There's no other place quite like P-town. It's the country's oldest continuous art colony, an active fishing village, and a gay mecca. Where else can you spend the evening wandering the art galleries, tuck into fried clams or a lobsta dinnah, and then bump into three or four Chers and a gaggle of Gagas on your walk home?
A glimpse of Provincetown architecture by Chris Seufert (from the Internet)
Once you’re in P-town, everything is within a 10-20 minute walking distance, with the ocean, shops, galleries and quirky New England architecture all along the way. If you prefer to drive from the Inn to the center of town, there's (for-a-fee) parking on McMillan Wharf and at Duarte's lot off of Bradford. If you prefer to take a taxi or pedicab, they'll be waiting at the front door of the Inn. If you plan to stay a few extra days (stay, stay!) there's also whale watching, bike rentals, National Park Service bike trails, dune rides, and that big sandy thing--yeah, the beach.
Some reading
. Wikipedia has a decent history of Provincetown, with pictures, stats and links. Did you know that the Pilgrims landed first in P-town? And that they landed pretty much on the site of The Provincetown Inn, where The Encaustic Confterence takes place?
. The Provincetown Gallery Guide online is an 80-page listing, with pictures and info, of the huge number of galleries in town. The guide that's up now is from 2015-16, with this June the last month of listings, but that should be enough to at least give you a sense of the abundance of offerings. (Use the magnifying glass icon to enlarge the pages.)
. Visit the Arts and Culture guide on The Provincetown Tourist Office website
The famed Provincetown light, with a view of the working harbor
(Click pic to see it larger) JM photo
And click here for Wikipedia's entry on Provincetown Harbor
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(Click pic to see it larger) JM photo
And click here for Wikipedia's entry on Provincetown Harbor
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The beach in town. Many restaurants have decks overlooking the water; you can just see one in at the left side of this picture
Some Eating
The many sit-down restaurants range in price from reasonable to pricy. The Provincetown.com Restaurant Guide offers a list of offerings, with menus and prices. (Remember, The Conference is providing lunch on Friday, Saturday and Sunday; Inn guests get a continental breakfast; and there's an opt-in dinner at the Inn on Saturday before the evening's Keynote talk.) There's also a listing for coffeeshops, pizza and other quick food (no McD's or BK here). If you have a favorite restaurant, coffeeshop or pizza place, why not put it in the Comments section.
Lobstah? Ya want lobstah? This is crustacean central--great fried clams, too--and while it looks small, it's not. Two floors of dining rooms extend all the way back to the water
I'm not sure what the Portuguese word for fried dough is, but it's boa--good. Sure, you'll hate yourself later. Have some pizza with broccoli and feel virtuous. . .
Best pizza in P-town (image from the Internet)
This group of eateries, right next to Town Hall, covers all the bases
More eats. Don't forget your Lipitor. But, this cluster comes with a weight-control option: Rent a bike and ride off the calories!
Local Color
I'm not sure, but beige and tweed may actually be outlawed here (just kidding). Nothing is too unusual for Commercial Street, though.
Just your average ad for a pedicab
A violin concert outside the (now newly refurbished) library
Talk about a beehive. This is Lucy Belle (image from the Internet)
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