CAPE COOL

P-TOWN GIVES A WARM WELCOME TO WINTER VISITORS

Provincetown's beauty, ambience and welcoming spirit is renowned in the summer season. But the famous tip of Cape Cod is a wonderful place to visit in the winter, too. An offseason getaway to P-town takes everything great about the place — scenery, history, food, culture and hospitality — and distills it to a rich experience you just can't get in the busy summer months.

True, some businesses are closed over the winter. The fun shops of Main Street are about half open. But that's a positive: Without crowds and with a quieter vibe, you can poke around those shops and chat with and get to know the purveyors, something hard to do in the summer.

The winter streets are peaceful. Walking them and cozying up in the hotels and restaurants that are open is not just mesmerizing, it's a great way to recover and recharge. Winter salt air just does that for you. The hotels that remain open are listed on the Provincetown Chamber of Commerce site (they vary from year to year). Of the 80 or so guesthouses and B&Bs, about 10 remain open. That kind of coziness is romantic and just plain fun. And there's plenty to do, as always, but with a winter twist. The beach is a huge draw in the summer, and winter is no different. Bundling up and hiking or walking the beach in the winter is a breathtaking experience. Vast and lovely, the beaches stretch out before you, often with only you as far as you can see in the winter months.