Shakespeare's town, on the banks of the Avon

Stratford-upon-Avon: Shakespeare's Birthplace Ticket

The one Stratford ticket almost everyone buys — and rightly so. This is the Henley Street house where Shakespeare was born and spent the first five years of his marriage, restored to how a prosperous Tudor glover's family would have lived. Costumed interpreters answer questions in every room, actors perform speeches on request in the garden, and the exhibition next door sets up the whole story before you cross the threshold. Allow 60–90 minutes; book online to skip the ticket-desk queue on summer weekends.

• Step inside the house where William Shakespeare was born in 1564
• See the workshop where his father John ran his glove-making business
• Costumed guides in every room, plus live performances in the garden

Stratford-upon-Avon's Town Walking Tour with a Local Guide

The smartest £12 you can spend on your first morning. A licensed local guide walks you through the medieval street grid Shakespeare knew, past the Guild Chapel and grammar school, along Waterside to the theatres and down to Holy Trinity Church, explaining what survived, what burned, and what the Victorians invented. You will leave knowing exactly which paid attractions are worth your remaining time — and which you can happily skip.

• Daily 90-minute walk with a friendly, licensed local guide
• Tudor streets, the Guild Chapel, the Royal Shakespeare Theatre and the riverside
• The story of the town — not just the Bard — from wool trade to world stage

The Sinister Side of Shakespeare's Stratford Ghost Walk

Stratford is exceptionally pretty by day and genuinely eerie after dark, and this long-running walk leans into the difference. Starting on the corner of Sheep Street and High Street, your guide leads you through the old town with tales of the women tried as witches, the fires that repeatedly gutted the town, the plague years and the crimes that scandalised Warwickshire. It is theatrical rather than gory — fine for older children, and a perfect way to fill the evening before or after dinner.

• Witch trials, plague pits, murders and public executions
• Atmospheric after-dark route through the Tudor town centre
• Storytelling guides who genuinely know their local history

Stratford-upon-Avon: River Cruise & City Audio Tour

Stratford was built around its river, and the water still gives you the best view of the town. This gentle 30-minute cruise slips past the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, under the 15th-century Clopton Bridge and down to the spire of Holy Trinity Church, where Shakespeare is buried — with commentary explaining what you are seeing. The ticket also unlocks a downloadable audio tour of nine landmarks on foot, so you can carry on at your own pace afterwards.

• Half-hour cruise aboard a traditional Edwardian-style river boat
• Pass the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Holy Trinity Church and Clopton Bridge
• Downloadable audio guide with nine town centre stops

Stratford-upon-Avon: Anne Hathaway's Cottage Entry Ticket

If you only add one property to your Birthplace ticket, make it this one. Thirteen generations of Hathaways lived in this thatched Shottery farmhouse for more than five centuries, and much of the original building — and furniture — survives. The real surprise is outside: nine acres of cottage garden, orchard, willow sculptures and woodland walks that most visitors never expect. Walk out along the signed field path from town in about 25 minutes, or hop on the hop-on hop-off bus.

• The thatched farmhouse where Shakespeare courted his future wife
• Original Hathaway family furniture, including the famous four-poster bed
• Award-winning cottage gardens, orchard and woodland sculpture trail

Stratford-upon-Avon: City Sightseeing Hop-on Hop-off Bus Tour

Two of the five Shakespeare family homes sit outside the town centre, and this is the simplest way to reach them without a car. The open-top loop links Henley Street, the theatres, Holy Trinity, Anne Hathaway's Cottage in Shottery and Mary Arden's Farm at Wilmcote, with recorded commentary in several languages between stops. Buy the 48-hour version if you are staying overnight — it usually costs only a little more and takes all the pressure off your first afternoon.

• 24- or 48-hour ticket with 11 stops around town and the countryside
• Reaches Anne Hathaway's Cottage and Mary Arden's Farm without a car
• Open-top deck and multi-language audio commentary

Stratford-upon-Avon: The Famous Walk Talk Show

Stratford has plenty of walking tours; this one has a script. A professional actor-guide takes you round the old town performing, quoting and cheerfully deflating the Bard along the way, weaving the biography into the buildings. It converts sceptics — a remarkable number of five-star reviews come from people who arrived expecting to be bored. Book ahead in summer: the groups are capped and it regularly sells out.

• Half walking tour, half stand-up performance by a professional actor
• Shakespeare quoted, performed and gently sent up in the streets he knew
• Consistently one of the highest-rated things to do in Stratford

From Stratford-upon-Avon: Full-Day Cotswolds Small-Group Tour

Stratford sits at the northern gateway to the Cotswolds, and this small-group day tour is the reason many people build a second night into their stay. A local driver-guide takes the narrow back lanes to Dover's Hill, Chipping Campden, a village they refuse to name in the description, Stow-on-the-Wold for lunch, Bibury's Arlington Row and Bourton-on-the-Water — with real free time at each stop rather than a ten-minute photo scramble.

• Six stops including Bibury, Bourton-on-the-Water and Stow-on-the-Wold
• Dover’s Hill viewpoint and a "secret" off-the-beaten-track village
• Local driver-guide, back lanes and plenty of free time to wander

Shakespeare's Birthplace

Where it all began, on Henley Street

The half-timbered Henley Street house where William Shakespeare was born in 1564 and grew up above his father’s glove-making workshop. Restored to its Tudor layout, staffed by costumed guides and paired with an exhibition that sets up the whole story.

Anne Hathaway's Cottage

A thatched farmhouse and nine acres of garden

The Shottery farmhouse where Shakespeare courted Anne Hathaway, lived in by thirteen generations of her family. Original furniture inside, and outside the finest gardens in Warwickshire — orchard, willow sculptures and woodland walks.

Royal Shakespeare Theatre

The best Shakespeare on the planet, on the riverbank

Home of the Royal Shakespeare Company since 1932 and rebuilt around a thrust stage in 2010, with no seat more than 15 metres from the actors. Even without a ticket, the tower, terrace and riverside restaurant are open to everyone.

Holy Trinity Church

Shakespeare's grave, beside the Avon

The spired riverside church where Shakespeare was baptised in 1564 and buried in 1616. His grave lies in the chancel beneath the famous curse against moving his bones, alongside his wife, daughter and son-in-law, at the end of a lovely avenue of limes.

River Avon & Bancroft Gardens

Swans, narrowboats and the classic view

The green heart of Stratford, where the canal meets the river beside the theatre. Sightseeing cruises, rowing boats, a chain ferry, the Gower Memorial and the town’s best picnic lawn — all free to wander, and floodlit at night.

Warwick Castle

1,100 years of history, 25 minutes away

A genuine Norman fortress turned great stately home on the same River Avon, eight miles upstream. Ramparts, state rooms, birds of prey, a working trebuchet and dungeons — the strongest second-day option in the area, especially with children.