Ocean Street in Hyannis is the reason why Hyannis is known as the Main Street of Cape Cod. Nautical antiques, music, handmade jewelry, and even a bookstore that features nautical tomes, line the street. As you walk Ocean Street, don’t be surprised if with every step you see another storefront that intrigues you. All in all, it’s a win-win situation – you’ll pick up some items you need, and will have unwittingly gotten in that cardio workout you thought you had left standing by the treadmill at home before casting off.

If Nantucket beckons, but you’d prefer to let someone else take the wheel for a while, Hyannis is your jumping-off point. Two ferries of differing speeds leave from here, as does a regular, five-minute airplane flight, if the idea of an hour on a ferry is too much for you.

A few streets inland, Hyannis’ commercial district will surprise you. Although no building is more than three of four stories high, you’ll swear you’re in the heart of a major city instead of halfway out on a peninsula. Explore Route 6, the old Grand Army Highway, which will take you west to Sandwich and Bourne or east to Chatham and Provincetown.

The northern reach of Barnstable, comprised of the seven townships of Hyannis, Osterville, Cotuit, Centerville, Marstons Mills, West Barnstable and Barnstable Village, features a quiet town center where the local historical organizations hold a weekly series of lectures entitled “Tales of Cape Cod.” Serene wildlife sanctuaries like Long Pasture highlight local breeding bird populations and protect endangered species like plovers and terns.

And no American can utter the word Hyannis without thinking of the late President John F. Kennedy. The locals have worked hard to memorialize their martyred hero, through a reflecting pool overlooking the family compound just offshore to a full-fledged museum downtown.

Hyannis and the rest of Barnstable present a little bit of everything Cape Cod has to offer, and gives visitors every opportunity to revel in the area.

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