Provincetown Travel Guide

This historic fishing port is, not surprisingly, an ideal locale to feast on New England seafood. From lobster roll shacks to award-winning waterfront restaurants, you’ll find plenty of options for satisfying your craving. Provincetown attracts celebrated chefs from around the globe who both add their own spin to local cuisine and continue to expand the town’s culinary scene.

Serving some of the Cape’s boldest, most creative dishes, Joon showcases the region’s finest seasonal ingredients, prepared with a wide range of international influences. The inviting space is both cosy and elegant. Offerings may include wood-roasted wild mushrooms with miso bacon vin and wonton crisps or oxtail rillettes with horseradish cream. The sommelier also does a fantastic job pairing with the extensive wine selection. Even relatively standard items are given a different take—like duck sliders with apple turnip slaw and the bottarga (cured roe) Caesar salad with pan-fried duck egg—ensuring a finely executed, memorable dining experience.

James Beard award-winning chef Barbara Lynch’s Southern European-inspired take on New England cuisine at Spindler’s has quickly established itself as a welcome addition to Commercial Street’s East End. The menu includes seafood chorizo stew with tomato ragu and plump Wellfleet oysters on the half shell, plus lighter bar snacks like mini lobster rolls and moules frites. A softly lit outdoor deck and bar serves artful cocktails—such as the Naked & Famous (with mezcal, aperol, citrus, and yellow chartreuse) curated from Lynch’s Boston cocktail bar, Drink.

For a fine example of classic New England fare in a relaxed, romantic setting, take a stroll along Commercial Street to the West End’s upscale Red Inn. Arrive early and enjoy the lovely bay-side setting—a colourful garden and deck with rocking chairs overlooking the water. Seafood is the star of the menu, with plenty of options to suit your appetite: light (local oysters), rich (lobster and artichoke fondue), or hearty (pan-roasted local cod).

The playfully masculine décor and Mediterranean-inspired menu at Strangers and Saints create the quintessential tavern atmosphere—it’s a sophisticated spot for a fine cocktail and a delicious dinner. The contemporary design and historic interior elements, including weathered-wood floors, a fireplace, and copper fixtures, echo the building’s former life as a 19th-century’s whaler’s house. Offerings include oven-blistered clam-pancetta pizzas, scallop crudo, burrata with heirloom cherry tomatoes, and a stellar selection of house cocktails, well-chosen wines, and craft beers.

One of Provincetown’s many charms is its abundance of small, idiosyncratic inns and lack of cookie-cutter chain hotels. If one-of-a-kind is your thing, you’ll find plenty to pique your interest in one of the 18 ornately luxurious suites at Land’s End Inn. Perched atop Gull Hill in the quiet West End, this rambling historical home features expansive porches with ocean views. The over-the-top Art Nouveau decor and Victorian stained glass will instantly transport you to a time before cell phones and social media preening.

Comprising six restored Victorian buildings and a main mansion, Crowne Pointe Historic Inn is centrally located among Provincetown points of interest, one block from the shops, bars, and restaurants of Commercial Street, near Pilgrim’s Monument. The grounds include the exclusive Kiehl’s Shui Spa, exceptional dining at the Pointe Restaurant, in-suite fireplaces, and a small but lovely outdoor swimming pool. Across the street, the owners also operate a sister inn, the Brass Key, that’s also home to one of Provincetown’s trendiest little gay bars, the Shipwreck Lounge.

The East End’s Salt House Inn has beautifully appointed rustic interiors that have a decided flair for contemporary design—rooms feature clean lines, white walls, vintage signs and artwork, and top-of-the-line C.O. Bigelow bath products. The daily changing country breakfast, featuring local, seasonal ingredients, includes dishes like house-made granola, basil and goat cheese frittata, and bourbon caramel cake.

Watch the sunrise and hear the seagulls from your wharf cottage at Poor Richard’s Landing. This artist-friendly East End community has housed notable guests from Tennessee Williams to John Waters, and it’s easy to see why it’s so popular with creative types once you enter the sculpture-filled garden and find your room among the small weathered-shingle buildings overlooking Provincetown Harbor.

You’ll find compelling and innovative art and design objects at Room 68, which features contemporarily designed home furnishings from emerging international designers and rotating art exhibits. The small and well-curated Adam’s Nest showcases a subversive, intriguing selection of art, apparel, books, and other hard-to-find-items from provocative queer artists.

For a quick, refreshing break from shopping, head to Kohi Coffee Company, which is tucked behind a storefront and faces the water, and brews outstanding single-origin beans from Portland, Maine’s Tandem Coffee Roasters. The sandwich shop and speciality grocery store Pop+Dutch is hard to miss with its cheerful sign selling “Sandwiches. Salads. Lube.” (a nod to the building’s past, as it was once known as the “S&M deli”). Don’t let the odd combination fool you—the food is good, too! Sandwiches include the Agent Dale Cooper (house-made turkey breast and avocado) and the egg and cheddar breakfast brioche with cherrywood-smoked bacon. 141 Market carries fresh produce and gourmet goods—an organic juice bar serves combinations like fennel-strawberry-mint and sweet potato-maca-almond butter and a vegetarian and vegan hot bar that features Thai, Middle Eastern, Mexican, and other international dishes on a rotating basis. To indulge in some local snacks and sweets, try the one-two punch that is Canteen and Happy Camper. Canteen has classic New England standbys like lobster rolls and clam chowder, while Happy Camper can sate a sugar craving with anything from black tea-and-plum crème doughnuts to honeycomb ice cream.