Stratford-upon-Avon
We’ve compiled the best of the best in Stratford-upon-Avon - browse our top choices for the top things to see or do during your stay.
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1. Anne Hathaway’s Cottage
The most picturesque of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust properties, this thatched cottage on the western outskirts of Stratford is the family home of the woman Shakespeare married in 1582. The "cottage," actually a substantial Tudor farmhouse with latticed windows, is astonishingly beautiful. Inside, it is surprisingly cozy with lots of period furniture, including the love seat on which Shakespeare reputedly conducted his courtship and a rare carved Elizabethan bed. The cottage garden is planted in lush Edwardian style with herbs and flowers. Wildflowers are grown in the adjacent orchard (a nod to what was grown in the garden in the Hathaways’ time), and the neighboring arboretum has trees, shrubs, and roses mentioned in Shakespeare's works. The best way to get here is on foot, especially in late spring when the apple trees are in blossom. The signed path runs from Evesham Place (an extension of Grove Road) opposite Chestnut Walk. Pick up a leaflet with a map from the tourist office; the walk takes 25–30 minutes.
Cottage La., Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, CV37 9HH, England01789-338532Sight Details
Rate Includes: £15; Shakespeare\'s Story ticket (includes entry to Shakespeare\'s New Place and Shakespeare\'s Birthplace) £26.50 -
2. Holy Trinity Church
This 13th-century church on the banks of the River Avon is the final resting place of William Shakespeare. He was buried here not because he was a famed poet but because he was a lay rector of Stratford, owning a portion of the township tithes. On the north wall of the sanctuary, over the altar steps, is the famous marble bust created by Gerard Jansen in 1623 and thought to be a true likeness of Shakespeare. The bust offers a more human, even humorous, perspective when viewed from the side. Also in the chancel are the graves of Shakespeare's wife, Anne; his daughter, Susanna; his son-in-law, John Hall; and his granddaughter's first husband, Thomas Nash. Also here is the christening font in which Shakespeare was baptized.
Old Town, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, CV37 6BG, England01789-266316Sight Details
Rate Includes: £4 donation requested -
3. Royal Shakespeare Theatre
Overlooking Bancroft Gardens and with views along the River Avon, the Stratford home of the world-renowned Royal Shakespeare Company is undoubtedly one of the best places in the world to watch a Shakespearean play. The company has existed since 1879 and today boasts three Stratford venues: the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, the Swan Theatre (on the site of the original Shakespeare Memorial Theatre), and The Other Place. There's a great rooftop restaurant at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, plus a popular Behind the Scenes tour. You can also ascend to the theater’s tower, for free, for a panoramic view of Stratford.
Waterside, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, CV37 6BB, England01789-331111Sight Details
Rate Includes: Behind the Scenes tour £12; tower free -
4. Shakespeare’s Birthplace
A half-timber house typical of its time, the playwright's birthplace is a much-visited shrine that has been altered and restored since Shakespeare lived here. Passing through the modern visitor center, you are immersed in the world of Shakespeare through a state-of-the-art exhibition that includes evocative audio and visuals from contemporary stagings of his plays. The house itself is across the garden from the visitor center. Colorful wall decorations and furnishings reflect comfortable, middle-class Elizabethan domestic life. You can view his father’s workshop and you can see the very room where Shakespeare was born. Mark Twain and Charles Dickens were both pilgrims here, and you can see the signatures of Thomas Carlyle and Walter Scott scratched into the windowpanes. In the garden, actors present excerpts from his plays. There’s also a café and bookshop on the grounds.
Henley St., Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, CV37 6QW, England01789-204016Sight Details
Rate Includes: £20; Shakespeare\'s Story ticket (includes Anne Hathaway’s Cottage and Gardens and Shakespeare’s New Place) £26.50 -
5. Shakespeare’s New Place
This is the spot where Shakespeare lived for the last 19 years of his life and where he wrote many of his plays, including The Tempest. Though the actual 15th-century building he inhabited was torn down in the 18th century, the site was imaginatively reinterpreted in 2016 as an outdoor space where the footprint of the original house can be traced. Each of his 38 plays is represented by a pennant in the Golden Garden, and his sonnets are engraved into the stone paving. Highlights include a mulberry tree that some believe was given to Shakespeare by King James I and a restored Elizabethan knot garden. A permanent exhibition inside the neighboring Nash’s House tells the story of the New Place and Shakespeare’s family life within it; there's also a roof terrace, which provides views of the gardens. Nash’s House was once home to Thomas Nash, the husband of Shakespeare’s granddaughter, Elizabeth Hall.
22 Chapel St., Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, CV37 6EP, England01789-204016Sight Details
Rate Includes: £15; Shakespeare\'s Story ticket (includes Anne Hathaway’s Cottage and Gardens & Shakespeare’s Birthplace) £26.50 -
Recommended Fodor’s Video
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6. Bancroft Gardens
Between the Royal Shakespeare Theatre and Clopton Bridge lie these well-tended expanses of lawns and flower beds. The swans gliding gracefully along the river are permanent residents, coexisting with the pleasure craft on the river and the nearby canal. The centerpiece of the gardens is the Gower Memorial statue, designed in 1888 by Lord Gower and adorned with bronze figures of Hamlet, Lady Macbeth, Falstaff, and Prince Hal—symbols of philosophy, tragedy, comedy, and history, respectively.
Off Waterside, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, CV37 6BA, England -
7. Charlecote Park
A celebrated house in the village of Hampton Lucy just outside Stratford, Charlecote Park is a Prodigy house, built in 1558 by Sir Thomas Lucy to impress Queen Elizabeth I (the house is even shaped like the letter "E" in her honor). Shakespeare knew the house—he was supposedly even caught poaching deer here. Overlooking the River Avon, the redbrick manor is striking and sprawling. It was renovated in neo-Elizabethan style by the Lucy family, represented here by numerous portraits, during the mid-19th century. A carved ebony bed is one of many spectacular pieces of furniture. The Tudor gatehouse is unchanged since Shakespeare's day, and a collection of carriages, a Victorian kitchen, and a small brewery occupy the outbuildings. Indulge in a game of croquet near the quirky, thatched, Victorian-era summer hut, or explore the deer park landscaped by Capability Brown. Interesting themed tours and walks take place in summer—call in advance to find out what's on offer. The house is five miles northeast of Stratford; by car it is reached via the B4086 or it costs around £15 in a taxi from Stratford-upon-Avon.
Wellesbourne, Warwick, Warwickshire, CV35 9ER, England01789-470277Sight Details
Rate Includes: £11 -
8. Compton Verney
A neoclassical country mansion remodeled in the 1760s by Scottish architect Robert Adam has been repurposed by the Peter Moores Foundation as an art museum with more than 800 works. The house is set on 120 acres of spectacular rolling parkland landscaped by Capability Brown. Intriguingly varied works of art are beautifully displayed in restored rooms: British folk art and portraits, textiles, Chinese pottery and bronzes, southern Italian art from 1600 to 1800, and German art from 1450 to 1600 are the main focus. Tours take place Tuesday through Sunday and bank holidays at noon. It's 10 miles east of Stratford; by car, take the B4086.
Off B4086, Kineton, Warwickshire, CV35 9HZ, England01926-645500Sight Details
Rate Includes: £17, Closed Dec.–Mar. except certain weekends in Feb. and Mon. except bank holidays -
9. Guild Chapel
This historic chapel is the noble centerpiece of Stratford's Guild buildings, including the Guildhall, the Grammar School, and the almshouses—all well known to Shakespeare. It also houses some of the finest surviving medieval wall paintings in Europe. The ancient structure was rebuilt in the late Perpendicular style in the 5th century. The paintings were covered with limewash during the Reformation on orders given to Shakespeare’s father, who was mayor at the time. Some of the most impressive paintings, rediscovered hundreds of years later, have now been restored and can be viewed, including an ornate painting known as The Doom above the chancel arch. Restoration on other paintings continues.
Chapel La., Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, CV37 6EP, England01789-207111Sight Details
Rate Includes: Free, donations welcome -
10. MAD Museum
Push buttons and pedals to your heart's content to make the exhibits in the Mechanical Art & Design Museum come alive. Witty, beautiful, and intricate automata and examples of kinetic art will clank, whir, and rattle away. Marbles and Ping-Pong balls thread and bounce through looping runs, a typewriter plays tunes on glasses and bottles, and two trains chuff around high up on the walls. Kids will love constructing their own marble run, and grown-ups will marvel at the Kitchenator display. There's also a shop full of weird and wonderful things to buy. Tickets last all day so you can come and go as you please.
4–5 Henley St., Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, CV37 6PT, England01789-269356Sight Details
Rate Includes: £7.80 -
11. Shakespeare Distillery
Gin is really having a moment in England right now, and this distillery is embracing the trend while combining traditional Tudor ingredients with modern handcrafting techniques. Tours (1¼ hours) give a concise overview of how gin is made and also include a complimentary gin and tonic, plus a guided tasting of three spirits. There is also a shop at 1 High Street that sells the distillery's products.
Drayton Manor Dr., Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, CV37 9RQ, England01789-336559Sight Details
Rate Includes: £17.50, Closed Mon. and Tues. -
12. Shakespeare’s Schoolroom and Guildhall
Dating from the early 15th century, the Guildhall is where a young Shakespeare went to school and where he was allegedly first introduced to the world of theater. Once the administrative center of the town, it now serves as a heritage center where visitors can see newly discovered medieval wall paintings, including two of the oldest surviving Tudor roses in England, plus take part in a lesson in the very room where Shakespeare was once taught. In the 16th century, the Guildhall was where the city council once sat, including John Shakespeare, Shakespeare’s father, who was town mayor in the 1560s. Around this time it also became home to the King’s New School, and shortly afterward William Shakespeare attended as a pupil. On the first floor is the Guildhall proper, where traveling acting companies performed to obtain their licenses. Many historians believe that it was after seeing the troupe known as the Earl of Leicester’s Men in 1587 that Shakespeare got the acting bug and set off for London. Today the building is still home to a school, and lessons take place on weekday mornings during term time before the attraction opens at 11 am.
Church St., Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, CV37 6HB, England01789-203170Sight Details
Rate Includes: £12.50 -
13. Stratford-upon-Avon Butterfly Farm
The United Kingdom’s largest exotic butterfly collection is housed in a tropical greenhouse, a two-minute walk past the Bridgefoot footbridge (spiders, caterpillars, and insects from all over the world also make their home here). Kids can watch as butterflies emerge from pupae, search for caterpillars among the plants, or take a look at a toxic black widow spider. The ant colony is another highlight. There is also a fantastic shop, plus places to picnic in the lovely garden.
Swan's Nest La., Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, CV37 7LS, England01789-299288Sight Details
Rate Includes: £7.95 -
14. Tudor World
Tread carefully over the cobbles, and enter Tudor World on Sheep Street to find a dimly lit and quirky maze of displays that explore, with the help of Tudor mannequins, aspects of the 16th century, including the plague years, early medicine, witch trials, bearbaiting, punishment, and alleged ghosts. Kids will enjoy peering round the curtains and opening the boxes of smells. At night, ghost tours by lantern light (suitable only for adults and older children) explore the house's paranormal history in spooky detail.
40 Sheep St., Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, CV37 6EE, England01789-298070Sight Details
Rate Includes: £7; ghost tours £8.50
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