Historic, scenic, and secluded, the former Portuguese fishing community and longtime artists colony of Provincetown is also one of the world's most popular resorts among gay and lesbian travelers. The height of the buzz is summer, especially July and August, but P'town enjoys a year-round presence and can be quite enchanting during the peaceful, windswept winter months and the mild, relaxed spring and fall shoulder seasons. The town continues to improve and become more well-rounded, with more upscale inns, fine art galleries, and superb restaurants than ever before. Its scenic beauty is unparalleled in New England.
Although Provincetown is most popular in summer, and many of its businesses open only from May through October, it's actually an appealing destination year-round, especially during the less-crowded but still mild spring and fall seasons.
Average high-low temps are 37F/23F in Jan., 52F/37F in Apr., 79F/63F in July, and 60F/45F in Oct. Snow falls occasionally in winter but doesn't often last long, and summer breezes generally prevent extended heat waves. Fall and spring offer crisp, cool, and often beautiful weather. Precipitation averages 3 to 4.5 inches/mo. year-round.
Provincetown lies at the very end of Cape Cod, on the so-called "Outer Cape." If you picture the Cape as a curled arm, Provincetown would be the hand. It's at the narrow end of the Cape, and the town itself faces south and is set on sheltered Cape Cod Bay. The western and northern reaches of Provincetown are dominated by the pristine, wind-swept dunes, beaches, and sea grass of Cape Cod National Seashore, and the northern section of town fronts the frothy Atlantic Ocean. Provincetown is at the end of U.S. 6, the main road across Cape Cod.
Driving distances to Provincetown from prominent places and points of interest are:
Boston: 120 miles (2.5 hrs)
Burlington, VT: 330 miles (6 to 6.5 hrs)
Montreal: 490 miles (8 to 8.5 hrs)
Newport, RI: 120 miles (2.5 hrs)
New Haven, CT: 220 miles (3.5 to 4.5 hrs)
New York City: 300 miles (5.5 to 6.5 hrs)
Northampton: 210 miles (4 to 4.5 hrs)
Portland, ME: 210 miles (4 to 4.5 hrs)
Providence, RI: 120 miles (2.5 hrs)
Sagamore Bridge (entrance to Cape Cod): 60 miles (75 min)
Washington, DC: 520 miles (8 to 9 hrs)
Provincetown is a relatively easy place to reach without a car, and it's very easy to explore on foot; in summer the traffic is horrendous, and a car can actually be a liability, so consider leaving it at home.
Cape Air has direct service from Boston's busy Logan International to Provincetown Airport. The most popular way to get here from Boston is by high-speed passenger ferry (90 min) on Bay State Cruise Company and Boston Harbor Cruises - service is May thru Oct. Also note the seasonal ferry from Plymouth on Capt. John Boats. There's excellent bus service to and around P'town (see Traveling to Cape Cod).
Late Mar. to mid-Apr.: New Provincetown Players Spring Playwrights' Festival.
Mid-May: Single Women's Weekend.
Mid-May: Women of Color & Allies Weekend.
Mid-June: Provincetown International Film Festival.
Early July: Circuit Party Week.
Mid-July.: Provincetown Summer Bear Week.
Late July to early Aug.: Family Pride Coalition's Family Week.
Early Aug.: Provincetown JazzFest.
Late Aug.: Provincetown Carnival Week
Late Sept.: Tennessee Williams Theater Festival
Early Oct.: Women's Week
Mid-Oct.: Fantasia Fair
Early Nov.: Meet Your Man In Provincetown Weekend
Late Nov.: Holly Folly Gay & Lesbian Holiday Festival
Provincetown is the smallest town on the Cape in area (it also has one of the smallest year-round populations), and much of the town is occupied by Cape Cod National Seashore, which extends from P'town's western tip to the north and then east to the next town, Truro. The town itself has two main drags, Commercial Street and Bradford Street. P'town generally referred to as having three sections, the quiet and peaceful West End, the bustling downtown center, and the East End, which has a number of galleries and guesthouses.
From P'town, as you head east on U.S. 6, you come to the charming towns of Truro and Wellfleet.
Provincetown has a handful of prominent attractions, but the main things to do here are relax, browse the many cool shops and galleries, enjoy the outdoors (perhaps biking or visiting the beach at Cape Cod National Seashore.
Attractions right in town general revolve around history and culture. There's the 252-foot-tall Pilgrim Monument, which looms over town(you can climb to the top for an amazing view). You can learn about the town's rich art history at the striking Provincetown Art Association and Museum. There are also terrific whale-watching excursions, and memorable seashore trips offered by Art's Dune Tours.
A handful of resources provide information on the city in general, and a few on the local gay scene. For general visitor information, contact the Provincetown Chamber of Commerce. The Provincetown Business Guild is your one-stop for information on gay-oriented and gay-friendly accommodations, restaurants, shopping, and trip-planning. The local Provincetown Banner has plenty of local info on the town. And the popular biweekly newspapers In Newsweekly and Bay Windows) cover all of New England and have frequent coverage on Provincetown.
America's premier gay resort developed as an arts colony at the turn of the 20th century. A young artist and entrepreneur named Charles Hawthorne, charmed by the town's seclusion and magnificent setting, founded the Cape Cod School of Art, one of America's first open-air academies. By 1916 the town's once vibrant fishing industry had slowed, and its whaling industry had died. But a half-dozen art schools had opened; the Provincetown Art Association had staged its first exhibitions; and a small band of modernist theater folk - notably the young Eugene O'Neill and Edna St. Vincent Millay - had begun to produce plays on a small wharf in the town's East End.
During the next few decades, many leaders of the nation's artistic and literary movements spent summers here, but as time passed, the town was identified increasingly for its outrageousness - its willingness to flout convention. By the 1960s Provincetown had become a haven for anyone whose artistic leaning, political platform, social manifesto, or sexual persuasion was subject to persecution elsewhere in America. Today the most visibly gay resort community in the United States, excepting the Pines and Cherry Grove in Fire Island, is as appealing to artists as it is to gay and lesbian tourists.
And more recently, Provincetown has become more eclectic. From late June through Labor Day, gays are still the most visible tourists and part-time residents in town, but the rest of the year sees all kinds of visitors, gay and straight. Additionally, businesses here now cater to a somewhat more affluent crowd. T-shirt and taffy shops now share space along Commercial Street with sophisticated art galleries and hip boutiques.
Whereas 10 or 15 years ago, the lodging landscape in summer was dominated by modest gay guesthouses with cheap, bare-bones rooms, Provincetown now has 15 or 20 upscale gay-owned inns with elegant rooms, fine amenities, and rather steep rates to match. Provincetown becomes ever-more sophisticated each season, which is not to say it's any less of a town to let your hair down, party, dish with old friends, or make new ones.
Not everyone who's been visiting P'town for years appreciates the way it's continued to gentrify and become more mainstream, but most visitors - and residents - appreciate the increased diversity and variety of places to shop, eat, and stay. There's little question that Provincetown will be a top gay resort getaway for decades to come.
