By land, whether you arrive from the north or from the west, you will cross the Cape Cod Canal at either Bourne or Sagamore over one of two imposing bridges, allowing for a spectacular view of the canal below and Buzzards Bay or Cape Cod Bay stretching off into the distance.

Arriving by air in either Hyannis or Provincetown, a traveler by day will see the entire outline of the Cape and Islands surrounded by the bluest sea and fringed with sand dunes; at night, the Cape sparkles with thousands of lights and the beams of the many lighthouses that mark the harbor entrances and the treacherous coastline. The short flight from Boston--about 20 minutes--is truly spectacular.

By sea, whether arriving at Martha's Vineyard or Nantucket, or Provincetown via Boston, the Cape emerges from a lush green horizon into a coastline of harbors and gray-shingled buildings, accented by the "widow's walks" of sea captains' homes and the soaring spires of old churches. These spires provided mariners of centuries past with visible landmarks as they made their way along the coast.