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.

While there’s plenty of coastal scenery and cultural activities to keep you occupied in town, it’s well worth your time to explore the unique geography and quiet charm of the surrounding Outer Cape. For a memorable and relaxing beach day, you have two large areas nearby to explore, both of them part of Cape Cod National Seashore. A short distance from the West End of town, Herring Cove Beach has calm waters, white sand, and an outdoor snack bar operated by Far Land Provisions, which serves very good food. It’s perfect for a lazy afternoon in the sun. Just around the bend, for a dip in the Atlantic, Race Point Beach is an ideal spot to remind you you’re at the edge of the continent, with nothing but blue seas on the horizon. Here you’ll find the fenced sand dunes and deep blue waters that Cape Cod’s beaches are so well known for. One of the best ways to explore the vast sand dunes of Cape Cod National Seashore is on an off-roading adventure with Art’s Dune Tours. You’ll experience the iconic landscape that has inspired countless writers and artists—including Eugene O’Neill and Harry Kemp—and feast on classic New England fare, like steamed lobster, clam chowder, and Portuguese kale soup.

For a change of pace from all the street and beach activity, step into the beautifully designed Provincetown Art Association and Museum to view the latest exhibit and stroll through the shaded sculpture garden. And to take in a view of the Cape from above, just a few paces inland, visit the iconic 252-foot-tall Pilgrim Monument, which commemorates the Mayflower Pilgrims’ first landing in the New World in 1620.

For a scenic jaunt to one of the most charming small towns on the Cape, drive 20 minutes south along US 6 to visit Wellfleet, a picturesque town with a colourful artists’ community. In addition to beaches on both the bay and the ocean, you’ll find galleries and boutiques—many set in historic buildings along Commercial Street—and, of course, local oysters and other delicious seafood. Take in the scenery and try the mouth-watering buttered lobster roll at the casual outdoor seafood restaurant Mac’s on the Pier, at the foot of Commercial Street, overlooking Wellfleet Harbor. For a more substantial dining experience and one of the best seafood meals in the Cape, try their sister restaurant Mac’s Shack, a 10-minute walk north.

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. At Kiss and Makeup you’ll discover a variety of organic, vegan, and natural beauty and grooming products, many of them – beard oils and facial cleaners, for example – geared toward men.

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.