5 Best Sights in Stratford-upon-Avon, Stratford-upon-Avon and the Heart of England

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 and has 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.

The final resting place of William Shakespeare is this 13th-century church on the banks of the River Avon. 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. The christening font in which Shakespeare was baptized is here too.

The hometown of Shakespeare has developed an international reputation for theater and is home to the world-renowned Royal Shakespeare Company. It’s a rite of passage for serious stage actors to pass through here at some point. Overlooking Bancroft Gardens and with views along the River Avon, the main theater building is a sight in itself. There are three or four theaters to choose from, depending on the season: the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, which is the largest and features a thrust stage; the older Swan Theatre, where many Shakespearean actors prefer to perform; and the Holloway Theatre outside, wonderful in spring and summer.  You can also visit The Other Place, traditionally presenting more experimental plays. A couple of minutes’ walk away from the main site (toward Holy Trinity Church), it has a cool café. At the main theater, you can take the lift to the top of the tower for incredible views of the town and countryside. Tours are highly recommended and take you behind the scenes to places like the main theater auditorium while set changes are taking place or (if you're lucky, as tours are not the same) to the costume department across the road.

Gin is having a moment in England right now, and this distillery run by two brothers is embracing the trend while combining traditional Tudor ingredients with modern handcrafting techniques. Tours (1½ hours) are entertaining and informative, with plenty of fun history woven in. At the end, you'll enter a tasting room with mini stills (there are options for making your own gin) for a tasting of a few gins, followed by a complimentary gin and tonic. Tours also discuss the distillery's rum: this is one of the country's only distilleries to make its own from scratch. The distillery is a couple of miles out of town, but the taxi ride is very much worth it. You can also shop for bottles and other gifts at the distillery's shop on Stratford's High Street.

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. An exhibition inside the neighboring Nash’s House tells the story of the New Place and Shakespeare’s family life within it, and the house's roof terrace provides views of the gardens. Nash’s House was once home to Thomas Nash, the husband of Shakespeare’s granddaughter, Elizabeth Hall.