We get it — you’re skeptical that we’re listing a public library as an attraction to see while visiting a well-known beach town. But the recently restored Provincetown Library gives entirely new meaning to reading on the beach.

Located literally right off the sand in downtown Provincetown, the library is an excellent place for families to check out while trying to escape the sweltering summer heat. Aside from being filled with an excellent variety of fiction and non-fiction from classic and contemporary authors, the library houses some excellent and visually engaging art, along with a few museum-like exhibits.

Perhaps most well-known is the library’s half-scale model schooner, the Rose Dorothea, a grand celebration of the town’s aquatic cultural heritage.

The library is an excellent way to spend a few hours inside; relax and check out all the wonderful history. And if you get bored, you can always crawl up with a good book until things cool off outside. Oh, and if you think it looks like a church, that’s because it used to be; the 150-year-old Center Methodist Episcopal Church, to be exact.

Tip: Make sure you check out the view from the top floor. You’ll thank us later.