Located at the tip of Cape Cod, Provincetown has overlapping — and sometimes competing — identities: one of America’s oldest art colonies, nature preserve, thriving LGBTQ+ resort and historic Portuguese fishing village. Among the few points of agreement in P-town, as locals call it, is that soaring housing costs and a creeping sense of Hamptons-­style gentrification present an existential threat to this self-styled bohemian idyll that has over the years inspired literati. Yet while everybody likes to complain about how Provincetown is changing, filmmaker and summer resident John Waters wrote in his 2019 “Mr. Know-It-All” collection of essays, “I feel that if I dropped a piece of gum on the corner of Bradford and Court in the late ’60s, it would still be there today.”

Friday

4 p.m. Slurp some oysters

Don’t even bother unpacking. Instead, head straight for Mac’s Fish House to catch its daily 3 to 5 p.m. happy hour with half-price Wellfleet oysters (12 for $18), harvested from Wellfleet’s harbor bed and prized for their tangy brininess leavened by a hint of sweetness. Equally appealing is Mac’s itself. Although the establishment is part of a Cape-wide group of restaurants and markets, complete with its own fishing fleet, this seafood mini-empire opened as a clam shack in 1995 by then-20-year-old Mac Hay with an emphasis on all things local. That appealingly modest vibe endures.

6 p.m. Take an art stroll

On Friday evenings, many of Provincetown’s nearly three dozen galleries open new shows. Most of the galleries are tucked inside the quaint 19th-century homes sitting cheek-by-jowl along the brick sidewalks of Commercial Street’s East End, making it easy to dip in and out. For impressive dives into Provincetown’s past, head to the Bakker Gallery and the Berta Walker Gallery.

The cream of this local scene’s contemporary crop is showcased at the William Scott Gallery, with John Dowd’s noir-infused Cape landscapes.

8 p.m. Have a quiet dinner

The stately portraits silently gazing from the walls of the dining room at Freemans say it all: Keep it serene. In fact, Freemans refuses to seat parties larger than four or anyone under the age of 21: “We are an Adult Only environment,” warns the website. In spite of those rules — or precisely because of them, for diners exhausted by high-end restaurants acting more like nightclubs — Freemans sees full houses for its inventive takes on Mediterranean cuisine. Start with a bowl of palate-cleansing chilled pea soup ($16), followed by pappardelle in a braised short rib ragout ($38) or the roasted branzino with tzatziki and fennel, apple and radish salad ($46).

10 p.m. Get your scream on

Many of singer-pianist Billy Hough’s evenings revolve around performing jazzy standards and crowd-pleasing torch songs. But Fridays at the basement Grotta Bar (free) are devoted to what Hough wants to play. That repertoire leans heavily toward the proto-punk pantheon: Imagine the Great American Songbook with Cole Porter swapped out for Lou Reed. The arrangements are stripped down, but their furious energy remains intact as Hough all but assaults his piano keys.

Saturday

9 a.m. Dig into diner classics

Comfort food is the specialty at Chach, just northwest of the town’s center, and a classic diner vibe is in full effect here. Fuel yourself with vanilla-infused French toast topped with fresh fruit ($15) or eggs Benedict with applewood-smoked bacon, tomato and avocado ($17). You’ll find that same inviting atmosphere and fare at Liz’s Cafe. Go for the chicken and waffles ($15).

10 a.m. Explore the dunes

Provincetown’s dunes occupy a prominent position within local lore; as philosopher Henry David Thoreau wrote of them in 1865, one can look out “and put all America behind him.” Now part of the federally protected Cape Cod National Seashore, the dunes stretch out behind the length of the town, populated by 19 shacks that were off-the-grid getaways for writers and artists including Jack Kerouac and Jackson Pollock.

The National Park Service provides free ranger-led walks into the dunes. Experienced hikers can explore on their own by following the Dune Shacks Trail for about 2 miles north from where Snail Road meets Route 6.

1:30 p.m. Picnic on the beach

Return to the center of town to pick up sandwiches and drinks at Pop+Dutch or Far Land Provisions and then head to one of two marquee beaches ($15 per entry on foot or bicycle, or $25 per car, during the summer). Herring Cove Beach is a bit more social, with a summer concert series and separate areas favored by gay men, lesbians and those who sunbathe au naturel. Race Point Beach offers bigger waves and striking visuals — steep dunes behind you and the Atlantic ahead. It’s frequently a lounging area for a horde of seals — as well as the great white sharks that cruise the shoreline to feast on them. Keep your distance.

4:30 p.m. Shop on Commercial

Provincetown’s legal ban on national chain stores isn’t airtight, but it has helped usher in an array of quirky shops that line Commercial Street in the heart of town. Book lovers have several winning options, including Womencrafts’ unabashedly feminist-themed stock, East End Books’ carefully curated new titles, and Tim’s Used Books’ selection of Cape authors and out-of-print art catalogs. Respoke repurposes haute couture into no-less-haute hats and footwear (its motto, “I once was an Hermes scarf,” says it all).

8 p.m. Grab a lobster roll

Stay on Commercial Street for dinner in an invitingly casual setting at the Irish-pub-style Squealing Pig, where you can order the lightly battered fish and chips ($23) and pair it with a glass of Guinness stout ($9). Or grab a seat in the Canteen’s backyard, with its the beach party atmosphere, and settle in for a classic New England lobster roll ($28).

10 p.m. Take in a drag show

Thespians love to cite Provincetown’s role as the birthplace of modern American theater, thanks to playwright Eugene O’Neill’s legendary productions here in 1916. Today, drama — at least in the form of over-the-top drag — is alive and well. There are plenty of performers paying dutiful tribute to divas past and present, but more interesting are the drag queens pointedly — and hilariously — taking aim at all manner of sacred cows, both gay and straight, in venues like the Art House and the sprawling Crown & Anchor complex (most tickets $35 to $45).

Sunday

10:30 a.m. Keep it artsy

Start the day at of Angel Foods with a cup of coffee ($3) and an egg-and-bacon breakfast sandwich ($7.50). Then head across the street to the Provincetown Art Association and Museum ($15 admission), the town’s cultural flagship since 1914. The days of its members bitterly dividing into aesthetic camps over abstract expressionism versus figuration are long gone, although an intensity of purpose still prevails.

Continue next door to the Mary Heaton Vorse House (free), once owned by its eponymous crusading journalist, now lovingly restored to its original 18th-century glory.

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This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

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