Location: Stratford-upon-Avon
Top Things to do in Stratford-upon-Avon
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Top 10 Things to do for Honeymoon in Stratford-upon-Avon, England
Stratford-upon-Avon is steeped in the history of its most famous resident, William Shakespeare. This Warwickshire country town contains the home where Shakespeare was born, the cottage where Anne Hathaway resided before their marriage and the church where the couple is buried. Need a break from the Bard? The town also boasts Europe's largest butterfly farm.
Restaurants in Stratford-upon-Avon
1. Go Cotswolds
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 744 reviews
Award-winning small-group guided day tours of the Cotswolds departing from Stratford-upon-Avon and Moreton-in-Marsh – as seen in 'Rick Steves' Great Britain'! Check our website (click "More" underneath our profile photo) for up-to-date availability and book direct to guarantee your seat. Also available: Brewery and Cotswolds Pub Tour every Saturday and private tours for small groups of up to 16. Contact us for details!
2. Stratford Town Walk
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 1,714 reviews
Award-winning, entertaining, DAILY guided walking tour in Shakespeare's Stratford - interesting & informative. Sun, Mon, Tue, Wed, Thur, Fri 11am. Sat 11am and 2pm. Christmas Day 10:30am. Adult £7, over 65/stud £6, child £3. Under 8's free! No need to book (unless 10+), just turn up! Groups/Schools & bespoke private walks by prior arrangement. For entertainment with a difference, join the magical evening Ghost Walk every Sat at 7.30pm. Hear stories of ghosts, witches, murder & misery. Good old-fashioned story-telling delivered in the guide's own unique style. Please telephone to book the Ghost Walk (before 6pm on the day or a few days before). Adult £8, Child £5. Groups by arrangement, & Halloween special. Tickets for the Town Walk and Ghost Walk include discount vouchers for eateries, shops and attractions. For more info and updates about walks/tours visit our website or call us!
3. The Attic Theatre
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 649 reviews
The Attic Theatre is the No.1 fringe theatre in Stratford upon Avon and home to award-winning 'Tread the Boards' Theatre Company. In 2016 we begin the year with Romeo & Juliet, the only Shakespearean play being performed in Stratford during the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death. First established in 2009 by Tread the Boards, an award winning theatre Company. This unique, riverside theatre is located in the heart of Shakespeares' birth town. This unique space is housed in a Grade 2 listed 15th century building and seats just 89 people. This makes for a very personal and intimate theatrical experience.
Reviewed By RobinNicky - Benalmadena, Spain
My wife and I went to Stratford for an afternoon in the sunshine this afternoon and whilst having lunch at Cox's yard bar we passed the box office for the Attic Theatre. We decided to go and see the show, and it was a great decision. The acting was really good and the production was excellent from start to finish. It followed the traditional treasure Island storyline but with a good dose of humour gently added. There were jokes for the whole family. Other people took children of all ages and they seemed to be loving it as much as we did. I would thoroughly recommend to everyone who enjoys fringe theatre productions. We will look out for other productions from this great theatre company. Thank you to the whole team involved.
4. Anne Hathaway's Cottage & Gardens
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 3,200 reviews
This fifteenth-century, charming thatched cottage was the childhood home of Anne Hathaway, Shakespeare's sweet-heart and wife. Experienced guides share tales about the Hathaway family who lived here from the mid-1500s to the early 1900s. There are nine acres of gardens and grounds to explore including a woodland walk, the Shakespeare arboretum and a living willow cabin where you may listen to some of Shakespeare's sonnets.
Reviewed By F12MPpeters - Rome, Italy
Review covers a visit to Anne Hathaway’s family home at Shottery a couple of km outside the commercial centre of Stratford-upon-Avon. William Shakespeare – English poet, actor and playwright and generally considered the best-known writer in the English Language. And here we were briefly exploring the place where the Hathaway Family lived and where, it is reputed that William courted, impregnated and married Anne Hathaway – in that order; the first of three children – Susanna – was born to the couple six months later. William was just 18 at the time and his wife 26. Anne Hathaway’s cottage, in reality the farmhouse where she lived as child that has, since1892 (when it was acquired by the Shakespeare Birth Trust) evolved into today’s tourist icon - part of the Shakespeare Heritage Industry based upon Stratford-upon-Avon. Shakespeare and his work are part of the background of English/Anglo school kids everywhere - those of us who read/learned/explored/acted their Henry V or Much Ado About Nothing or Midsummer Night’s Dream for their school-leaving certificates and/or amateur dramatics and/or because we liked the stories, enjoyed the plays, treasured the history or simply became captured by the language. Following through with an interest in the man and his times is an easy option and more particularly when the weather is fine for exploring glimpses of Tudor England in the 21st century. We had left London early that morning on a elegant train hauled by a period steam locomotive for a day of adventure in the Midlands. At Warwick we switched to coaches with which to follow in ‘William’s footprints’ – although not literally; like most rural people of 400 years ago he would have had to walk everywhere. We had comfortable wheels. It was our first time in the area and things had clearly changed from those original days. Anne Hathaway’s place is now a twelve-roomed farmhouse – so only a ‘cottage’ in the sense that it started small in the 15th century – the lowest/stepped down part of the existing structure. In fact, it was not originally a cottage at all, but an enclosed barn-like hall with an open hearth at centre (and, presumably, a hole in the roof). The original building was converted into a comfortable farmhouse in Shakespeare’s time with the addition of a second floor and a couple of chimney flues – wooden frame, lathe, plaster, fill/cladding and thatched roof. Voilà, here’s your image of a typical English country cottage – robust/efficient/low-cost design that was still being used countrywide through to the early 19th century. By the mid-1700s the structure had doubled in size with the addition of the larger/up slope part of the structure. And, later still, a short brick/wooden framed extension was added to the lower end of the original building. A couple of useful/descriptive wall boards on site provide an easy to follow timeline in pictures over the years. Stand at the highest point in the garden – where there’s an artistic woven seat overlooking the farmhouse, and you can sit and study the flow of the thatched roof over the upper windows; the snug and tidy condition of the entire building. Three chimneys, two of which are internal and centred on the roof line – imagine just how warm the building would have been in winter. Where would the livestock, stored feed and equipment, hand-tools, etc. have been kept? Where did the family store their bulk farm food? There may originally have been 36 ha of farmland, but the cottage today has 4 ha that include orchards, sculpture garden and an arboretum that contains all the trees mentioned in Shakespeare’s plays (so the guide says). We wandered the garden next to the cottage which had a veritable team of gardeners tending the decorative beds, plants and shrubs. This is where you wait your turn for the guided tour of the property – so lots of time in which to enjoy the ambience of the house within its immediate garden. Once inside you follow the guide and her stories through the narrow passageways, around the sharp corners and up (and down) the narrow staircases taking in the different rooms, making sure to clear those low and potentially hazardous roof beams and door lintels where required; people were small in stature in those days. There were beds in the upstairs rooms some with canopies and others without (and, again, small by comparison with today), books open next to the beds described the Hathaway Family’s debt and the early history of the ‘Shakespeare Courting Chair’. There is a robust well-serviced kitchen too on the ground floor with late 19th century images. What you see is what you get – this sanitized glimpse of a family home from the 15th century firmly, if briefly, linked to the life and times of William Shakespeare. And William Shakespeare? Following their marriage the couple went to live in Stratford town, but London eventually dominated his working life. Annual visits kept him in contact with his wife/children who remained in Stratford. He returned after retiring from the stage to spend the final years of his life where he had started … and died in 1616 aged 51. And Anne Hathaway’s cottage? The last of the Hathaway Family – tenants at the time - left the place just over 100 years ago in 1911. Many interesting stories then … of this the world’s most famous English writer … but, we had a train with an iconic English locomotive to catch for our return to London that evening. Peter Steele 27 May 2020
5. Bancroft Cruisers
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 384 reviews
Coronavirus - we're so sorry but we are closing for a few weeks to ensure safety. Hopefully back on the water soon! The best 1 hour sightseeing cruise in Stratford upon Avon!! We offer excellent sightseeing cruises and we're the only company to have a boat with a licensed bar, wonderful cream teas and a Live commentary by our own on-board guides. Our guides share the history - and the amusing unknown history - of Stratford & Shakespeare during your cruise. We're a family business that operates 365 days a year, river conditions permitting. We can also cater for private parties - birthdays, hen parties, anniversaries, Christmas, schools & coach groups - we do just about everything! Our cruises are popular with local residents and tourists alike.
6. Stratford-upon-Avon Canal
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 1,023 reviews
Stretching 25 miles from the Birmingham suburbs to the River Avon in Stratford, this scenic waterway passes through enchanting countryside in the very heart of England, cutting through the Forest of Arden and an area rich in Shakespearean history.
Reviewed By janpridham1960 - Liverpool, United Kingdom
an idyllic way to spend 2 hours and watch the world go by on a balmy sunny afternoon in Stratford-upon-Avon. Well worth the fee for the boat trip with commentary, see the fantastic dwellings along the sides of the canal, the Church where Shakespeare is buried, watch University rowers speed past you practising, families of ducks navigating along side you, it's simply outstanding. You get to go past the Royal Shakespeare company theatre too. All in all fabulous, tranquil and immensely enjoyable
7. Royal Shakespeare Theatre
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 3,327 reviews
We create theatre at its best, made in Stratford-upon-Avon and shared around the world. We perform Shakespeare’s plays, as well as works by Shakespeare’s contemporaries and plays by today’s writers. We want as many people as possible to be able to access theatre at its best, so we bring our work to the widest possible audience.
Reviewed By Mandpb48 - Hastings, United Kingdom
Well worth booking the discovery ticket you get a really good tour behind the scenes of both the RSC theatre and the Swan, the guide is excellent in his portrait of backstage life, you can really appreciate all the work that is put in for each performance. The tower is worth a visit go up in the lift but walk dow the stairwell the portraits of famous actors going back in time is well worth the walk down. All the staff are friendly and helpful a very enjoyable place to visit
8. Shakespeare's Birthplace
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 5,053 reviews
Visit Shakespeare’s Birthplace to walk in Shakespeare’s footsteps and explore the house where he was born and grew up. Hear tales of Shakespeare’s family life, enjoy live theatre on demand and get up close to rare artefacts from the Trust’s world class collections as you discover how the extraordinary William Shakespeare continues to shape our lives today.
Reviewed By F12MPpeters - Rome, Italy
Review covers William Shakespeare’s birthplace, Henley Street, Stratford-upon-Avon. William Shakespeare – English poet, actor and playwright and generally considered the best-known/revered writer in the English Language. And the place where he was born? This is where the bard’s parents – Mary and John Shakespeare lived and where his father ran his workshop - making gloves, trading wool and occasional money-lending. This is where the couple started married life and where William - their eldest and his three brothers and two sisters were raised. (Two older siblings did not survive early childhood.) This is where you can catch a glimpse of what small town life was like in the Midlands of Tudor England >400 years ago. The reality today, of course, is nothing like it was back then. Apart from the example of the house as an isolated dwelling showing how middle-income people lived, the view out through the windows once inside will confirm exactly where you are in time/space. So, there’s that glimpse and then your imagination – house and garden in surroundings that represent modern Britain in all its spectacular heritage industries – the place is renovated, clean, reconstructed to a fault and, probably, with little bearing on the original/separate buildings that now make up the ‘birth-place’. Outside the front of the building the pedestrianized Henley Street was literally awash with ‘Shakespeare’s People’ those, like us, who had been attracted to the town/venue as a result of the admiration and enjoyment that his work has given people worldwide through to the present day. What would a time traveller from the 16th century make of it all? The house is a few steps down Henley Street from the modern Shakespeare Centre and typical of popular design from Tudor times – wooden frame with wattle and daub overlay – painted in beige/earth colour. Someone has, fortuitously, refrained from the more popular but contrasting white & black that seems to typify most buildings of this design/age in ‘tourist land’ nowadays. Four hundred years and the building has enjoyed many kinds of redevelopment and use. There was an informative wall board on hand showing the original/central part of the building with cottages tacked on either end with the kitchen later added at the rear. Eventually the entire building became part of a terrace of houses that stretched along this part of the street. The house became the property of William Shakespeare after the death of his father and was rented to a tenant. For a period, the original main house was converted into an inn. William with his family never lived there, although the house remained within the Shakespeare family through to the end of the 18th century. It was eventually rescued from obscurity and disrepair by the concerted efforts of a group of well-known national figures during the mid-19th century (recognizing the importance of the property to the Shakespeare heritage). Which neatly links into the house that we and many thousands (perhaps hundreds of thousands) have explored in recent (and more distant) times. It was surprisingly spacious - an impression of the enlarged/existing building that dominates to one side of the street behind a low fence of iron railings. Once inside this reflected further in the large size of the different rooms. Everything well-kept, tidy, clean … elegant even. Of course, it should be, except you somehow feel it should also represent the reality of those olden times. Explore inside and walk through the different rooms on both the ground and first floors, with the birth room above the parlour. We followed others through the passageways roped-off from the furnishings in the different rooms – exploring beds, chimney hearths, stairways, views from the windows, the ‘Hall’ where the family ate their main meals (and where a table was set with foods typical of those times) and the neat stone flag flooring – domestic museum par excellence. However, it is the garden at the rear of the house that dominated our visit that afternoon – this is where the majority people were located and where there was theatre, actors, entertainment; that feel of being part of the living heritage that represents Shakespeare and his writings in an original historical context. Look around you – a garden imitating that original design; comfortable, spacious with pathways between raised beds providing easy strolling, stopping and talking, and places at which to sit. During the visit, people were sitting in casual groups following the brief and rapidly changing theatre provided – handful of mainly young people on shallow podiums that put them head/shoulders above the audience – words, action, interaction, applause. Clearly fine-weather activities, but perhaps there are alternative wet-weather venues - for us it was the enthusiastic actors and their stories that provided that sense of history to one side of this 400-year old house in the centre of modern Stratford-upon-Avon. Many interesting features and much theatre then around the Henley Street house that helped provide an introduction to the early times of William Shakespeare - the world’s most famous English writer. But we had a train to catch that afternoon, and one with a gorgeous English steam locomotive attached. We expected to be in London that evening. Contrast this with the same journey that William took each year to keep in contact with his family in Stratford -upon-Avon – six days or more following foot tracks across country.
9. Henley Street
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 303 reviews
Reviewed By Steve57C - Dudley, United Kingdom
This pedestrianised street is the best spot in town for chilling with a coffee and watching the world go by. Along with a smorgasbord of shops and cafes it houses the jester statue and Shakespeares house. A must see if ever you’re in Stratford-upon-Avon.
10. Avon Boating
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 371 reviews
For information on current service due to COVID-19 please see our website for details. Avon Boating is one of England's oldest and largest traditional boating companies, offering boats for hire on one of the finest rivers in the country, the Avon at Stratford. We operate a fleet of classic Edwardian passenger vessels on regular public cruises from the Bancroft Gardens next to the Royal Shakespeare Theatre now with personal digital audio guides, and offer a variety of private cruises for groups. From our Boathouse on the edge of the river bank, we hire outs rowing boats, punts, canoes and self-drive motor boats for those wanting to explore the further reaches of the river. Also available to hire is one worlds most romantic forms of water transport, the gondola. This elegant boat is extra special as not only was it built back in 1909, making it one the oldest gondolas available in the world, it also belonged to Marie Corelli who was the worlds most popular writer of that time.
