vorse House (free), once owned by its eponymous crusading journalist, now lovingly restored to its original 18th-century glory and playing summertime host to pop-up art shows installed throughout its rooms.
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KEY STOPS
Provincetown Art Association and Museum, balances a keen sense of history with an appreciation for today’s avant-garde.
Commercial Street is chockablock with shops, art galleries, restaurants, bars and prime people-watching.
Herring Cove Beach can be either meditatively still or sociable, depending on whether you join the crowds near the entrance, head for the areas favored by gay men and lesbians, or stroll to a more deserted stretch along Cape Cod Bay.
WHERE TO EAT
Freemans serves Mediterranean-inspired cuisine in an upscale, leave-the-children-at-home setting.
Mac’s Fish House offers half-price happy hour specials on its locally sourced Wellfleet oysters.
Chach is a beloved brunch spot where tables of last night’s partyers refuel on fluffy French toast.
Liz’s Cafe, Anybody’s Bar is a breakfast destination whose patio attracts noshers from around the West End.
Far Land Provisions has sandwiches and baked goods to eat in or grab en route to the beach.
The Canteen has a harborfront backyard whose relaxed vibe perfectly suits its New England classics.
Spiritus is a magnet for late-night revelers seeking pizza slices and ice cream cones.
Angel Foods is a small East End market with sandwiches and prepared foods, as well as an outdoor area.
WHERE TO STAY
The Crowne Pointe is an upscale inn with an on-site spa and restaurant in the center of town. Rooms from $339, although rates spike — here and at all Provincetown hotels — in July and August.
Gabriel’s Provincetown Hotel offers well-appointed rooms and larger apartments in a relaxed setting, also in the center of town, from $275.
The Breakwater Hotel, once a modest roadside motel, now has chicly renovated rooms across from the bay’s tidal flats on the eastern edge of town, from $159.
Short-term rentals in Provincetown abound, but they can be pricey in the summer. A more economical option is the Beach Point neighborhood, in North Truro, where waterfront condos and homes line Shore Road. A shuttle runs hourly ($2) into Provincetown through Sept. 2.
This article originally appeared in
The New York Times.
