In short, this is a great time to visit Provincetown, and out-of-towners need not resort to Stop & Shop for entertainment. Enough shops, inns, bars, and restaurants are open to make for a rewarding discount getaway. Inns cut their rates or dangle packages stuffed with extra goodies. Stores slash prices to make way for summer merchandise. Enough restaurants stay open to offer plenty of choices and price points, with dinner from $13 (Michael Shay's) to $35 (Bistro at Crowne Pointe). On a super-tight budget? Hit Chach for lunch ($5 average) and take in a free movie at the Art House Cinema or the Cape Inn lounge, which serves drinks and inexpensive pub fare. Although most galleries are closed, art worshipers find sustenance at the Provincetown Art Association and Museum.
One of the advantages of Provincetown is its compact downtown, and most people walk to where they're going. But the wind hurtling in from the ocean can make a few blocks feel like a few miles. Lacking warm gear? Check out the half-price sale on high-quality boots, clothing, and outerwear at Cape Tip Sportswear on Commercial Street. Or shake off the chill at any of several downtown coffee shops (Wired Puppy has free Wi-Fi), or nurse a hot chocolate at the Purple Feather Dessert Café.
"Some places are open in January, but traditionally Valentine's Day weekend starts off the winter season," says Rob Adamcik, a painter who has lived here since 1991. He works as a salesperson at WA, an Asian-inspired antiques and home-goods store on Commercial Street that feels more like a Buddhist temple than a retail emporium, despite a killer back-room sale.
Peter Edmonds, a hat designer and merchant, has owned Mad as a Hatter in Commercial Street's East End for 37 years and has stayed open year-round since 1990. "More stores used to stay open off-season than now, because more people used to come down," Edmonds says. But on a recent winter weekend visit, there was no shortage of activity.
