My own private Provincetown - the best east coast vacation for your money - PHOTOS

Famed nightlife, fine dining, and accommodations - but the secret to PTown is the views

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CAHIR O'DOHERTY,

IrishCentral Staff Writer

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Early morning street scene in the sun washed seaside P-Town.

Photo by Cahir O'Doherty

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The Squealing Pig is a gorgeous, welcoming Irish bar that's a perfect mix of locals and blow-ins. With its low key charm and friendly staff, it provides first time visitors with an ideal way to get to grips with the P-Town scene (and to get away from it, since this bar is a bit of a sanctuary). It's also one of the best places in town to have lunch.

Everyone who goes to P-Town (and pretty much everyone goes there) goes in search of their own private experience. I'm no different. For me Provincetown is all about sea air, swimming, fine dining, nightlife, theatre, and most of all it's about the endless miles of bicycle trails that are among the most breathtaking in the nation.

P-Town is fun, just about any kind of fun. But it's natural beauty provides the restorative experience that only truly memorable vacation destinations can provide. This is a place to quietly renew the spirit on the beach, in the water, on the bike trails or dancing. A morning bike run to the beach or through the pine scented bike trails will cure what ails you for the rest of the year, I promise. And if you haven't brought a bike you can daily rent one for a pittance at PTown Bikes (voted Best Bike Shop on the Cape) located at 42 Bradford Street.

P-Town's art scene has exploded in the last decade. New galleries abound displaying works at every level, running from the most accomplished to the seaside views and decorative works that are crafted to appeal to tourists. There are so many new galleries now that you won't be able to see them all in one day, but the best place to start is at the Provincetown Art Association and Museum at 460 Commercial Street. They know the scene and they'll help you to navigate it.

Why should you go? Because in Provincetown every side street leads to the sparkling water or it takes you into the leafy undiscovered world of accomplished gardening and Cape Cod architecture. If there was a geiger counter to locate the presence of old world charm it would operate at maximum tilt here. Flowers, climbing vines, fragrant herb gardens, quite unspoiled beaches that stretch for miles, they're on every corner here and they add immeasurably to the charm of the place.

PHOTOS - Holiday snaps of the beautiful Provincetown, Cape Cod

Theatre lovers are going to find P-Town a home away from home. After all Broadway is run by the gays so can you be surprised when they bring a show or two with them on holiday? On our recent visit we caught a new kind of boy band on stage at the surprisingly huge theatre venue Art House, located at 214 Commercial Street. Forget One Direction and say hello to Well Strung. This accomplished all-male string quartet featured classical musicians (who also happened to be muscle bound hunks) who astounded the audience with pieces by Mozart, Vivaldi, Rhianna and Lady Gaga. Well Strung were the perfect P-Town blend of accomplishment and fun and they brought the house down.

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